Trials and Tribulations

Chapter Forty Five : The End Of Dragonfirre or A New Beginning

2010-06-24T00:06:00.002-05:00

So Beauty the Brain is the name and outsmarting my opponents with my charms and my wit is my favorite game. I suppose it is best to summarize for recently I had decided to stop trying to befriend the members of Dragonfirre because it was causing me more grief which would eventually lead to unwanted distractions. Which in turn has caused me to harden my heart against those who I wished to call friends. In the future I had decided to refer to them by their Dragonfirre code names and the roles to which I assigned them which left me with only one problem the obstinate and headstrong Vadania. I had once considered changing my name to the one I have finally chosen for Vadania as it seems more fitting for her than for me and since Symerria had chosen Grace. It seemed that Faith would be an excellent choice of course convincing the always stubborn Vadania was going to be a task truly worthy of my skill as a bender of wills and minds.

It had occurred to me that Vadania a chosen one of the Olympian Pantheon felt very attached to her name and in truth I doubted even realized the ramifications of the quest we of Dragonfirre had undertaken or the importance of our cover names and identities on Emerald. Don’t get me wrong while she had been with us for nine days I had begun to realize that my banished beloved Nialla had not truly brought her up to date on our situation as I had hoped. At the time I had been immersed in grief over the loss of my dearest friend known as the Associate and blaming myself for his death. Of course I could blame his death on his punishment for having rejected me and in the end that was how I saw it. Vadania on the other had needed therefore to be brought up to speed and assume the already prepared identity of Faith.

I had considered how to approach Faith and whether I would go with guile or terror and I also had to consider her volatile nature versus her importance to our mission to eventually restore our Gods on Emerald and even on a reborn Hyboria. Of course I still held dim hope that we might somehow alter time and the events we were dealing with perhaps even the face of Emerald would be reshaped and Hyboria restored. But like I said that hope had been dim and only our Weapon Lucky Ron and my Confessor Slick Rick still believed it even possible. Which meant since she chose to embrace Athena and only gave weak lip service to the other Olympians I knew I would perhaps have to defeat her in battle which was fine by me. Not that I am someone who embraced War far from it actually but let us just say the nature of Ares was more my style and I truly did not believe in a fair fight so it not like Faith really stood a chance in Hades of defeating me.

So by hook or by crook I deduced that Vadania would finally understand the importance of our assumed identities which made it easier for us to fit in with the society on Emerald and even protect our allies. Truly the other options available to me were either ludicrous or shall we say deadly. I mean if she insisted on keeping her name after I explained the entire situation we were dealing with then I could fade into the shadows and let her lead until she got herself killed. Which I figured would be sooner than later since her actions would have already caused her death if it were for me having saving her life on many occasions. The other option was to just no longer acknowledge her presence and to eliminate anyone she gave her name since in my mind their deaths would be on her hands. Either way Faith was our Healer and she needed to get her act together.

Regarding the Weapon Lucky Ron well I hardly cared for his value to me had eroded to about the same level as my modified Desert Eagle Widow Maker the only difference was that he could walk and talk. Was that perhaps a little harsh well let us just say it was better than the alternative. To think I could have ever deluded myself to believe that I could ever be friends was such a callous moralistic opinionated human was truly beyond me. I blame it on the realization that I had perhaps not come to terms with loss of Hyboria and many of my non Fey associates which in turn had caused me to bequeath him with more importance than he deserved. Either way like Widow Maker Lucky Ron was a Weapon who had already proven he lived for the mission perhaps he would die for it as well time would tell.

My dear cousin Grace my Shining Light in the all consuming Darkness. She had endured so much in order to join me on this quest to defeat the Dreaming God. In reality the worst was no doubt still to come but she was no longer alone for she was family and Fey on her Mother’s side. We had been joined on this path together as had been foretold ages ago and together I knew we had what we needed to succeed. I would let her perform the duty of looking after the members of Dragonfirre if she wished and protecting the innocents who might get in our way. For I realized the harsh truth all things were fair in love and war and we were at war with the Dreaming God. I would not allow anything even other members of Dragonfirre to stand in my way of winning that war. Either way Grace was a Shining Light with the power of the Seven Heavens behind her if there was hope to be found for those who opposed us then let it be by her mercy that it be found.

Of course my Confessor Slick Rick had made his position known that he stood for the past, present and future of the natural order and Hyboria. If he had his way once the Dreaming God had been defeated he would find a way by his will alone if necessary to return to the past and rewrite the history of Emerald . Which of course would restore Hyboria and allow Emerald to progress as it would have without the Dreaming Gods influence. Not that he cared about Emerald and I am sure if it were not for the fact that we had learned of colonies of descendents of Emerald he would be content to let the world burn and suffer a fate similar to the one that had felled our world Hyboria. Slick Rick stood as vengeful force capable of unleashing all of the horrors of nature upon our enemies. Either way Slick Rick the Confessor stood poised to stand at my side and hear the final cries of the Dreaming God as it was woken and put to rest to become forever known as the Dead God.

Where did that leave me perhaps as Beauty the Brain engaged in a battle of wits against a far more wise and I am sure smarter opponent. After all the Dreaming God known as Cthulhu had been planning the game in which I now played ages before I had even been born. I had allies of course in the form of Dragonfirre as well as an entire Host of allies who were agents of weakened Gods or their descendants. Even I myself was one such agent set up since birth to make a final stand against Cthulhu. Tales told of our mission failing many times in the past and how we had used the very powers of time itself to give us more pieces to place on the game board to aid our success. It was a game that Cthulhu had started ages ago in the past of our world Hyboria setting us up to fail before many even realized we were at war. By the time enough believed and realized the danger Hyboria had been so badly infiltrated and subverted that our world barely stood a chance. Dragonfirre and I were the last hope of Hyborian as well as the last hope for the Gods who had migrated to that dimension. We had been given a battle plan which we had been able to decipher and expand upon but of course the minions of the Dreaming God had already infiltrated the world of Emerald without the majority of them even realizing they were being used and that they were like Hyborian of the past at War. So it fell upon me to rally allies from Emerald to set them against the minions both foreign and domestic of Cthulhu until we had acquired all of the items we needed to bring about his demise. Either way I had taken the name Beauty the Brain Bender of Minds and Wills and it was going to be one hell ride.

Obviously the words I had written I realized before I spoke with Vadania were words that I believed in that the time but to witness both Lucky Ron and to a lesser extent my dear cousin Grace defending her nearly pushed me over the brink. I had warned Vadania that by adhering to her name she put any allies we might find in danger and lives lost would fall upon her head. I had considered even following through since she seemed even unwilling to remain silent. Lucky Ron chose defend Vadania and we had to agree to disagree which of course led to me no longer caring for the mundane natives of Emerald. Or shall I say in reality those who I had once foolishly tried to call friends.

I had changed into my new Beauty the Brain dark wear which consisted of a black duster, a tight black vest with silver buttons, tight leather slacks secured by a black belt with a dragon head buckle, black leather boots, and topped it off with a black wide brimmed hat. Of course I sported visibly Widow Maker and my Rail Gun so it would be apparent to all that I was prepared for war. I had decided that if the Dragonfirre had decided to allow Vadania to question my deductions then I would let whatever fate befell them do so. I had never worried about my own survival and if I had it had only been due to risking my life to save someone else. Well those days were over and it was time for Dragonfirre to see what happens when they decided to doubt my brain. Now did that mean I planned to let any of them die well not if I could help it but I can assure you the days of overextending myself in order to cover for the inadequacies of Dragonfirre were over. If they wanted to be cocky and believe that they could do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted then it was time they found out if they were correct.

Beauty the Brain after this point threw down her pen in disgust and looked to me and said you told me there would be days like this and I picked up her pen and finished this difficult chapter for her.

Now you might be asking who I might be well I have been spoken of often and unlike my emotional friend who at the time was going by the guise of Beauty the Brain my focus has never wavered. Let the record therefore state that I always attempt to be honest unless I have been following orders to the contrary of course you may call me Marketh Abolay. Now of course Beauty has often referred to me by my childhood name Jared Black but I much prefer my Emerald name so moving forward I shall refer to myself as Marcus the Quick.

Remember at this time this was not yet my story so I shall leave my own perspective away from the following narrative. I shall pick up the narrative for I realized that Beauty was having shall we say one of her egotistical fits of intellect. Don’t get me wrong for what it’s worth I understand her reasons but I have noticed she can be an absolute pain to deal with when she does not get her way. It had been her mistake after all to treat the members of Dragonfirre as friends instead of tools to be used to achieve her mission and thankfully she was starting to turn around.

Let me quickly bring this narrative up to speed. Beauty had already been awake and had summoned fresh water and even magically enchanted a few local berries and transformed them into nutritious life-sustaining food for her companions. Her Confessor Slick Rick was understandably shall we say intrigued at how she had seemed to have suddenly acquired druidical powers. I shall attempt to compress what had actually happened. One might remember that her Mother in the past the present Queen of the Summer Court Fey had stripped her of many of her powers and abilities. To make a long story short all of the bindings that had been placed upon her by her Mother and by herself had been stripped away to reveal the Fey Princess she was always destined to be. Simply said she was still a Beguiler like the Queen but she now had embraced her true nature which of course as her power had grown so then had her abilities.

Her Confessor I realize was perhaps even more perplexed when he had noticed her studying the trees and asking him questions about the samples he had taken from Hyboria Island. For she had recently gained the ability to transport thru plants. She had informed him if he planted a seed from one of the trees of Hyboria Island and brought it to full bloom then she could use it to return the group to the Island whenever they wished. She had even included that if they wished to transport to any of the local areas of Emerald she was capable of doing the same thing with the available vegetation. I can understand his concern for a mere mortal what she spoke of should have been beyond her abilities unless she was a Druid. Once again to jump to the point Beauty had yet to give her companions the letter she had written which might have given Slick Rick a clue as to how her diverse her abilities truly were.

While sitting near the Healer Vadania she had attempted to make a point with her regarding the necessity of concealing her identity on Emerald. I will admit regardless of her obvious flaws which depending on how you looked at them could just as easily become strengths I know we would get along well. Sadly the same could not be said for Beauty and Vadania who was soon to push Beauty over the edge. Her temper was not eased even when her Shining Light Grace tried to persuade Vadania but failed to order to her to obey. I could of course spout some doctrine about discipline and following the chain of command but it would only waste time. Instead I shall continue for next the Weapon Lucky Ron spoke up and sided with Vadania by stating that it was wrong to blame her for lives that Beauty might take in order to protect them from an even darker fate. As I would have expected with her Confessor Slick Rick failing to have an opinion he wished to voice Beauty decided to write off the civilians of Emerald and consider them collateral damage. I shall just say for the record that Beauty the Brain was also deciding to write off not only the civilians but Dragonfirre as well.

I could continue with the useless banter that soon continued regarding getting rid of the powerful lugnut that had been found in the Bag of Holding to considering where Dragonfirre would choose to go next but I shall instead skip ahead and relate that it was decided instead to travel to Central City and visit the Stolen Eye Wizard who had made an offer to host a meeting. He was I should make note also in the possession of the Great Race Status Cube. So with that decided they all boarded the De’Moulay Duck and made haste to Peninsula of Central City and to the restaurant that catered to the rich and the powerful known as the Diagonal Club.

Professor Moonshower and Colonel Porter were left with the De’Moulay Duck with instructions to drive around and watch for Dragonfirre’s return. It is worth noting that Slick Rick had told them if they saw the foundations of the building starting to give way to make haste in their return. I don’t believe they had taken that news very well. Perhaps the reason being that the building they stood before was a massive mithril building easily standing three times the height of the standard Welcome Centers. In truth only the Central City Civic Center home to Sevoras Ves the current Avatar and Grandson of the original Ves and an Entity known as Queen B who seemed in reality to be an Avatar of Bast, Isis and Hecate had been bigger.

After considerable discussion with a number of residents on the first floor Dragonfirre was soon escorted to an elevator where they were able gain access to the Diagonal Club proper which seemed to be a sort of neutral ground where every kind of pleasure could be found even including meeting the agent of the Adventuring Band known as Garbage. Soon after a short wait where Beauty was truly in a mood to ditch the entire group and abandon them to their quest. One of the staff arrived and informed them that the Stolen Eye Wizard was prepared for their arrival. Just in time I might add for in truth with Dragonfirre having decided to side with Vadania on anything my Beauty had really been put her in a foul mood which I can assure you is never a good thing.

They arrived in the penthouse and entered a vast room with I am told a beautiful indoor swimming pool. Soon they were to find out from the Stolen Eye Wizard which was really no surprise to Beauty the Brain that they were hotter than dynamite. In little time the an accord of neutrality had been reached and the Stolen Eye Wizard confirmed and number of facts of which Beauty the Brain was already of course aware. Really the only new information which was useful had to do with Modern Nero and the Mind Emperor of the cloned Ghouls.

The Mind Emperor who it seemed had mutated into a giant brain like mass it seemed that the ability to locate Dragonfirre either by his Psychic Gifts or as the Starlords had by scanning for the space mead. Of course that raised the Mind Emperor up on the list since it also seemed to be the person that the almost forgotten Bounty Hunter Chance Fortune been in contact with in order to locate them.

On a side note the device which had been found in the bag of holding seemed to be a wondrous temporal device capable of altering time in a limited scope in order to restore the nature of anything it came in contact with regardless of it was living or mechanical.

It also seemed that every faction or group on Emerald with the exception of the most powerful being the Blue Moons were all involved with the Hyborian Trade business. It seemed plausible that if Cthulhu was removed and his hold on the Star Lords broken then they would be in a position to assume authority. With them having at their disposal the hospitals, schools, police and fire departments the only thing they lacked was supernatural power and with that removed they would be able to step up as it were.

There were of course some lamenting by the Stolen Eye Wizard about his former apprentice the Thousand Eyed Wizard of the Red Menace which led to him admitting that he was in possession of the Great Race Status Cube. He revealed his knowledge of existing time portals and the need for space mead which made the trips thru time possible and that the Great Race Status Cube could be used to bypass the Space Mead. Oddly with Slick Rick making a decision to allow him to keep it until he felt Dragonfirre was ready Beauty still being angry chose to bow to his wisdom.

After bidding the Stolen Eyed Wizard good day and after he vowed to not mention having seen them and even offering sanctuary in the future Dragonfirre departed. Of course there next stop was to find Ghouls of which the Mind Emperor was said to be attached. They chose against Beauty’s judgment to head back to the Red Menace monitored area of Hilltop in Central City. Of course they arrived without incident but Beauty had a feeling that something was once again not right.

Of course they moved forward but Beauty had made a decision she was finished with risking her life for people who chose to ignore her advice. Let them move forward she believed and learn their lesson the hard way. While she silently prayed for my arrival to help ease her inner pain. I will break away for a moment to explain. Beauty is a complex woman who embraces the path of Chaos but feels influenced by her blood to be good. Sadly she is also perhaps one of the most egotistic women I have ever met which is easy to understand given her intellect. So whenever someone decides to oppose her insight and deductions out of hand instead of treating them as gospel it shall we say rubs her the wrong way. Now if you are her friend and she loves you well she can get over and is more than willing to play games to attempt to gain her desires. On the other had if you are not her friend or someone she loves well then you might find yourself eventually in a dark place with no hope of escape if you catch my drift.

Suffice to say when Dragonfirre entered the building in Hilltop and she sensed a dozen Ghouls moving around in a organized militant pattern she tried once again to warn them but of course it was to no avail. They moved forward and within moments they were under attack. Beauty and Grace had taken precautions to protect themselves but within moments they were in battle with a crack Ghoul unit lead by a mysterious Monk like figure. That figure in moment had struck down Slick Rick, Lucky Ron and was beginning to work on Grace. For once Vadania had healed and moved back which had given both Slick Rick as well as Lucky Ron the chance to recover. Meanwhile Beauty had cast both haste and slow to help increase Dragonfirre’s chances before moving in with Widow Maker. She of course had a plan but it would involve Grace holding off the Dark Monk for a few more seconds which would give Dragonfirre the chance to recover and take out his slowed Ghoul minions. She of course thought about just leaving them to their fate but Slick Rick and Grace were there and she did not intend to leave without her Confessor and her Shining Light lest her path to the darkside become complete.

It was at this point where I will admit many of the dubious details Beauty often likes to add to her narratives that she came to me cooled down after a warm bath and asked for the pen back. So with humble good day evening morning or good night I shall leave you for now. But just remember who knows what even lurks in the hearts of men and women Marcus the Quick and I advise you to always hope that twilight never falls upon you for then night will fall.

Well it’s Beauty the Brain and I have returned and many thanks to Marcus the Quick my Rock as it were someone who I could always count on to unquestionably support me to have my back or my front even at the same time if I desired but let me not digress. Dragonfirre was in a position to soon make a move on the Mind Emperor and Modern Nero but first they had to deal with the Dark Monk who seemed intent to destroy them. Notice of course that I use them for sadly I no longer consider myself one of them. I will stand apart and let them walk their own path as seems to be their choice and aid them when I see fit. I will focus my intellect on the bigger picture and remain in the shadows and bide my time until it is time for me to have my vengeance on Cthulhu and his minions. While it may be true I had grown tired of the task laid before me and had prayed for my Rock Marcus the Quick to come to me and free me to depart to the Feywild at the time all I was able to do was to continue my descent to darkness and sadly I will admit I enjoyed it.

Chapter Forty Four : The Hunt Begins or An End To Dreams

2010-06-07T19:32:00.001-05:00

Shall we say I was not in the best of moods and doing my best to fake that I was not absolutely furious. So much so that after this entry and even during it my direction will change. I will admit for all of my flaws and yes I will admit I have a few they all pale beneath my belief in friendship. In truth there is very little I would not do for someone I called a friend I would even defend a friend against Aphrodite or even my Mother for that matter. Which should tell you that if you know me means that while I had never had many the friends the ones I had I valued more than any item I might ever crave. Now with the aid of the hidden Nodens High Priest of Emerald who just happened to be an old friend of Professor Moonshower Dent Vadania’s arm had been restored but the price had been the rebirth of the slain Death Knight. A small price truly and we had acquired a new hired enemy a Bounty Hunter name Chance Fortune who seemed the Starlords answer to us. We of course in afterthought had recovered what I had realized were Mi-Go Brain Cycle machines. I was even able to find out that my Starlord Thrall had managed to make himself useful yet again. My cousin Grace had thankfully returned so you might wonder why I was so furious. It’s simple because someone who I used to call a friend and opened up to instead of helping me chose to betrayed me. That former friend Lucky Ron to be exact I had sworn would rue the day and while Dragonfirre still needed him to complete our mission I would never say the same as you shall see.

I feel the need to clear my mind a little before I dive right in for in reflection I have seen the error in my ways to treating Dragonfirre like friends. Which means I shall return to my old ways and place value where it lies on my fellow Dragonfirre members. Slick Rick therefore who I would continue to defer to in matters of wisdom, guidance and support as I had chosen him as my Father Confessor. Lucky Ron foolish mortal with his misguided morals would be confined to being a Weapon that I needed. Vadania a shame to the Elven Race yet another deluded religious zealot Healer had her place she just needed to learn to follow commands. Which left my delightful and playful cousin Grace who was bound to me by blood who was a Loving Light I could use to balance the Growing Darkness within me. Mickey the Torch and Clean Eugene with the codes and the limitations they placed upon themselves I demoted to Back Up Weapons for either of them I truly believe were not even intelligent enough to even grasp the big picture which for them was perhaps so much the better. Now let’s move on.

Well perhaps our one armed healer Vadania may have learned her lesson but then again perhaps not. I know that our Druid and my spiritual advisor Slick Rick or in reality Bureek of the Elves of the High Forest has not been impressed by her performance so far. One would think Vadania would on occasion bow to the greater wisdom of Slick Rick but it seems she has a severe stubborn streak. I will admit Vadania is a real mystery but then again aren’t most Favored Soul’s. Perhaps by cousin the seductive Symerria might be able to rein her in as Vadania seems to follow her around like a loyal puppy dog. Sadly I can tell that Symerria is not really skilled in how to bring out the best in her servants, pets or Thralls take you pick. I knew I would have to help her work in that.

Grace and I had shared a night of bliss after with the aid of her beauty and grace I was able to abandon the darkness within me and embrace what in the past I would have called my Celestial Bloodline had been such a revelation that it had brought tears to my eyes. I took me a day to adapt and while I will not say that I had started to embrace the light it was really more like the light within me now kept the darkness at bay. That night she had shared with me information about her past that I had yet to record but looking back I was able to see how it had shaped her into the woman she would become.

I had noticed that Grace is not only graceful, healthy and attractive but that she is also been blessed by the Powers of Good. Now depending on one’s point of view much could be said about that but for my purposes they don’t really matter. For I had noticed that Grace which I will admit is a really good name for some reason always seems to stand up to me whenever I have already deduced a logical course of action. It would be one thing if she were smarter than me or if she possessed insight far superior to my own but alas that is not the case. In reality it has to do with a great betrayal that she suffered which to her had occurred far in the past. Grace had told me of her past and how she had been sent on a mission with her former adventuring band to the Hells most specifically eight plane known as Cania to be exact. To make a long story short their big brain it would seem had been a Wizard named Darkwyn. It would seem that he had betrayed them all to the Lord of the Eight Realm and Symerria had only avoided the horrible fate that awaited them by making a deal to be imprisoned within a Soul Gem. So sure if I had suffered for centuries within a Soul Gem utterly powerless my sanity only preserved by my dedication to my faith. Let us just say I could very well see why in the future I would question the motives of anyone just to be certain.

Now this brought me back to the issue of servants and Thralls now don’t get me wrong if you have never had anyone’s will bound to your own you have truly not lived. To a lesser extent of course having well trained obedient Gnome servants is a treat I am sure Grace missed out on as well. So could I really blame her for seemingly falling in love with her shall we say pet as opposed to training and disciplining her. Now did I really view Vadania as a pet well if she chose to continue to act like one and ignore me telling her that Symerria was not someone to be worshipped then so be it. Don’t get me wrong I have bowed to those with superior presence before the Deity Nodens comes most recently to mind and I assure you Grace pales in comparison to him. Take my word for it if anyone would be able to acknowledge a divine presence I have the most experience. Which of course meant when Grace returned I would just have to teach her how to best train her I hoped obedient pet Vadania before her recklessness placed her in a situation that not even Dragonfirre or I could save her from.

So speaking of saving my rhetoric shall now alter I and will spare you my feelings for I have placed them behind so in the future unless there is some traumatic change which by Aphrodite may occur I shall leave my emotional and sexual escapades to a minimum and instead focus on the logical and hypothetical. For I will not longer be looking at Dragonfirre as friends and equals and I will allow with few exceptions their actions to define them. Since it seems with the exception of my Confessor Slick Rick they seemed to not even realize how fortunate they all are to be graced with my presence. A fact that no longer concerned me for I had a job to do and so did they. If they failed in their jobs then let the Grim Reaper judge them for I was done trying to love them it had been a colossal waste of my time which I did not have to waste.

The battle with the Death Knight if I could even call it that had been short and decisive once Grace had returned. So while the aura of fear generated by the Death Knight had been an inconvenient nuisance in the end with Slick Rick holding his power in reserve the Death Knight had been put down for the moment hard. Our reward had of course been the Bag of Holding which had contained six Mi-Go Brain Cycle machines. Don’t get me wrong for what it was worth I had cast Bands of Steel which had bound the Death Knight. Which had led to the Weapon Lucky Ron’s Katana, the Light Grace’s holy sonic lances, our Healer Vadania’s bullets from Death Dealer, and even more bullets from Widow Maker as well as a Shadow Sonic lance from me all of which proved to be too much for the poor Death Knight Gruelatek. Sure he had tried even attempted a Finger of Death spell against Symerria but she had protected by the Light and his magic shattered. Confessor Slick Rick had held back his fury biding his time as a reserve but in the end he was as I had anticipated not needed.

Of course I had summoned Unicorns but they had been reduced to distractions in the presence of the aura of fear of the Death Knight. While as they had appeared they had been able to bestow the valued neutralize poison spells upon Slick Rick, Lucky Ron and myself. Afterward Lucky Ron would pick up the bag of holding and look inside and find what we sought for it seemed his luck was still with him. I had cast arcane sight in order to better examine the bag of holding as well as the six Mi-Go devices but had taken time to discuss with Slick Rick the situation with Vadania and her missing arm. During which time both Colonel Porter and Professor Moonshower were both unable to make heads of tails of the devices. I had considered relocation and the decision was soon made for me as we hear the approach of the police since after all we had just derailed a train. I had considered dispatching the running conductor but in truth the Starlords I am sure would know what had happened.

We had piled into the Duck and the Colonel had asked where to and I had replied West Providence which was near Providence but not exactly the territory of the Stolen Eye Wizard. My first priority was to understand the Mi-Go Brain Cycle machines. Moonshower and Porter had been unable to grasp the devices which seemed to be a mixture of magic and technology and I had remembered what Porter had said about only the Mi-Go normally being able to operate them truly use them. So I had told the others to give me a moment and as I shut them out I brought all of my awareness and intellect to bear on the Mi-Go devices and I found what I sought. By emulating Mi-Go brain patterns I was able to determine both how to activate, use or empty the devices which currently held the mind signatures of allies within the Red Menace. That’s right I said it for they were Red Menace and in truth most of the world were either Red Menace, Hub or Ves I had a lot of work to do concerning the factions but on step at a time.

Of course the Mi-Go devices were Mythos Magic and even the process of erasing minds from a device pulled at my life force as I had soon found out. The devices were trickier than I had thought for nothing should have happened but it seemed the Mi-Go did not do anything the easy way. It was a lesson well worth noting and thanks to a very interesting set of gloves from Moonshower’s exoskeleton I was able to deactivate the remaining devices without the Mi-Devices trying to reach out and steal another layer of my skin. Colonel Porter had asked me to wait until we found able to rent a warehouse or workroom as he had called it but the matter had already been resolved and my mind was already moving back the situation involving Vadania.

Slick Rick had came up with a number of concerns regarding the forces of nature and if his ritual to bring her back to life would even work. It was then that I found he held a number of beliefs about his abilities that I neither shared or believed but it mattered if he believed it. Since the will of the practitioner was what really mattered when it came to all types of endeavors. I had already for the most part convinced the others even Vadania that I would do the deed and slay if necessary. It had only been Slick Ricks concern that it might not work that had made me consider other avenues. I remembered where we were on Emerald a world filled with science the likes of which the others I knew could hardly comprehend but which I had been studying every night. I figured if their life sciences had reached the level where they could clone entire races and create food that had never lived growing a new arm should be well within their abilities. I was not surprised when after discussing the matter with Porter and Moonshower that Moonshower knew someone who might be able to help who just so happened to live in West Providence another of his so called girlfriends it would seem.

We had arrived in a warehouse district within West Providence and I had to deal with two situations one had been when Colonel Porter had wanted to make a phone call to some of his friends which I had quickly squashed for I had reminded him that he was supposed to be missing and presumed dead. I had blended into the shadows and traveled with him as he had secured our temporary facility where he could set up his equipment for the primary reason I had wanted to travel there. For it seemed Porter needed to expand his equipment if he wanted to have any hope of deciphering the chatter of the Starlords. The clerk who had rented him the space noted his appearance but for the most part no flags were raised within his mind so we had moved on. Once we were set up within the concrete garage which had plenty of space twenty by thirty feet to be exact Slick Rick had formed the earth into a raised bed of sorts and sat down in lotus position and began to relax and think. I could tell from his demeanor that he was focusing on how he might help Vadania so I left him to his work. The second had been when Moonshower had let us know that he planned to walk to visit his friend Jenny to see if she could assist Vadania. I had asked him how far away she lived and he had said about a few blocks and so I had informed Slick Rick, Lucky Ron and Grace that I would create a telepathic bond between us which would last two hours so we could remain in contact. In truth I could have included Vadania but I had gone quickly bored with her incessant whining and moaning about her lost arm being a war wound.

The bond I had created was a spell that allowed open contact from either direction as opposed the link I normally maintained where I filtered the thoughts of the others through my own mind which was not really difficult but to be away from the depressing mind Vadania for awhile was a welcome pleasure. The streets had been deserted for it seemed that everyone in this town had jobs and I had informed Moonshower I would be of course watching his back and to run anything tricky by me first and I would assist him with anything I noticed as it occurred. As we had traveled we passed one of the largest outdoor park I had yet to see on Emerald we had arrived at a large gated three story building and a manservant answered the door and spoke to Moonshower and greeted him as Moon and told him it had been too long. The manservant had asked who he wanted to see and he had said the Mister Talbot a renowned Doctor is would seem was in a theater as was for the moment Jenny. He had said he would contact Jenny and then had instead made a call to her father instead. I was able to pick up from his mind that Jenny was in reality also a Doctor Talbot which I found quite interesting.

Jenny’s father the elder Doctor Talbot had greeted Moon with eager excitement and inquired if he was still in the procurement business. Moonshower had played along and soon the good Doctor had revealed that he was seeking a live Moonbeast for one of his experiments. He offered him eight large (18,000) for a Moonbeast alive preferable of recently dead. As a matter of fact he even asked if Moon needed any supplied while he thought about the offer. They spoke for a few moments and I was able to follow their conversation for while my studies and intellect had allowed me to become versed enough to answer almost all basic questions when it came to exacting or precise information I needed more to work with. So with a little assistance from Moonshower I realized he was acquiring extra ointments, stimulants and toxins which helped him to maintain his edge. Many of which I realized were not quite legal but I was not the law and anything that could aid the cause was alright with me. Jenny soon joined us wearing what I recognized as standard all which medical attire along with a cap and a facemask and shooed her father away seeming somewhat annoyed and while I was not able to read her mind her body language was another matter she was upset.

Of course I filled in Moonshower letting him know that I could tell she was mad about something he must have done in the past. I inquired how he had left and he told me one day he had just left due to her being a little more odd than he had thought. It seemed at first he had believe her a simple junior professor like himself and when he had found out about her father and their experiments he had decided to slip away. So I confirmed he did not really trust her Father but what about Jenny and he instantly had sparked up and said she was completely trustworthy. Now it made sense Jenny was the no doubt good but her father had gone off the deep end while Jenny had been developing feelings for him but never shared them with him. I let him know behind her stern demeanor she was still a woman with feelings and he should start by apologizing for leaving so suddenly but something had come up and he had to leave suddenly. He was surprised for he told me while she was smart and interesting he would never really believed she had feeling for anyone except her Father. He went with in and I could tell that she was happy that he had remembered he had just up and left and soon he was filling her in on the situation. He informed her that a friend of his had her arm severed by a magical sword and it had just withered up and fell off. She seemed fascinated and soon offered to help either in her home or even after I had mentions to Moon make a house call.

I conferred with the others back at the warehouse and while I had at first wanted to bring her to us I agreed that the less she knew the better. So I informed Moonshower to let Jenny know that he would return soon with his friend. She let us know when we returned to just have her manservant show them back to her theatre where she would be waiting. We returned and after a brief discussion everyone wanted to accompany Moonshower and I but first there was the matter of Vadania. Believe it or not she was refusing to have her arm restored and kept going on about it being a battle scar worthy of a warrior of Athena. So when Grace had argued she was acting more like a follower of Ares I almost could not contain my disgust. Vadania with her foolish actions and silly honor code would have been eaten alive by the followers of Ares. So I had held my tongue in respect to them for if I could help it I tried to stay out of arguments since I am a sore loser with a vengeful streak. In the end I told Grace that our Healer Vadania worshipped her as it was and to stop trying to be her friend and just order her to get her arm looked at and eventually healed. Which lead to Slick Rick staying behind with Porter and casting a invisibility circle and a zone of silence to allow the Grace and Lucky Ron to travel with us.

Since Colonel Porter had his equipment assembled I had asked him about any Starlord chatter and he had said so far they had remained silent. So I had asked him if he had any additional information about Doctor Talbot and his daughter Jenny. Interestingly enough he was able to inform us that the local school, hospital and Science Center had all been named after him and after some obscure experiment he had been banned from practicing medicine and was now known as a researcher. He had even included that the mansion where they resided was the oldest building in town. I had a good feeling about the situation but still something at the time had bothered me because as Slick Rick had thought about before so far thing had been going smoothly and on Emerald that was a rare commodity.

Later after we had left I would notice that Lucky Ron had left the bag of holding with Slick Rick who would investigate the bags contents before falling prey to a mind numbing stroke. We had arrived and been led back through the mansion to a courtyard in back and I swear it looked familiar but before I could place it Grace mentally spoke it reminded her of Nodens. When the doors to the theater opened I could see the structure was metal and stained glass and I noticed the inside not only resembled a Nodens temple but Jenny was now dressed as a High Priestess of Nodens. She looked at Vadania and said to her that she could indeed help her and to step forward. I had conferred with Moonshower and asked him if that was how he remembered her looking and he had said that she always looked like that which had rung a cord for that meant that she was no doubt one of the allies we could summon with the aid of the Horn of Nodens. I had tried to confer with Slick using the telepathic bond I had established and it failed as if Slick Rick had vanished. I told the others that something had happened to Slick Rick and I had to leave and we could return later. I had informed Moonshower that we needed to leave and he had informed Jenny and she had said that she would really prefer if he stayed since she had already prepared. So I asked Lucky Ron to come with me and I looked to Grace who said she would stay behind and Lucky Ron gave her his hat of disguise and she shimmered and looked like a college student. Feeling in the presence of a Nodens Priestess she would be safe Lucky Ron and I departed.

Meanwhile Jenny had performed a spell summoning a replica of the Death Knights shattered sword and restored Vadania’s arm. She told her that she would like to see her again in a month. The only downside she told them including Grace who had made her presence known was that she had a feeling that we had been discovered. I told them to hurry for as we had arrived I also told Colonel Porter to start packing his equipment up because we were leaving. On the way I had also cast an arcane sight spell and on our way to the warehouse it’s power had suddenly faded but not like it had been drained but somehow negated. I had crossed the room to Slick Rick and knelt down to him and I was stunned to find that he seemed to be in a stunned state. I studied him and brought all of my intellect to bear first searching the area and I found the Bag of Holding which I picked up and I found that there was also a strange glowing device about the size of an acorn I did not touch it and at first I thought it had done something to him. While I waited for the others I conferred with Porter asking what had happened he told me that on moment Slick Rick seemed fine and another moment he seemed to just fade out. I called up my knowledge of medicine both Hyborian and Emeraldian and I was able to decipher that what had happened to him was not magical but natural and nothing but time would heal him for none of my magics were strong enough. I conferred with Vadania as they had returned and she was of no help for as a Favored Soul her abilities were limited. So I turned my attention back to the black piece of technology.

Professor Moonshower told me that from what he could tell the device was only a energy storage device and said he felt it would be safer in the bag of holding. For the moment I had trusted him so I let him place it back in the bag for the moment. Colonel Porter had said it would take him five minutes delicate equipment he had said and Lucky Ron and I had asked if he could speed it up. I had thought to Moonshower speed him up and he told me they would be ready in two to three minutes. Grace told me that she had just tried magic and it had failed as well and I let her know that my telepathic abilities were somehow hitting white noise in our immediate area and I had thought Moonshower speed him up. Within moments we were on our way and Colonel Porter had said where to and I thought about are we anywhere near a forest and he told me there was Coda so I told him to step on it. We drove a few blocks and the white noise faded and I realized that while we might still be being tracked I needed to get Slick Rick somewhere where he could recover where we could have an advantage and a forest was the perfect place for both Slick Rick, Grace and myself.

We arrived in Coda and were heading toward the forest and it was amazing one moment there was road and the next we were just in compete wilderness. I felt instantly better and I could see that the environment was having a similar effect on both Slick Rick and Grace. So alright I love any urban civilization with its décor and ambiance but there is truly no way to describe how alive and invigorated I become within a real natural wilderness environment. I was not alone Grace turned herself invisible and I notice her clothes were left behind as she entered the forest no doubt the forest had called to her Nymph blood. I had confirmed with Porter and Moonshower that besides people and the reputed wild Moonbeast the area as far as they knew was safe. Slick Rick who still seemed worse for wear managed to draw enough strength and transform into a tree and let us know he would rejoin us at dawn. I asked the others to give me a few moments to attune to the land as I squatted and communed with nature.

Within ten minutes I had communed with the Forest of Coda seeking knowledge of its people, woodland inhabitants as well as the ground and terrain. The feeling was exhilarating and I found a number of the Fey twenty five to be living peacefully among them a Dryad. I was able to determine that there were about five thousand humanoid residents which included the Moonbeasts. I was even able to determine the areas that had become civilized and I was happy that we had picked a place which seemed to be secluded. Our good fortune continued as I became acquainted with a pixie while Grace became quite close with the Dryad both Fey who had arrived her some days ago after the disaster with Stone of Tongues. I was glad to see they were alright and between Grace and myself we were able to determine the nearby populace mostly stayed away from the area where we resided and even left out food for the local Moonbeast population. It sadly even seemed that the people spent most of their so drugged that a nude Dryad walking out of the forest barely even registered as an odd occurrence. So much the better I thought buy before I rested I needed one more thing that I had hoped Lucky Ron would have helped with I could never have been more wrong.

I approached Lucky Ron and as I had already stripped in order to restore his magical tattoos I felt it would be the best time to let him know of my needs. I came clean about the tantric arts and explained how the rush attained from physical contact during sexual bliss allowed me to expand my mind which in turn boosted my intellect and therefore my magical power. I had hoped as a friend and a man who I thought would want to see me at my best would have understood and spared me and additional twenty minutes of his time. Oddly he refused me telling me it was against his morals. I tried to explain how I truly needed his help and he seemed to believe that I should live without it. He even had the grandeur to tell me if we were in danger and the spells I would lose would save us then he would be willing to help me. I had looked at him trying not to be angry as he was breaking my heart and tearing our friendship apart and made one last appeal but I was denied. If he had wanted me to beg then he had the wrong woman and as I rose I had smiled at him for while he was no longer my friend he was still a valued Weapon.

I had considered if Moonshower or Porter would serve as worthy replacements but had I changed my mind for I had become angry my mind wanting to lash out and destroy something. I realized then that I had made a mistake in trying to be friends with Dragonfirre to try to treat them like equals. They each had their gifts in which they excelled nothing could take that away from them but to have allowed them to get close enough to me to hurt me had been a mistake. I realized it I was going to try and embrace the Light then I could no longer tolerate them as friends instead I would allow them to perform their duties as they were required. They would become Grace the Light, Slick Rick the Confessor, Vadania the Healer and Lucky Ron the Weapon and in that way they would serve their purpose. I would keep my own council and tell them what they needed to know in order for our mission to succeed. With friends like them who needed enemies forgive me Confessor or perhaps I should say when I come to you to be confessed.

I sought out Grace and within her light I was able to find the comfort and love that I had needed to calm my soul and to renew my mind. I had not changed my mind and I even realized my manner around them would need to change for I realized in trying to be honest and friendly I was no doubt in reality alienating them with my intellect. As a matter of fact when I thought back on it I had been literally been told as much by the Weapon, Grace, and Confessor which meant no doubt the Healer had thought so as well. So enough with honesty I would instead substitute my talents as an artist and lay out the canvas that they could see and follow if they wished. I had kept watch the rest of the night with the aid of my shadow servant hoard and by morning I was ready to begin anew which was of course when Emerald decided to make my morning a little more interesting.

Near I had spotted a Moonbeast or at least I had thought it was a Moonbeast circling the camp. As it had moved closer and reached one hundred feet I had not picked up a mind and it was then that I realized in did not even move like a Moonbeast. When it was within sixty feet I made sure everyone was awake except Slick Rick who I knew would awake at dawn and my deduction was confirmed it was not alive. So I called out to it and exclaimed “Well done but a Moonbeast you are not so perhaps you might want go ahead and get on with it.”. I had looked like big and while slumped over Moonbeast but upon hearing my words it stood erect and spoke “Hello I am represent Chance Fortune and if you had over the equipment you have acquired from my employer and you will live. It continued “ We are honorable and I will give you within a day or so to decide and if you should chose fight then I advise you to make peace with you Gods.”. With that the image had faded and the sun rose and a soon as the light touch his braches my Confessor Slick Rick rejoined us fully restored.

My servants had already collected a fallen tree which I shaped and filled with fresh water I had created and along with the six goodberries which would be as filling a full meal I was prepared to discuss our next move with Dragonfirre and our allies Porter and Moonshower. Lucky Ron being the Weapon that he is had asked me to repeat the message from or visitor and basically he laughed it off. I was not bound to agree with him but first I had made sure that my Confessor Slick Rick was alright and he told me how he had been trying to combine drudical rituals that were not meant to be combined in order to restore Vadania’s arm and the stress had been beyond what he had been able to bear. I had thanked him for trying asked him what he knew of the black energy crystal he had found. He informed me that before he had succumb to the power of the ritual he had planned to summon an Earth Elemental to get rid of if which confirmed my suspicion that Chance Fortune might be using it to track us. I had asked how long it would take to check the Duck and Moonshower and Porter confirmed it might take hours if something had been placed inside or on it. So I was left with a quandary leave the duck and head for the ocean where I was sure we would have an advantage or move into Providence and pit our possible enemy the Stolen Eye Wizard against Chance Fortune.

In the meantime I figured it was a good time to check in on my Starlord Thrall and see what he was up to. I extended my senses and allowed his awareness to dwell within my mind and what I found was compelling, fortunate and intriguing. For it seemed that he had managed after the crash of their ship to be reassigned to the Central City Starlord base within the Ves Church complex. If that was not impressive enough he had been assigned after he former Commander’s ship had crashed to a Commander whose entire job it had seemed was to hire a mercenary to come after us. It seemed the alien Chance Fortune had cost the Commander’s entire budget and he was very well equipped. For it seemed that it would have been standard procedure to have sent a ship to pick him up but he had not required one. It even seemed that he had already arrived and was waiting for more of his back up to arrive. My Thrall was so far proving to be just an entire wealth of information and while I still believe the Starlords needed to all die I will admit I might just keep my Thrall Starlord Jarl around and perhaps even find him a mate to keep him company.

I had filled in the others on what I had found from my Starlord Thrall as a courtesy for I felt they needed to know. While they had begun their daily rituals eating, drinking and preparing themselves for the day. It was a bright new day indeed our twenty third on Emerald and we had many directions in which we could turn. I even had a few secret weapons I was ready to employ since it seemed the Starlords wanted hunt us and wanted to play rough. I had not shared these secret plans with the others before but soon might very well be the time. I no longer considered Dragonfirre friends and I now saw them for what they were a Lucky Ron Weapon of Destruction, Slick Rick a Vengeful Father Confessor, Vadania a Healer of Flesh and Bone and Grace a Shining Light of Redemption. My dreams of having friends had been shattered and I realized it was time I put behind friendship and became who I was meant to be as well a Benevolent Bender of Wills and Minds. Let the Dreaming God’s minions beware because it was now officially on for it was time to make our dreams their reality.

Chapter Forty Three : Managing The Release Of Information or New Allies and Avenues

2010-06-01T00:54:00.002-05:00

Well my delightful and of course stunning cousin Symerria who had chosen the wonderful new alias Grace had faded from our presence along with her familiar or companion take you pick Scrounger. This of course left us with an even greater decrease in efficiency since Clean Eugene as well as Mickey the Torch had since faded and had yet to return. This left me with Slick Rick, Lucky Ron, Vadania and myself to round out Dragonfirre and our resurrected Organization Agents and our Berker Island Concierge. Now don’t get me wrong with our Organization Agents Swami Donnie, Gizmo Dent, Mac Daddy and Starving Marvin having been brought back to life we still had a few that still remained deceased. Alas Diamond Jim, Hawkeye Allen and Ace had still remained deceased. For the record I was not counting out our BIC Professor Moonshower who had performed quite admirably but still we were in a weakened state. Of course you might wonder did I really need my comrades well I will state again they are my lovers, allies, companions in other word family and I did need them for support. For while I had been born and raised for this mission to allow my ego to let me believe I could do it alone while tempting was not logical. Enough said about that let us get on with this entry of the Trials and Tribulations. Perhaps one other small note believe it or not with all that has happened since we first arrived on Emerald from our former home Hyboria only twenty one (21d) days had actually passed for us.

Our friends of the Organization which I was too soon learn was in reality a faction of Red Menace had been thankful to be raised but still just a little out of it. Swami Donnie and Lucky Ron had both agreed that staying would not be the wisest choice so we had departed for Berker Island. It was after we had arrived and met with a former Ves Colonel named Porter who it seemed had a knack for all things electronic and agreed to join us as he had realized that our enemies were indeed not only his but all of Emeralds the we found his value. We sadly lost our Organization Agents as Maximo Doodah it seemed would have soon had the heat turned up on him as we had found out from Colonel Porter he was in reality the head of a Red Menace Faction. So it came to pass that after Vadania had raised the last of the Organization Agents from the dead we bid adieu to our associates and once again departed with Professor Moonshower Dent and Colonel Porter on a twofold mission. It seemed the Starlords were not as efficient as I had thought and Colonel Porter was aware of where we could stage a train heist to recover the information gained from the Organization Agents before it could be shall we say be translated. He seemed to also be aware that the Stolen Eye Wizard wanted to speak with us but that had to wait for while we learned that the Starlords were hiring Bounty Hunters who would need the information they had gained we had no time to lose. So with Colonel Porters information gathering abilities laid siege to the train bearing the precious cargo we sought and who should we find but our old friend the new and improved Death Knight who we had formerly seen in the employ of Queen B. I was of course not worried but as they say never a dull moment on Emerald as you shall see.

I was considering casting a guards and wards spell but the thought quickly left my mind for I realized that we needed to make it to our cars and head out of our makeshift hideout. Swami Donnie and the others were pulling themselves together along with the aid of the beautiful healing hands of Vadania and I realized would be soon ready to move. I had noticed that while Vadania had been casting the raise dead spell while they had worked there seemed to be some kind of unexplained interference. As if something was trying to prevent her from bringing them back to life. Another thing only Gizmo Dent seemed to really get along with Professor Moonshower who so far had seemed alright to me for a young kid of around nineteen years. I was able to deduce that something was wrong and that Swami Donnie seemed to feel that while they were thankful to be brought back to life they had seemed deeply concerned that we had involved Maximo Doodah.

Swami Donnie had recovered enough to determine that the area was indeed getting hot and advised that we be on our way. I had deduced about as much but I also knew they would be delayed for awhile by the strange bodies left behind by the Stolen Eye Wizard and dealing with the panicked students. Swami Donnie had even been able to find out that they seemed to be also concerned about an unexploded law rocket shell. So we made our way to the cars and began our journey back to Berker Island. Swami Donnie had really seemed shaken by the presence of Professor Moonshower who I had taken to calling Moonshower and seemed to consider dangerous sort of like a explosive with a short fuse. Only Gizmo Dent seemed to be able to even keep an even banter with him and I had the feeling that our Organization Agents might just very well be in trouble with their Boss. While it’s true I looked forward to meeting the Stolen Eye Wizard I had to agree with Lucky Ron that one objective at a time was perhaps preferable so I had relaxed while we made the journey back to Berker Island.

Did I really mean relax or did I in reality mean allow my mind to wander over the resolutions I had composed in a letter to my compatriots of Dragonfirre. My final draft was finally completed and while I realized things would change I wanted everything on paper just in case something were to happen to me. Not that I really felt that I would be killed or anything actually quite the opposite. For I had come to realize the folly of the Starlords who no doubt believed they held the upper hand with the Dreaming God. I could actually see how if I was not careful I could be lead down the same path if the Dreaming God were to offer me a deal that I might feel I could maneuver to my own advantage. I hated to admit but I had made a vow to Symerria that I would be better and while I might not exactly embrace the light as she did I would embrace the light within me and abandon my evil magics. As we had arrived at the Berker Island Keep or Jail I realized that we would need a few hours to pass in order for Vadania to complete her task and then a good night to be completely revitalized. Our next moves I knew would be important but I figured it best to gain as much information as we could before were off on our quest once again.

We were greeted at the gates of the Keep upon our arrival and escorted to a suite. Meanwhile our awake Organization Agents were led to an infirmary of sorts where they were to be examined and it seemed contained. Of course the bodies of the four remaining Organization Agents we keep with us and I requested and received four gurneys to transport the bodies of Ace, Hawkeye Allen, Diamond Jim and Smiling Ed who it seemed must have reappeared on board the Starlord vessel and shared their fate. I knew that Vadania would need at least four hours in order to restore her energies so that she restore them to life. As we had started to settle I had taken the time to discuss with her the concerns I had about her actions. I figured now would be the best time to talk with her as her Mistress my cousin Symerria had vanished and for the moment her eyes had lost the glow that they had been showing of late in her presence.

I had started our conversation by thanking Symerria for raising our friends and letting her know what I had witnessed during the time she had cast the spells to raise them. I of course even followed up by telling her that while I was sure we would continue to disagree on philosophical levels that I truly wanted her to know that I wanted to be friends. She of course had responded that she had never had any friends and I had replied that I understood her situation and that I wanted her to know that regardless of her opinions we could be friends and she was a welcome addition to Dragonfirre. So perhaps a little thick on my part I understood and I even realized that she was far from being a liberated woman regardless of how attractive she was. It was even obvious that while I had in the past learned many social graces she either had not our was uncomfortable using them. Now did I really like her well sure on a purely physical level but truly she was far beneath me and would have never survived the Unseelie Court and would have been a laughing stock among the Seelie Court. Now my Mothers new Summer Fey Court or my brothers Winter Fey Court I knew would not be much better and I felt truly sorry for her. Then was it pity for someone who had been blessed by the Gods since birth but who had grown into such a opinionated and withdrawn woman perhaps it was a little of both.

Once we were settled in a man dressed differently from many of mobsters and actually dressed in a crisp suit and tie came to visit us. His name turned out to Colonel Porter and it seemed he had been enjoying the hospitality of Maximo Doodah year and a half. He informed us that Maximo Doodah had sent him to us and also wanted him to explain a few things. To move things along let’s just say the good Colonel seemed almost too good to be true and to be honest I would bet on it that he was bionic. For while it was true that each night I continued to study the many books I had acquired of Emerald and it’s sciences which had key areas that had been pointed out by Gizmo I had come to soon realize that their science was far behind was actually in use. The Colonel informed us that in reality our benefactor was in actuality one of the upper ranking members of the you guessed it Red Menace. On to the important information he was aware that that Starlords had actually removed the brains of our Organization Agents and used a Mi-Go device to scan and copy the information in their brains. It seemed they needed to transport the copies to a friendly Mi-Go who could read the stored memories and they were already in transit. Now of course the good part was that he knew exactly where we could stage an assault to acquire the Mi-Go crystal before they reached their destination. In addition he let us know that he was aware of Hyboria Island and even that the Stolen Eye Wizard wished to meet with us. I was able to quickly deduce now why Swami Donnie and the others had seemed so uneasy. For while they might have been able to operate independently now that the Big Boss was aware of their operations he might be obligated to report what he knew to shall we say upper management. Colonel Porter even let us know that he was in a position to offer us the hospitality of Maximo or leave with us when we chose to depart. I will make note of the kicker since as far as the Starlords were concerned he was public enemy number one well of course behind Dragonfirre who it seemed now had caused the Starlords to begin recruiting Bounty Hunters to hunt us down. Now you might wonder why Colonel Porter was so popular well it seemed he was not only aware of their plans but could continue to do so and even had plans to overthrow them once he acquired an army of course. So to be nice he had warned us and then we bid him adieu and let him know we would seek him out after the remaining Organization Agents were brought back to life and after we had spoken with Maximo Doodah.

I feel it’s important to mention a few interesting details by the way. It should be noted that when Swami Donnie had first come too he had exclaimed “By the Great Ves!”. Of course Vadania had tried to relate to him what had really happened but she seemed out of her depth. So I had moved in and reminded Swami Donnie that he had in reality been restored by the power of the Ancient Gods of his Ancestors. Since of course you had to make sure that the legends of the Ancient Gods returned. I had noticed rings around the skulls of Swami Donnie and the others and had thought that is had been some kind of torture when in reality their brains had been scooped out and returned. Now just for the record there are some that have called some of my actions borderline even perhaps evil and alright perhaps I have killed a few helpless enemies in my life but the Starlords really gave a new definition to the phrase coldly efficient. It’s really too bad they had to all go since I am pretty sure if we had met before this whole silly mess had started I could have worked something out. Slick Rick I had noticed was using his formidable healing skills to stitch up the wounds around the heads of the other Agents. I had to admit quite an impressive job and it’s not like I did not have considerable healing skill myself but it did show me that while Slick Rick had said he didn’t care for the people of Hyboria I was glad to see that perhaps his heart was softening for its descendents.

After a brief discussion where I was glad to see the other members of Dragonfirre were not inclined to take have a Red Menace Section Head as our benefactor we decided to visit him and break the news to him. We were escorted to a smaller warded chamber that was actually quite impressive. Not only was it a chamber lined with mithral and lead but it also had arcane and mythos magic wards. In other words we were in a chamber that Maximo Doodah used when he wanted the greatest of secrecy. He laid out his situation and how he had come to serve the Red Menace as the head of its supply division. In other words any equipment the Red Menace any mundane or technological equipment the Red Menace used had its origins within his operation. It also seemed that while he understood our cause he for the moment was powerless to offer us long term assistance. Which was why had had been inclined to offer us the assistance of Colonel Porter whom he had been glad to know was not insane. The sad part was that there were a other members Red Menace Factions who had different goals and philosophies to whom he had to answer. Sort of reminded me of the situation with Swami Donnie who it seemed to be free to operation on his own until operations became known to Maximo Doodah. It seemed he answered to Evero a high ranking Seer of the Red Menace who it seemed once he was aware of our presence her would no doubt be on his way to intercept and perhaps even try to take us into Red Menace custody. To make a long story short this meant if Maximo Doodah valued his life he would turn us over or face the consequences. So it seemed that we would indeed be on our way I of course asked him the minimum time before he believed Evero might make an appearance and he had said one day which pretty much settled the issue.

Slick Rick seemed to really like the device in the chamber which we had detected that was enhancing the wards in the room and even offered to buy it but it seemed it had been a gift of Evero and Maximo Doodah was not in a position to sell it. Before we concluded our little meeting I had of course let Maximo Doodah know that I understood his position and let him know that when all the dust had cleared Dragonfirre would not forget its allies and friends. I had even inquired about information on the Red Menace Section Heads and his relationship to them as well as their rank. The highest who it seemed was a former friend was a human named Doctor Death who it seemed served the purpose of a chief executive officer. Next up was the supposed magical construct known as the Red Menace who it seemed was a depository of knowledge and no doubt a powerhouse with which Maximo Doodah had little influence. Then there was the Thousand Eye Wizard of the Red Menace who was overlord of the Red Kings who had it seemed his own agenda of which Maximo Doodah was not a part. Last but not least was the Seer Evero who it seemed had placed Maximo Doodah in charge of Berker Island some years back who it seemed was also aware of the arrival of Hyboria Island. Fortunately it seemed he had made the prediction but he had been able to narrow down exactly when it would happen. Which was something as it meant he might knowledge of the future it was not perfect.

Lucky Ron had guessed correct for he had inquired if I was trying to figure out which of his superiors I was planning to take out. I of course had changed tack and conveyed that in reality I was only trying to find out if we encountered any of them in the future if dropping Maximo Doodah’s name might prevent a confrontation. So alright just a fancy way to say that Lucky Ron had been correct but my smooth delivery and confidence covered my true intent. For the record I am not exactly bloodthirsty or anything just vengeful and truth be told if I could prevent destroying the Red Menace so much the better for after as Maximo Doodah had confirmed they had been instrumental in arming the Hub against their war with the Ves. Ironically Slick Rick had asked about where we might find another magical shielding device and he told us that Evero had made one for Modern Nero and even the Stolen Eye Wizard which of course were individuals on our Lightning Gun list. Sadly it seemed that knowing who we now were Maximo Doodah could no longer freely offer us the services of or Swami Donnie or any of his men and if any of them wished to join us on their own then he would have to cut them off. Dragonfirre and I had discussed them and we had decided to give them a choice but from the looks of things I had a feeling they had now become too hot to travel with us.

Next on our agenda was to visit Colonel Porter and let him know we would be leaving in the morning. Lucky Ron had seemed to be overly concerned about how the Colonel was obtaining his information. I had revealed that I felt it could be magical ,technological or he might just be well connected. I had not yet narrowed it down and guessing without enough facts at the time was useless which was of course why we had made our way to his lab. It looked like a scientist’s dream center with screens all around each showing a different area of Emerald and multiple keyboards as well as printouts that the Colonel Porter who had since changed into a more liberal working outfit and seemed completely at home. I stared in with letting him know that he would be leaving with us in the morning and I also asked how he gained his information. He had replied very well and revealed that his information came from what was transmitted by anyone over the airwaves. In other words he informed us that if it was transmitted with technology then it was his bitch. I had asked him if he had any additional information about the location of the Mi-Go crystal. He informed us they that had been moved to Breadbasket for the night and would be scheduled to move out in the following afternoon by train. I inquired about security and he let us know that there were not specific details but it seemed that from their communications they had it covered. So be it I figured as long as it was not the Bounty Hunters then I realized it would have to be someone local which eased my mind.

We had departed Colonel Porter’s Lab and went to visit Swami Donnie and the others and it seemed my deductions had been correct. Swami Donnie who still wanted to help us let us know that they could not risk leaving until the heat died down which might mean at least two weeks. It saddened me for a moment to realize that we would have to leave them behind but then again in the big picture two weeks was a short time really. I had asked if Gizmo Dent if there were any other of their operatives who he might know who might be able to assist us and he had volunteered that his nephew Professor Moonshower was somehow a free agent. Now while it will it admit that fact really seemed to rub Swami Donnie and Starving Marvin the wrong way it seemed the kid was gifted and somehow had more freedom then Swami Donnie of any member of his gang. Gizmo Dent let me know telepathically to ask him to come with us for he was pretty sure he would love the chance to get away from here and his life. I let Swami Donnie know that we were leaving since it seemed that in short order Evero was due to show up. Swami Donnie had laughed and said he knew Evero’s men on the island and they were drunk and would not likely even file a report for days which made me laugh. Lucky Ron asked them to keep in touch and I bid them good night showing none of the sadness within my heart and we returned to our suite.

Vadania soon woke up and began the ritual castings of her prayers to restore the lives of our last fallen Organization Agents. After they were stabilized and strengthened by the healing touch of Vadania they were led away to the infirmary. Vadania it seemed had noticed the work done on them by Slick Rick and had thanked him for his assistance. At which point Slick Rick had literally bit her head off reminding her that she was not the only healer in our group and that he and I quote “I did nothing to help you.”. I had eased the situation by not taking sides and only reminding Slick Rick that Vadania was trying to be considerate and respectful of his gifts and his help. He had nodded to her in understanding of her attempt and I felt perhaps we were one step closer to reaching a happy medium. I had taken the time to confer with Vadania and make sure she was capable of shielding us with a prayer which was also a spell called protection from evil. I would last minutes but it would increase our resistance against all evil as well as protect our minds from control while it lasted. Thankfully she was knew the prayer and I let her know it battle if every we had time to please protect the others and herself otherwise we might fall prey to control in the future. She had nodded and seemed to understand and even Slick Rick I could tell was thankful that I was thinking ahead. I knew it would be a long night I also knew I was going to need to satisfy my tantric needs with a real person. All of the OA’s were pretty much out of it and I was not quite in the mood to start off with either the Professor Moonshower Dent or Colonel Porter who I had known each for less than a day. I realized I had somewhat of a dilemma before the next morning by body required physical sexual contact. I also needed to restore my magical tattoos as well as Lucky Ron’s and as I always did that in the nude anyway I would have to find a way to impress to him that I truly needed him otherwise the next day when we had to deal with the Starlords protective detail I would not be at my intellectual or magical best.

Lucky Ron was playing of course hard to get and it’s not like I could not understand why what with the vision of Symerria no doubt still on everyone’s mind including my own. Now don’t get me wrong it’s not like I didn’t find Lucky Ron attractive or worthy to serve my needs. It really had more to do with idealistic differences and therefore I had realized that with him as with many things all of my beguiling tricks would be for naught unless I bound him magically to my will by dominating him. So while I had done so in the past my motives had been pure now they were only self serving which I knew could only lead down the path of evil and after all Lucky Ron was my friend. I had hoped then as a friend he would help me but alas I was mistaken. After I of course naked had placed the tattoos of power upon his body he had been unwilling to assist me. Thanks to Angelica my natural Fey sexual urges were normally sated but of course that did not mean I did not enjoy the pleasures of the flesh far from it. I actually reveled in it So when Lucky Ron had said he was tired and perhaps in the morning I had as a friend respected is wishes and let him sleep. Which meant of course since if I was in my right mind I did not just sleep with anybody I resolved myself to being less effective the next day.
Then next morning we were prepared and met with Professor Moonshower in the mess hall and found that he had already recruited Professor Moonshower. I was really liking him more by the moment and as we discussed the travel arrangements and his marvelous Duck which was not only submersible but boosted weapons as well as increased speed we only had one more thing I needed. I mean while no one had said anything about it I had remembered what Maximo Doodah had said about him being the Red Menace supplier which meant weapons of course. So with the aid of Professor Moonshower and Professor Moonshower who was indeed excited to be getting off of Berker Island we headed to the store house. I of course made sure that my special ammunition reloads could be duplicated by Professor Moonshower and I put Gizmo Dent to work completing a few some extra rounds. I also saw to outfitting everyone else including myself with a newly designed Mob One auto pistol and had two assigned to everyone present and acquired two for every mission member of Dragonfirre which I counted as ten. I saw to it that everyone received two extra clips of ten (#10) for each weapon as well as securing ten bullet boxes of fifty bullets (#50) each. I did not stop there I also acquired forty plasma (#40) grenades and dispatched four to everyone present and kept the remaining twelve (#12) to myself for the time being. Finally we had acquired two singularity launchers (#2) which were of course single shot. It seemed that both Colonel Porter and Professor Moonshower had their own and of course Lucky Ron wanted on and oddly so did Slick Rick. I had surprised me for with the magic at my command I was by far the best shot and I had even said as much. Slick Rick rightfully set the record straight and I corrected with a single shot weapon I would have the best chance but in a prolonged battle he and Lucky Ron by far exceeded my skill. His temper which had flared for a moment had calmed when I had admitted my mistake and once again I was thankful that I had put my trust in him to watch over my spiritual path. I did not fight the issue of the singularity launcher and put my trust in the fact that his insight superior insight must have led him to feel he needed to carry the weapon and let it go. So after confirming that Colonel Porter had a miniature kit to use I reminded him to keep me in the loop with the information he gained for he had shared the only reason he had needed the bigger lab and the printouts was that he acquired far more information then he could sometimes process. We then made our way to his standard issue I was to find out De’Moulay Duck and we were on our way.

We made our way to Breadbasket and I notice that Professor Moonshower seemed to be doing the driving. I of course made a determined effort telepathically with both Professor Moonshower and Colonel Porter to make sure I was aware of how every device on the De’Moulay vessel worked just in case. There was even a cool hatch air sealed hatch to enable for stealth operations which I really liked. So only an hour of air supply but with the magics at Slick Ricks and my command we could deal with that situation if it came up. Once we arrived we set up in a position near a farmhouse in order to ambush the train which would be loaded with the Starlords Mi-Go cargo. Colonel Porter thought we were planning to sneak aboard the two car train and them ambush the Starlords at which point we had let him know our plan was actually to let them make the switch and then transfer the cargo to the train and then ambush the train. Also with our plan we were in a position to see the train as it passed and wait for it to return and guess who Slick Rick and I spotted riding inside the train. Our old friend the Undead Death Knight servant of Queen B and it seemed mercenary for hire. Which told me we were indeed going to be in for a fight but we at least had the advantage of knowing who we were dealing with which gave us time to prepare.

So we had set up and Slick Rick was prepared to cast a wall of sand which would stop the train. Meanwhile Vadania had cast a status spell to allow her to monitor the needs of Slick Rick, Professor Moonshower and Colonel Porter. I had given everyone of Dragonfirre a barkskin spell to enhance their natural resistance and was ready to cast a haste spell when it was needed. Vadania against my advice had cast a prayer that doubled her size and to me made her look like the most dangerous target but it was her life. She had with a reminder from me also cast protection from evil on the others while I did the same for myself. On her own she had even aligned our ammunition with a good aspect which I hoped would help against the Death Knight’s supernatural resistance. Oddly Colonel Porter had told us the train would be early as it had barely even slowed down as it had entered Breadbasket and was already on its way back. I wracked my mind trying to find out a solution trying to deduce if it a trap or something else and it had clicked into place. The Death Knight had a bag of holding which he could have use to enable a fast transfer. I relayed my thoughts to the others and we waited and within a few moments it was on. Slick Rick was able to knock the train off the tracks with ease as I had hasted everyone with my magic and the Death Knight had flown out of the falling car casting his aura of fear upon us. Vadania took that moment to begin the attack by firing her Death Dealer at the Death Knight she fired three times but the volley that struck inflicted a grievous wound and she had drawn the ire of the Black Knight. I could see her floating a few feet in the air with the aid of an air walk spell and to be honest I had done the same yet I had seen no need to take to the air I just wanted to keep my options open since I knew many of my spells would be useless against the undead so I had been keeping my options open. Well the Death Knight flew to her around twelve feet off the ground and struck down upon Vadania she evaded two of his strikes but the third was indeed a telling blow. For not only was she almost cut in half by I could see she had been poisoned and the poison withered her arm which shriveled and fell to the ground. Lucky Ron had fired his wrist Rail Gun and Slick Rick had began to ritualistic natural magics on himself I had assumed to prepare for battle. As I had witnessed the horrific poison bring a hideous deformity upon Vadania I realized I had to protect the others. I summoned my Fey Unicorns who appeared one by me another by Slick Rick and the third by Lucky Ron and I bid them to use the power of their horns to bestow their blessing which would render us immune to poison. I then raised Widow Maker and using my Wand of True Strike fired a telling blow upon the it would not seem new and improved Death Knight. In other words as I saw Vadania succumbing to the fear I realized it was indeed on and was time for Dragonfirre light some fires and retire the Death Knight once and for all.

Now you might think I was worried about Vadania well honestly not really I had a plan to use my Rail Gun to put her down which would give Slick Rick the chance to form her a new body via a variant reincarnation. So alright Lucky Ron and Slick Rick did not really love the idea but the thought of leaving her with only one arm was which would leave her deformed and rob her of much of her beauty was something I would find hard to live with. I was not worried but I did realize that our operation would be going a lot smoother with the aid of Clean Eugene, Symerria or Mickey the Torch but I was prepared to make due. The poison dripping sword and the wings the Death Knight had acquired were nice additions to his arsenal but I had learned a few new tricks as well. I deserved to give the Death Knight the chance to surrender and withdraw after all I hoped to recruit Queen B in the future so time would tell. Slick Rick had already slammed the Death Knight to the ground with a wind funnel which meant our battle could be over sooner than I had anticipated. I said a quick prayer to Aphrodite that Vadania would be able to pull herself out of the conflict darn her stubbornness I had thought. For I realized without the aid of someone else able to slow down the Death Knight it would be up to me supply additional firepower. Well time would surely tell and while I at the time had not put much faith in Professor Moonshower or Colonel Porter they were my wild cards and if Lucky Ron’s luck did not run out I felt confident between him and Slick Rick the Death Knight was going down. I of course was not worried for myself only for Vadania whose self sacrifice or foolishness take you pick would lead her to her death. I hoped for the love of Aphrodite it would not be so but I had never seen someone who claimed to emulate Athena so eager to rush into combat before they have observed their opponent. There was a saying that Athena never lost a battle because she never entered one without being prepared to win. For the life of me I could not find the logic to the tactics of Vadania. I just hoped she lived long enough for me to figure that mystery out. We would have to wait and see if Dragonfirre helped show her the way for Symerria’s sake who I know loved her I had hope otherwise she would just have to order Vadania to obey her.

Chapter Forty Two : Storming the Gates of the Stolen Eye Wizard or Passion Before Duty

2010-05-26T23:41:00.001-05:00

While I will be moving forward in a moment with latest entry of my tale I will let you know in advance that I had a few things to get off my beautiful chest first. But before that a brief summary of our most recent sightseeing trip on the world called Emerald.

On to the business at hand this had most recently involved the base of the Stolen Eye Wizard. My compatriots known as Dragonfirre well with the exception of Mickey the Torch and Clean Eugene who had once again faded stood with me as we had stood within the parking lot in front of the University Park Science Building Two. It seemed an arcane eye had spotted us and within moments summoned creatures Servitors, Flying Polyps and Dimensional Hounds who had suddenly arrived to make our day a little more interesting. While I of course remained calm the battle that was to come was not without its excitement with Vadania and Symerria almost dying several times each. Not to worry of course as always I had a plan and Dragonfirre did not disappoint. It took us less than a minute but we with a moderate amount of effort beat back the Stolen Eye Wizards guardians breach his stronghold and liberate the bodies of our slain Organization comrades. Of course there was a message from the Stolen Eye Wizard who wanted to meet us and while it seemed could have done worse to our companions he had held off. It seemed the Starlords were already trying to make use of their newly gained intelligence and had tried to make the Stolen Eye Wizard our enemy. In the end we had decided to withdraw to our temporary base and allow Vadania the time to bring our lost Agents back to life. Don’t get me wrong it might have looked simple but as I shall reveal things are not always how they seem as after all Glamour Is Free try not to forget it.

Alright I will admit that perhaps during my last entry I may have come off as a hopeless romantic when in reality nothing could be further than the truth. All I can say is that I must have been suffering from a light case of Fey Dementia. Now you might have been wondering as to the cause and you might have heard of the tales of the Fey abducting mortals from time to time to use as plaything. Trust me those captives losing their minds from the joy and the pleasure of the experience is real. Well if not it’s not really just a myth it really happens from time to time and let me just say while I was not still swooning after my sexual encounter with Symerria it had been really two long since I had been able to experience the love of the Fey. Let’s just say it was like a drug that I had never even knew that I had missed. It had suddenly made sense to me now why my Mother in the past had always surrounded be with compatible Fey lovers. For I realized with the fix I had been receiving on a constant basis I had never really realized that it was something that I missed. I had always just believed that my urges were a natural part of being Fey and while that may still be true I now realized that when someone truly understood how to sexually work all of my Fey pleasure centers it produced a chemical similar to dopamine that lulled me into a somewhat submissive and relaxed state.

Now of course once adrenalin had started to flow into my system I suddenly shook off the pleasurable feelings and my mind slowed the world around me down and I suddenly realized what had happened to me. Alright I will still admit that I have become close with my Dragonfirre companions and perhaps even closer with a number of them. For the most part in my mind not a bad thing after all a little pleasure here and there is good for the soul and a worthwhile reward after a task well done or even an abysmal failure take your pick. But let’s be honest was I really in love with every member of Dragonfirre not really so did I really need to become all obsessed for no apparent reason of course not. I guess did that mean that I planned to go on a blood thirsty massacre of the Starlord’s the first chance I got well of course I did. If figured at the time perhaps even sooner than later depending on if I could manage to get my hands on enough explosives to blow up both of their spaceports and any ships that might be in the hangers to Hades.

Well Mickey the Torch who had conveniently vanished had moments before walked into the Science Center Two and no doubt set off an alert for I had noticed an arcane eye watching us from a nearby tree. Thankfully Slick Rick and Lucky Ron had noticed it as well not that we had much time to think about it. We had been in the midst of a discussion on how we could either lure out the guards who I expected to be inside to a place of our choosing or just move on in a face the minions of the Stolen Eye Wizard head on. While I will admit I had been feeling different ever since my sexual encounter with Symerria which perhaps might have caused me to be thinking a little more cautiously. The fact that Symerria and Vadania seemed to favor leading them away had caused me to reject the frontal assault while Slick Rick and Lucky Ron favored the direct route oddly that choice was taken out of my hands.

I had hoped to use a magical means to summon the Organization Agents but it turned out that the Stolen Eye Wizard had other plans and had instead sent a strike force to deal with us. Before you could say Holy Zeus we were being surrounded by alien minded Servitors, Flying Polyps and Dimensional Hounds intent on ripping us limb from limb quite literally. I had sensed their approach mentally but they had formed right in our midst with the Flying Polyps opening up with hurricane force winds that literally ripped the flesh from Lucky Ron, Professor Moonshower and the attractive but stoic Vadania. I knew from the telepathic link that I was maintaining that she had been planning on using a spell to strengthen Lucky Ron but I knew her energies would be needed to ensure her own survival. Meanwhile I had projected to Symerria whoever could cast a haste spell first to do it. I was able to focus and unleashed the haste spell and then being energized and quickened by my magic raised Widow Maker and fired at a Flying Polyp. I noticed that Symerria had been wounded as well and for the most part I realized that the two weak links in our equation were Vadania and myself for the others could become almost untouchable such were the blessing bestowed upon them by skill, nature or the divine forces. This was why I had called upon my own many hidden talents and allowed the shadows to conceal me within plain sight. I could see a storm brewing and I could tell by the look on Slick Rick’s face that the fury of nature was about to be unleashed.

I realized pretty quick with over twelve of minions and more appearing every second that things were going to get even more interesting. Which meant it would soon be time to summon my Unicorns from the Feywild for everyone including myself would soon be in the need of healing. Lucky Ron had started his intricate dance moving like a dervish daring our foes to strike him while engaging a Servitor. Meanwhile Slick Rick had transformed into a Dire Wolf and savagely attacked a nearby Flying Polyp while simultaneously he called upon the power of the coming storm to call down lightning. Symerria while wounded was holding her own with her magics directing them against our foes. Even Professor Moonshower had pulled twin modified guns from his wrist and began firing. I fired Widow Maker once again upon the Flying Polyp and unleashed a mass whelm spell to attempt to shatter the minds of our foes. Only one fell from my assault but they were weakened which was the point after all.

My Unicorns answered my call for Vadania who had looked on the verge of death yet still stood her ground and had healed herself had been struck down seconds later . So I sent my summoned friends to Lucky Ron another to Vadania to bolster her own healing abilities and finally to myself. Just for the record I knew Lucky Ron would never retreat unless we started to die. Meanwhile I knew that Slick Rick had the ability as did I to depart at anytime but from the looks of him he was ready to cry havoc and bring war to our enemies. So I had anticipated staying put and holding my ground but I had communicated to my last Unicorn to make sure I was teleported away and healed if the worse were to occur. With the aid of Widow Maker I continued to weaken the Flying Polyp that I knew was one of our greatest threats. Of course the number of Stolen Eye Wizard’s minions now numbered sixteen and many of them had appeared at the doors of the Science Center I could see they were getting ready to break and attack at a moment’s notice.

The Stolen Eye Wizard’s minions attack was vicious and Symerria went down hard for she had been struck by another of the hellish whirlwinds of a Flying Polyp which had struck me as well. We had been surrounded I thought to regroup us which I had hoped would give Symerria the chance once she had recovered to unleash her more destructive magics. Of course I knew she would recover never did I have a doubt so telepathically telling everyone we were moving I first used the power of my dimension boots to travel sixty feet away and I had then cast my shadow regroup spell. The shadows enveloped us and I had pulled Symerria, Professor Moonshower, and my Unicorns sadly Lucky Ron, Slick Rick and therefore Vadania had stayed behind. My Unicorns focused on Symerria and as her eyes opened I could not fail to notice that all of her cloths had been destroyed and even near death she was a vision. My own non magical garments had been ripped to shreds as well leaving me only standing in my feycraft mithral and ass kicking dimension stride boots. Of course my Hat of Mystery still maintained their glamour but I realized that the Flying Polyps must use a sense similar to my Mindsight for they seemed able to target me with ease. As Symerria’s awareness had returned I had helping her to her feet while filling in the details and that the others had stayed back and I could sense her drawing on her tie to the Arch’s to unleash a unholy smite upon the summoned evil creatures. I had felt a connection of light flash through me that reminded me of the Seelie Court my Mother had been born of that Court but I had never found it appealing until that moment. The divine power of the holy smite had weakened all of the summoned creatures that had surrounded our friends and while Vadania stood unscathed both Lucky Ron and Slick Rick I could tell had been mildly affected as well.

Soon we had been surrounded by the remaining of the Stolen Eye Wizard’s forces and I will admit I was thankful that they only the Flying Polyps could see me. The same could not be said for Symerria for yet another Flying Polyp flew to us and unleashed it fury of wind. It seemed that Vadania had been noticed and by combined attacks fell to the ground unconscious near death. There were so many of them and I felt like I was playing chess with the Stolen Eye Wizard and if so then so be it. I had already done my own version of a Queen sided castle breaking us up and saving Symerria. It was then time to perform a King sided castle for I needed Slick Rick for in the wind blast I had lost my Unicorns. I knew I still had to means to revive Symerria but I would have nothing left for Vadania so as I prepared another regroup spell I had called for Slick Rick’s help and once again asked Lucky Ron to join us. I knew he might not accept for I realized if he could still see us then he was within his element the field of battle. My spell was unleashed and Slick Rick who had been still calling down lightning strikes healed Vadania while I had used the full power of my healing belt to revive Symerria. Slick Rick then resumed his battle rage and started to unleash his fury once again on those that surrounded us. Professor Moonshower had pulled out two rods and I had heard him say something about anti-matter and I realized that if the other Organization Agents were the mold then he was the finished product. Professor Moonshower had managed to withstand assaults and attacks that would have outright killed any of our former Organization Agents. I of course had healed Symerria and once again pulled her to her feet and once again she unleashed a holy smith upon the creatures surrounding Lucky Ron.

I had considered a last ditch gambit for Symerria had asked if I could perhaps magically perform a dismissal upon the summoned evil creatures. I had thought it over and I had even confided in Slick Rick my plan and I had to thank him for his wisdom for while the chances would have been slim I had been counting on Lucky Ron’s lucky streak who I could still see dancing and making the creatures look foolish to work for me. Slick Rick had said “Really you don’t have anything else.” “Save that for a last ditch effort.” I had thought back of course I have something else and unleashed a perfectly placed shadow fireball directly upon the Stolen Eyed Wizard’s creatures. Only one of the creatures still stood and I had raised Widow Maker to finish it and I had asked Lucky Ron “Do you want me to take it down or do you want it.” His response had been instant “Deal with the ones still surrounding you.” So be it Symerria who had not been idle unleashing magical sonic blasts and even her reserve fire blasts had weakened on and I had chosen her target and fired but it still it stood or actually flew as I had expected.

It was a quick clean up after that with Slick Rick’s lightning and fangs, Lucky Ron with his flashing Katana, even Professor Moonshower who finally managed to make his anti-matter rods work. I have to admit I liked the look of that explosion and while the Professor had been thrown to his feet It had looked spectacular. One Flying Polyp had tried to withdraw and had started to swell. One of the teleporting hounds had teleported from the battle to the top of the Science Center where he seemed to be waiting for something. Another had tried to fly away managing to survive a mighty combined assault by Slick Rick and even Professor Moonshower. Symerria destroyed the Flying Polyp that had been looking like it was trying to build up to something while with the aid of Widow Maker I had shot the last Flying Polyp from the sky. The last Dimensional Hound teleported away what a coward I thought.

Then again I had realized that the Stolen Eye Wizard must have thought we would give up or run. Too bad he had realized too late that he had been dealing with Dragonfirre the scourge of Emerald. I am not ashamed to admit that I prefer a clean victory and I absolutely love when my enemy concedes victory it’s almost orgasmic. On the other had I was soon to find out that the Stolen Eyed Wizard had conceded and tried to set himself up for a future game which might even be friendly instead of deadly. Finally I would think later we were dealing with a civilized egotistical Emerald power monger. I had cast an arcane sight spell and I had scanned around with my Mindsight but as far as I could determine we were alone. Well with the exception of the yelling and screaming college students did I forget to mention those students running around. Not to mention the Stolen Eye Wizard’s creatures had not vanished when they had been defeated instead their rotting bodies were still lying around and I thought bad form Mister Stolen Eye Wizard bad form indeed.

Not being one to waste time I had realized that as our Organization Agents were truly dead I would not be able to summon them after all with a regroup spell. So be it I would have to do it the old fashioned way and as I instructed the others to move forward I had cast a locate object spell to locate their bodies which would now be considered objects. I followed up by summoning a Shadow Air Elemental and dispatched it to be my eyes and ears to locate them and deal with anything unpleasant before we encountered it. Lucky Ron spends a moment with the doorman or security officer while I had gleamed from his mind that he had called police. It also had seemed that he had no idea what had happened and therefore I let him live perhaps Symerria was having an effect on me. With a little guidance my Shadow Air Elemental had found the Agents bodies surrounding a glowing sphere in the center of an expansive room. I had instructed it to move their bodies away and outside the doorway as we arrived I could see something else their bodies were in plastic bags with strange rip cords attached.

Would you believe they had been prepped to become Zombies in a bag. I know I have said in the past that I know a bit about everything well it is true of course but I try to not be a show off. So I had confirmed with Slick Rick and Vadania what I had deduced and after a few moments that had concurred. While we had walked up to third floor to join my Elemental I had been using my Wand of Curing to restore myself so I was at full health and ready to go. No reason to deal with a possible magical trap if you don’t have to and my Shadow Air Elemental had already started dumping their bodies out of the bags and I had cast a greater floating disk to hold their weight. We had a discussion about what to do with the Zombie bags and alright being a little greedy I wanted to keep them because well you never know. In the end with everyone except me wanting to destroy the bags we decided to throw them in a nearby furnace as we left. Which left me with the glowing magic in the room and as I looked at it with my arcane sight I realized it was a message for me from my chess opponent the Stolen Eye Wizard.

I had conferred with the other that I would be approaching the spell and to be at the ready. I love the confidence they have in me well most of the time anyway. As I had came closer the spell enacted as I had anticipated and a very interesting message was left for my from the Stolen Eye Wizard which could be heard by all. His message was interesting. “I would have preferred to have met you in person. I apologize the former so called owners of your companions had informed me to be on the lookout for a group that would come here that were a threat to my life. I realized my error to late and as you will see I did not pull the cord and transform you allies into Zombies. If you still wish to meet come to the Diagonal Club and we can have a meal and chat.” . So far so good I had thought and I had thought to Moonshower what is a Diagonal Club? He had told me a nightclub I had thought the name had sounded familiar but that a story for another time. I told the others we were moving out to our safe house and I followed my statement by telling everyone that I was going to turn us invisible and we were going to walk right out of there.

With my Mindsight and being invisible it was easy to evade everyone of import at the University and we were soon at our temporary base of loft three blocks away and it was time for Vadania to get to work. Once again I notice that she had started to heal everyone and as I was now once again visible to all she had even asked me if I was wounded. She had said “I am the Healer and is anyone one wounded.” The firmness and absolute conviction with which she had made that statement had bordered on callous even arrogant. Really I had though she is the healer when in reality she was just the strongest healer. For that matter had she really just forgotten not minutes before both Slick Rick and I had saved her life by healing her. I had let it go for the moment and when she had next asked who do I raise first I of course had told her Swami Donnie. For a moment Lucky Ron had considered just leaving and perhaps we might but first things first I thought. Which of course meant Gizmo Dent, Mac Daddy and Starving Marvin were next up on the list to be raised. It only took her four minutes to bring them back to us while I had once again pulled my Wand of Curing and healed our proud Healer.

While Vadania had been busy raising our companions I had conferred with Slick Rick and personally thanked him for saving Vadania. He had told me “You pulled me away from nature’s wrath to heal someone who seems to have no respect for my abilities.”. “You need to watch Vadania her arrogance and her actions insult me as she continues to imply that she is the only Healer and therefore she insults you as well .” I had told him “I know she is has never had a family and I with the aid of Symerria teach her how to respect and love others.” . Speaking of Symerria she had been wearing Professor Moonshower’s trench coat and I had walked over to her and removed it and provided her with a new hooded trench coat and of course a set simple set of black cotton cloths that I had fashioned for her. It had absolutely pained me to do it as it had been ages since I had had to shall we say slum it but Slick Rick had said it best. When speaking of nature “What is staying out in nature to good for you!”. So I had made her sets of simple cloths which then of course resided in my backpack since she could not own them herself.

Vadania had been exhausted and suddenly Symerria had started waiting on her hand and foot as she had prepared a bed for her to lie on. I have to admit I thought she was putting it on a little thick but perhaps she was tiring of her pet dog Vadania who worshipped the very ground she walked on. What I would not have done for a few docile Gnomes to give me a backrub but then again I had Gizmo Dent and Mac Daddy back once again at my beck and call things were looking up. Business first of course I had conferred with Swami Donnie about their ordeal and he had been truly thankful and amazed that we had come back for them. I had apologized to him for leaving them behind and he conferred that he had never felt that had happened and had not lost faith. I found out that he had revealed a great deal to the Starlords who had indeed drugged tortured and finally killed them. I could almost feel the cold sense of doom that had overshadowed them as they had been told him that there were going to be drugged, tortured until they gave up every piece of useful information they could offer and then they were going to be executed. Well if my mind had not already been made up before then it was now genocide was the way to go for the vile Starlords with perhaps a few left behind for experimentation or breeding a new servitor race I would have wait and see.

I had told Vadania to rest fast for we were on Emerald where danger never sleeps and let her know that when she was refreshed we had to talk. Alright I did not really like Vadania that much either but at least she was honest about her feelings and I could understand what it was like to be friendless. For while I had never been a loner my loneliness had taken another form since I had been taught since childhood to hid my real self in plain sight and to never reveal you true intentions or motives as they could be used against you. On the other hand Vadania had been an outcast and it would be up to Symerria and me to bring her out of her darkness and into the light and if we were lucky even find her someone worthy of her. Well a woman can dream at least and I was willing to give her a chance to be my friend.

Something was wrong for suddenly Scrounger was gone and as I looked back so was Symerria. Well it seemed that wonders never ceased I had followed my passions and so far all had turned out well. If Symerria had vanished I could be content with the fact that wherever she might be she was safe. We would have to wait for Vadania to gain the strength to raise our other Organization Agents and the Stolen Eye Wizard still had an item we sought the Great Race Status Cube. For that matter it had seemed that like the Red Menace had been doing attempting to gather his own set of items for his own grand scheme. Wow the Dreaming God really had this world of Emerald wrapped around his tentacles. Well it was high time for Dragonfirre to light the fires and burn our way to the truth and if my plans worked out perhaps gain a few more allies to boot. I figured if I played my cards right we could ally all of the worlds factions against the Starlords while we took out the Dreaming God himself. For as the mighty Titans once fell before the Olympians with Dragonfirre at my side this was a game whose stakes while high were worth the risk and in this case my passion was my duty.

Chapter Forty One : The Return Of Dragonfirre or Passion Unleashed

2010-05-26T23:39:00.002-05:00

We were somehow at least for the moment been blessed with the return of every member of Dragonfirre. Believe it or not for a brief moment Lucky Ron, Slick Rick, Symerria, Vadania, Mickey the Torch, Clean Eugene and yours truly Beauty the Brain had been reunited long enough for them to learn how dire our situation had become. I worked to keep up my spirits as my thoughts of aid from our Hyborian Spirit, and after the moment that my hopes for the Great Race of Yith were crushed. I received additional bad news from my Starlord Thrall the all of our Organization Agents had been interrogated and killed. So even while we gained a new comrade in arms from Maximo Doodah the Boss of Bosses or Sovereign Lord as he is called on Berker Island named Professor Moonshower. Who ironically was related to both Starving Marvin, Mongo and Gizmo Dent and had wished to join us in gaining revenge or the rescue of the brave men who had died for the cause. Maximo Doodah seemed to have a well organized network and was willing to continue to aid us and only asked one favor to watch over Professor Moonshower who he appointed as our Concierge was it seemed related to him as well. While I was unable to present Symerria with a proper Fey celebration I did devote time to learning her story and giving her a proper Fey welcome. It seemed that we each had similar needs as I had expected and while I could have summoned magical lovers I am thankful that there had been no such need. For while I will not say I was in love as with my beloved Nialla or my dear Associate I will not deny that it was indeed pleasure and love in another way which I shall describe at a more appropriate time. We had other matter to attend to of course but I had realized that while duty called I would not let myself succumb to the darkness. So we had decided to liberate the bodies of the Organization Agents which lead us to Trip College in University Park. Which of course just happened to be near the location of the Stolen Eye Wizard? Now while my plan might have been quick and magical I had held off well of course due to the fact that well you know Wizard. So it was no surprise when I noticed an Eye open on a nearby tree and while I will fill you on the missing details I am pretty sure you can guess that it would soon be time for Dragonfirre to light it up.

Well yes it is I Beauty the Brain and I had been sitting in the large suite on the fifth floor of the Welcome Center thinking about our future and our so called Hunted status. Don’t get me wrong I had come up with a long list of ideas to cover possible ways to lead the heat away from us but I had yet to gleam on clear path. Truth be told I figured once the Starlord Commander reported to her superiors what had happened and finished interrogating our allies I realized that we might very well need to start finding entirely new allies sooner than later. Slick Rick had alerted us that he felt that his mind had been scanned which of course had lead me to wake everyone and let them know that I was going downstairs to work on connecting with Fluky Luke to make arrangements to change our location. What I didn’t say was that I had concerns that our welcome mat might soon be infiltrated and we had best act quickly and better to make use of our allies while we still had access to them. I of course also needed to work on my first two options which meant I needed to talk to Fluky Luke to not only assist us in finding a more secure location to rest but to also find out the status of Mongo and Sneaky Pete who respectively might still be possessed. I had figured our best chance might very well be the Hyborian Spirit that had resided within Sneaky Pete and perhaps even as a fall back making contact with the Great Race of Yith via Mongo. Now of course the fact that we had not seen them since they disappeared I had hoped that they would return to Berker Island and I had figured either way Fluky Luke would know. Before I had been able to step out Lucky Ron made note that perhaps they might be able to track the belt he wore. Slick Rick had doubted it but to be honest after bearing witness to their dimensional scooping technology I was not in the mood to put it to the test. He had asked if I had the ability to get rid of it and since my magical energies were still depleted I informed him currently it was not within my power. I had deferred to Slick Rick in the hope that he might have the ability to summon an animal perhaps an Emerald Duck to fly the belt away but he seemed perturbed that I was unable to deal with the problem. Lucky Ron seeing that we were at an impasse realized he would get rid of it the old fashioned way and headed downstairs as well. As it seemed that we were going to be busy for a little while I had noticed Symerria come out of her room and a moment of sadness had fell upon me for the foul Starlord’s had ruined my chance to truly celebrate her return to the living after ages of imprisonment. She looked so elegant and I could tell that she was exhausted and while I had been speaking up until then via telepathy I remembered she could not her me and therefore she was still out of the loop. I decided to let her go back to bed and rest and I made a vow to rectify the contact situation as well as to help her deal with the isolation she no doubt was still feeling after being denied physical contact or comfort for so long. While I will admit my familiar Angelica being in reality an Item Familiar and also a Ring of Sustenance enabled me to keep my passions at bay I had acquired a new appetite recently and sexual contact allowed me to expand my mind to exceed my limits. Let us just say since it had seemed that while the rest of Dragonfirre had no doubt noticed her sexually none of them had as of yet approached her or even had physical contact with her. Well with the exception of course Vadania but she had only touched her on the shoulder when she healed her. Which really struck me since she continued to follow her around like a dog yet was not even giving her the affection that good pets were known for. By Aphrodite even my former lowly Gnome servants had showed me more affection each morning as they had bathed and then dressed me each morning in my youth. But enough on those fond memories and back to the present I managed to make it downstairs before Lucky Ron and made my way to the phone after gleaming from the minds of the Gangster desk clerks the number and called the Police Station. I spoke with a charming young man who informed me that Fluky Luke was indeed at the station and I dropped my name Beauty the Brain of course and asked if he could leave a message that I was waiting for Fluky Luke in the lobby of the Welcome Center. Meanwhile I had noticed that Lucky Ron had spoken with the doorman and they had arranged for a car to pick him up to take him to the docks. After a few minutes he returned and informed us via my telepathy that he had arranged for the Starlord belt to be transported off the island and had even arranged for us a duck or water car to offer us transportation. It seemed that he had also found out that Starving Marvin seemed to be related to the Island Boss who seemed to go by the name Maxwell Doodah. He also shared that if we needed assistance he felt it best to confer with him to which I had to agree and I informed him that I was only waiting for Fluky Luke to arrive as he could serve as our contact person. I of course then filled in Dragonfirre of my desire to contact Mongo and Sneaky Pete and why in addition to gaining Fluky Luke’s aid in finding either another secure locale perhaps even the Pleadies as it seemed that Lucky Ron had found out or hopefully a more secure location on Berker Island where we could rest. Fluky Luke arrived shortly as I had expected and it was time to fill him in on the bad news and I will admit as Fluky Luke had been one of the shall we say more darker of Organization Gang I was thankful it was him.
Fluky Luke arrived and while I filled him in on our current situation I found out that he had almost expected as much and had actually almost given us all up for dead. So I was of course glad to disappoint and I even informed him of our plan to attempt a rescue of our former comrades living or deceased. Let’s just say I was thinking ahead for I realized as part of one of my grander schemes involved turning the world against the Starlord’s and perhaps even the Ves Church being a group known to have raised those who aided them from the dead would be a powerful and persuasive tool to have in our arsenal. I will admit I hoped that they might be alive but I had my doubts but first we had needed a secure place to rest. I had conferred with Fluky Luke looking for a place he might know that might be lead and mithral lined and to my delight he had informed me that the Keep next door was the perfect location. The fact that moments later I found out that it also was the stronghold of Maxwell Doodah and the current location of Mongo and Sneaky Pete who had reappeared barely alive a few days ago was icing on the cake. So after a few questions from Slick Rick who was rightfully curious as to why we were leaving I had my shadow servants wake Symerria who had gone back to sleep. I have to admit I had taken great pleasure in helping her put on the plain black hooded trench coat with an attached hood that I had fashioned a for her which she could use to conceal herself from casual observation. Perhaps I should make note of an event that had occurred already just for the record. Clean Eugene and Vadania had both reappeared and of course almost once again got into another argument but it seemed that the presence of Symerria kept Vadania’s temper at bay at least for the time being. During which time I the chance course to fill them in on what had transpired since each of their departures. I even made special not to inform Clean Eugene of a fact I the time that time had not shared with the others about Symerria. I informed him that Symerria was my cousin and that her soul had been trapped in the evil soul gem and recently due to his actions had been liberated after ages of imprisonment while Nialla had been cast down to Stygia the Fifth Plane of Hell. So alright I was technically decades older than her and by her subsequent imprisonment eons older than me it was of course complicated. Clean Eugene took it all stride even commenting that good looks must run in my family which about what I would have expected from a Paladin of Hercules and while I still held a small amount of resentment which had caused this situation I had already agreed to put those thoughts behind me and embrace the gift we had received in the form of Symerria. Since the rest of Dragonfirre were already ready we were off and on our way to the Keep which was a former prison but had since been turned into a supposedly impenetrable fortress which supposedly possessed magical wards so with Fluky Luke as our guide I was feeling confident.

We had walked across the street and approached the quite at least externally formidable Keep and at the entrance we passed and interesting individual a young well build man around five foot two who wore goggles and a facemask who turned out to be Professor Moonshower who was Starving Marvin’s son and Gizmo Dent’s nephew which I had gleamed from Fluky Luke’s mind. As we entered we were met by a well groomed by Emerald standards doorman named Sol who inquired about our business. I informed him as I indicated our associate Fluky Luke that we sought sanctuary and an audience with Maximo Doodah. Sol was able to handle the request and in travelling through the Keep we an area in the center which had been manned by science types who seemed to be monitoring various feeds from around the world. Clean Eugene had decided for awhile to make himself a pest with them but soon he tired of the endeavor. I had taken the time to telepathically speak with Fluky Luke who had asked me politely to not use that method of communication and I had switch to a coded verbal form. I basically had asked him if he trusted the men in the room and he had informed me that he did and even confirmed my suspicion that Gizmo Dent had worked her before. Fluky Luke had even seemed a little uneasy and asked me to inform the other to please be on their best behavior since his ass could very well be on the line and I had assured him I would keep an eye on everyone. Fluky Luke had also included that he knew a few of the men and trusted them which was for the moment good enough for me. Sol meanwhile led us to an expansive suite area where he informed us that dinner would be served and we could rest until the morrow by which time he would have arranged a meeting Maximo Doodah. During the dinner hour since I needed only time to pass in order to be able to regain my magical energies and so I had made time to speak with Symerria. During our conversation as I had noticed that she did not seemed like myself to eat or drink came to her passing her ever watchful dog sorry I mean Vadania and kneeled near her sleeping area and started a long overdue conversation. Symerria thanked me for the long hooded coat which resembled a holocaust cloak. She had been preparing for sleep and she had looked lonely and sad. The first thing on my agenda was to see if she was able to lower her shields to allow us to speak mind to mind since it had been bothering me that I had been leaving her out. So with a little difficulty we managed to establish a rapport as I had knelt next to her and taken her hands for added support and we were finally able to speak mind to mind. With respect for our host I then continued verbally and basically related to her that I was sorry that she had been captured but that I was elated and filled with joy now that she had been freed and released from her imprisonment. I had continued to speak to her about being sorry that my stubborn brain had at first caused me to seem angered by her appearance but that with time I had been able to reason that sometimes these things happen for a reason. I even confided in her that they were cousins and that our Mothers had been Sisters. In addition I had told her that while it still wore on her heart I had come to terms with the loss of my oldest friend known as the Associate and my beloved Nialla. Symerria had then confided to me that both she and even from Nialla’s memories which it seemed she had shared that they both had been worried about my apparent darker desires and moods as of late. Symerria told me that she and Nialla had both hoped that I had been only grieving and that my outlook would change. Symerria even shared that it was important for me to change as my nature would be the main anchor that Nialla might need in the future to escape the evil of the Hell that had laid claim to her body and soul. I had even confided in her that while that the lure of darkness and power was strong and truly only by the power of love and my faith in Aphrodite had I kept it at bay. Symerria had continued and told me that for Nialla’s sake if I loved her I would have to try harder. Symerria must have been able to see the longing in my eyes which soon lead to a passionate lovemaking session between us. While it was true I could have drugged myself to give myself the energy to summon a shadow lover I really would have preferred to have not had to. Let me just say that it had been indeed to long since I had been with a lover male or female as skilled and filled with as much of a desire to both give and receive pleasure and for the first time in many years my inner passion was unleashed and I cried like a child. I truly felt sorry for the other members of Dragonfirre who were being denied the pleasure of our company but with the exception of Clean Eugene seemed either to intimidated, scared or perhaps to proud to even approach us. After freeing myself sexually with Symerria I felt truly physically, emotional, and spiritually renewed and as she had went to sleep I told her I would be watching over her as her Vadania kept a close eye on her. After around eight hours I was thankful that I could finally feel my magical energies restored so I had restored my magical tattoos which would soon be fading. Lucky Ron had been still resting and I would have to see to restoring his tattoos the next day. A few hours later Sol had entered our chamber followed by a breakfast cart and no sooner than those that needed to ate he informed us that Maximo Doodah was awaiting our arrival to his chamber. Well being fully rested and restored I figured now was as good a time as any to met the Boss of Bosses and to be honest I was looking forward to it.

Sol had not been kidding for after a short elevator ride where we had been joined my Professor Moonshower we entered into a large chamber resembling a court room that I had seen in pictures for the books on Emerald that I had studied. Of course sitting up above us was the Big Boss Maximo who was introduced by Sol as the Sovran Lord Maximo Doodah of Berker Island and the Surrounding Territories. I had to admit quite a title for a descendent of Hyboria and while I could tell he was upset over the loss of men who he considered citizens of Berker Island he seemed to be able to take everything in stride. He of course had a few guards present who Sol showed the door as he left us alone the Maximo Doodah and Professor Moonshower. I was still feeling him out and I had asked Lucky Ron if he wished to make the first move and he seemed to be still doing a similar study of his own so we moved forward together. I had started by telling him how fortunate we had been to have had the aid of Swami Donnie and his Organization but that we had in the end ran into trouble with the Starlords. He seemed while not entirely aware quite well informed of the issues going on in world and the menace posed by the Red Menace, Starlords and the worshippers of Cthulhu. I was glad to see that he had not personal love for either of groups I had mentioned. I let him know that our plans eventually would lead to the followers of Cthulhu being put down and that if possible we intended to rescue the Organization Agents. I had asked if he had heard any news of his associates and he had informed us that he had been offered information from the Stolen Eye Wizard if he had been willing to pay the price which it seemed had been quite steep. Such was the price as a matter of fact he might very well betrayed their importance if he had paid it. In the end he seemed more than willing to assist us and even offered the aid of his nephew Professor Moonshower who it seemed was indeed Starving Marvin’s son as well as former apprentice to Gizmo Dent his Uncle. He offered Professor Moonshower as our new Concierge to his Organization and only asked that while he wanted to go the we do him a personal favor and look after him. As I am sure he already knew Dragonfirre did not make a habit of leaving our allies behind just ask the Red Menace after what they did to Mongo at their home base. I know knew a lot of additional information about their organization now and I looked forward to our next encounter. Maximo Doodah had inquired as well as the others if we knew if I was aware of their whereabouts I informed not at the moment but I could as soon as I had the chance to check on my Starlord Thrall would if all went well would be mine for another eleven days. I also of course had inquired about the status of Mongo and Sneaky Pete and found out quite a few interesting things. It seemed that Maximo Doodah had a sort of alliance with the Great Race of Yith and a number of his operatives were shall we say possessed. When it had came to Sneaky Pete it seemed that he had been separated from the Hyborian Silverbrow Barbarian Cleric Spirit Olga. As a matter of fact he informed us she was downstairs being contained even as we spoke. I realized it was a long show but I needed to speak with her to see if we could convince her to join us and I had hoped that Slick Rick would have assisted and at the time he seemed eager enough so I was in good spirits. So with the addition of Professor Moonshower we bid Maximo Doodah adieu and departed for our meeting with Olga the bound spirit who it seemed now had a new body which had somehow been found. Yeah I know it might not sound so bad when I say it that way but you have to remember that the Maximo Doodah and his people were for the most part evil and I knew basically saw us as an opportunity to gain them more power in the long run so they were helping us. So I really doubt that the whole transference and the new body they had acquired for Olga would have really put her in a good mood.

Let me just say when we arrived at the containment cell where they were keeping Olga it looked bad from the very start. To begin with she was chained and gagged to a wall even bound up in a straight jacket and on top of that the room was being constantly filled with a mind numbing gas. It seemed she had been busy hurling spells around and overall making herself a menace. I might have overlooked the fact that Maximo Doodah had shared about her being trouble and I would soon find out why. For after Professor Moonshower shut down the gas and Slick Rick had cast a spell to remove its effects and restore her hosts mind we had a talk with Olga. So on the bright side it seemed she was willing to once again aid and help us but of course there was a catch. It seemed her catch was that in order to aid us once again as she had in the past we needed to help her clean house on her way out. Which to make a long story short meant she intended to kill as many of the evil scum who she felt inhabited the Keep as she could on her way out. To be fair I could see her point and if I were not in truth a greedy egotistical hedonist I might have gone along with it. But I had bigger concerns to deal with for the gangsters were descendents of Hyboria and had been driven to their current state by the world of Emerald and only once the back of Cthulhu been broken did I ever see them having an open door to redemption. Olga would not open her eyes and see it and even the others realized it. Slick Rick basically told me that he had given her a chance to share his body but she now had one. While the ever watchful Lucky Ron had indicated telepathically to me that we needed to hit the gas. I sadly agreed with him and I could see that Olga had chosen a path and perhaps only as an ultimate resort could we ever release her. She told us not to worry for soon she would be free and did not wish us harm and I wished her well and telepathically told Professor Moonshower to hit the gas. We withdrew from the room much to my sorrow at the loss of a valuable ally.

As we were leaving I felt a familiar presence Mickey the Torch was returning to us and as I turned to look at him I could see that he still bore the dark almost Ulithrid like slimy appearance. Don’t get me wrong one of my former lovers used to do all kind of amazing things to me with a similar form but then again he had been a Fey Changling which allowed me to have my taste of darkness without the danger and only bliss of pleasure. So yeah shall we just say good times and leave it at that it’s just a shame that my cousin Symerria had never had the chance to meet him. While I took the time to fill him he informed me sadly that he did not feel he would be with us long and thankfully Lucky Ron let him borrow his Hat of Disguise so that could at least for the time being resume the handsome form that had once been his. He had of course asked for more details about the Starlords in space as well as how he had died so I had created an illusion to show both him and Clean Eugene graphically just what had happened so in the future there would be no doubt of my translation. After my little show we had departed for our floor at the Welcome Center for it was time to check in with my Starlord Thrall. Once we had arrived Slick Rick had performed a divination that confirmed what I had hoped might not be true Swami Donnie was dead. I realized we were to late but I could still focus and receive full sensory and mental information from my Thralls and while I could not direct him without additional magical assistance since he was beyond my telepathic range. So with the aid of a few well crafted sending spells which allowed me to both send and receive messages as well as mirror sending spells I was able to gleam a great deal of insight into the status of or Organization Agents. The spells are as simple as they sound but he mirror sending spell is of course a little more interesting and of a longer duration. It allows me to set up the spell and enter a trance and wait until my Thrall is near a reflective surface and then deliver my message while they deliver whatever message I desire. To begin my Thrall had as far as I could tell not been discovered and second the ship had landed at the second spaceport in Central City of which I now new all of the intimate details known to my Thrall as I had already focused my will to give me insight into his senses and perceptions. Sadly all of our Agents had already been thoroughly interrogated then put to death sold and already being sent to their new owners. Well so much for ransom and so I had set my Thrall on a secret mission to find out the details of the sale and where they were headed. I have to admit he was a good Thrall and in the end if possible I might just keep him and a female of his species around so that they do not all perish. For he was able without being detected find out the they had been sold to the Stolen Eye Wizard and were due to arrive within a few hours at one of his bases of operations presumably located at Trip College in University Park. As an added bonus I had even been able to gleam from his mind that his Starlord Commander had already reported the entire incident to her superior. I had then left him with the command to act normal and not to reveal to anyone that anything had happened to him in any way shape or form and await my next contact. We had discussed shadow walking and while I had a plan to avoid detection by their scanners even if they were looking Lucky Ron did bring up a point that if they were now actively scanning with all of their ships they might be waiting for us. I will admit I had considered it but I was itching for a rematch but he had reminded me to not let my ego get the better of me. Perhaps there is more to Lucky Ron than just a lucky streak and at that moment I was glad to be able to call him a friend. In the end we had discussed with Professor Moonshower and decided to take standard transportation. Slower I knew but more secure and at least I would have a little longer to enjoy the company of friends who by the grace of Aphrodite I had been blessed.

We had headed to our Duck water car and were on our way we had traveled from Berker Island to the Pleadies from there to Apex Two with a short pass through Mills Transfer into Lake Town and finally into University Park. While we had been travelling for only around two and a half hours it had given me time to think. To begin with I was thankful that I had been careful to not share with Swami Donnie all of the details of our plans but I had to also consider that by now they would know that his Organization was helping us. To be honest they now had more information than I would have ever wanted them to know. Which meant since I had no intention of underestimating the Starlords ever again I had to realize we might have allies but that every bit of information that Swami Donnie or any of his men had was in their hands. I had tried to not think of my two favorites Gizmo Dent and Mac Daddy and I could only thank Symerria for being such a worthwhile distraction for while I might not admit it I had grown slightly attached to them and I eager for more than any of the reasons I could present to see them alive once again. I could be thankful the Gods had chosen to bring us Vadania who had within her power to raise them from the dead. Which was why I had ended up fading into the shadows in plain sight as Professor Moonshower had separated from Dragonfirre and made a call to one of his girlfriends who attended the Trip College to see if she had a access to a room we could rent. Basically the College I had found was basically a College for the rich and not really the smart. Of course the reason for the phone call was that it had occurred to me that any safe house that Professor Moonshower knew about and of course they had one in University Park would no doubt be know the Starlords as well and therefore not safe at all. I had gone with him of course for a few reasons to make sure his girlfriend was not a trap, to keep an eye on the nephew of Gizmo Dent, because I had told his Uncle I would keep an eye on him and to observe him in action with a member of the opposite sex. I will admit I got a kick out of the look on Professor Moonshower’s face when I had vanished as he told me that my gift must really come in handy and I had told him telepathically if only you knew.

It was a short wait while Dragonfirre had waited a few blocks away with the Duck within my telepathic range so I could keep them all within the loop. His girlfriends name was Nancy and it seemed she had a gambling problem. He gave her cover story that a few of his high roller associates had come into town suddenly and were looking for a place to stay while the attended a high risk poker game. He told her we were looking for a place for about a week and had asked her if she of a loft that might be available. She seemed eager for the opportunity to help him and in reality I figured just hungry for money or sex but it turned out sadly to be just money. Moonshower changed his appearance and lost the goggles and facemask and cleaned up a little and suddenly seemed a little more at ease and laid back and he was ready for his close up. Nancy arrived and her mind was an open book and it was odd but she had even had a dream that she would see Moonshower today and had been waiting for his call. I had said a silent prayer of thanks to Aphrodite for it seemed even while hunted we still had allies. Sadly Nancy did not really like him and she was just using him for money so while her attempt to haggle failed since I was clueing Moonshower in on her thought as well we were soon ready to depart at any time for the loft. I had of course gleamed the location of the loft from her mind since it never hurts to be prepared and while Mickey the Torch had walked up from the car and almost startled poor Nancy we were soon on our way. I felt a little sorry for Moonshower but of course I realized he was young and those were the breaks. So we had then headed to the loft to set up and begin our investigation of the area and I of course only remember our last two encounters at places of higher learning on Emerald and each time we had ended up in a fight for our lives and I figured you have to love Emerald never a dull moment.

With the aid of Scrounger and Mickey the Torch’s keen senses we had been able to narrow down the location of or departed friends. Which lead us to three sizeable science buildings and of course the one in the center was the one where the remains of our friends were no doubt located. I had on considered just getting close using magic to summon their bodies and depart with Symerria’s help of course but the others were a little concerned that with a name like the Stolen Eye Wizard he would have magical wards. Which might be true but then again magic was supposed to be rare on this world and we would not really know unless we tried. While we were discussing the situation Mickey the Torch decided to turn up the temperature a notch. He had stepped away from us and walked to the Science Building and went inside and asked a few questions and found out they had receive a recent delivery. Well one can never accuse Mickey the Torch of not being brave and by Ares he had been all for just storming the place and taking names. I will admit the only thing that had held me back was the evil was upon him that Clean Eugene had not even attempted to remove when he had detected it back at the Keep and the fact that I had a feeling that at any moment we might lose either or both of them and be left to deal with a situation that they might start but not be around to finish. Don’t get me wrong my ego knows few bounds but I prefer to chose my battlegrounds instead of having it chosen for me. It seemed that Symerria, and Vadania were of the same mind and only after Mickey the Torch had returned did Lucky Ron agree with us. Of course by then it was too late for Slick Rick, Lucky Ron and I had noticed that an eye had opened on a nearby tree where it did not belong and it seemed to be looking at us. I knew from its arrival that battle was imminent the only question was going to be if we were going to stand and fight or withdraw to let them bring the fight to us. That you see with Dragonfirre at my side was the question?

Well there would be a lot I could say about our Dragonfirre reunion it had been pleasant and peaceful but of course I remembered where we were and I was not going to let myself be lured into a false sense of security. Having arrived in University Park we were quite close to the Ajax Miltren Press in Central City and Nick Carter and his Oracle friend named Olga who I figured were our best bet to find out how to become the hunters once again. I had many ideas that I needed to share with Dragonfirre and I had already started drafting the letter for them to commit to memory but it was not yet finished for I had to keep breaking it down to a format that they would grasp. If all went well I might not even need it but I always like to plan ahead after all I may have an ego problem but I also an attractive super genius. On another note did I love Symerria or for that matter Lucky Ron well of course I did but I was not in love with either of them. In a way I almost felt safer with my Item Familiar Angelica and Widow Maker within my grasp for I knew they would never let me down. Perhaps I was being shallow or it might be just the opposite perhaps I was already in love with them both but was not ready to admit it. For regardless of how I play mind games on others I had vowed to Aphrodite to never do so with friends or those I loved but what if I was playing a mind game on myself. Had I spent so much of my life becoming so skilled lying and concealing my thought and emotions that I had become capable of fooling even myself. While on Hyboria Island I had a few surprising moments of honest clarity which had shocked me and looking back on those moments had it really been wrong. It just might be time to face the cold eye of reality and it might very well be time to reveal to my friends of Dragonfirre all I really knew about our situation and hope that they could indeed handle the truth. I knew I would seek the guidance of Aphrodite and meditate on the next actions I would take for I had faced reality. Dragonfirre I loved them all and it was time that they knew it.

Chapter Forty : The Plan or The Great Escape Part 2

2010-05-26T23:38:00.000-05:00

So you might wonder how I Princess Ali’Ama Er’Odar of the Feywild Summer Court ever ended up on a Starlord spacecraft facing down aliens and their aberration leader or Commander if you will. To be honest I sometimes asked myself the same question. I know from my Mothers past that she had been instrumental in the preservation of those we perceive as Gods before my birth on the world of Hyboria. I had even become aware as of late she had even used her knowledge and persuasiveness to even instrument the fall of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts and in turn become the Queen of the Summer Court. It even seemed according to her that it was my turn to take up the mantle of savior of the Gods and the descendents of worshippers they loved from destruction on this Plane of Existence. Which of course was where the real issue finally chose to reveal itself for the Quasi-Deity Cthulhu known to many as the Dreaming God had finally decided to show us how our greatest had fallen. For it was revealed to us in the form of a Psion Aberration Starlord and her minions who with her nearly godlike mental powers of domination almost utter laid waste to Dragonfirre and our Organization Agents believe it or not. Even I was dominated and helpless before her power as all of our Organization Agents were either slain or captured. Only Slick Rick who I only barely managed to save before it was too late was able to call upon a Dark Drudical ally who whisked Dragonfirre away before the Starlord Commander could finish what her minions had started. I had never in my life felt such failure and defeat as I had at that moment. We had arrived safely yet still hunted and chased on Berker Island needing to recover from the battle in space. Vadania had been whisked away from us during the battle and not yet returned as I began writing this entry and as I will reveal this was the last straw and perhaps it was time to lay claim to what had been lost and declare myself the Princess of Air and Darkness and rebirth the Unseelie Sidhe and unleash all of the horrors of the Abyss and the Hells on this world and if need be destroy it before Cthulhu has a chance to lay waste to it. Alright I will admit perhaps a bit grandiose but the gauntlet had been thrown down and I was going to make sure Dragonfirre’s answer would be worthy of legend.

To believe all that happened so quickly looking back it is almost hard to believe. One moment we had been in the middle of a fight being surrounded on all sides by Starlord’s when suddenly Vadania had vanished. Suddenly our healer was gone whisked away to wherever our other Dragonfirre members went when they vanished. I could draw on the narrative of how Slick Rick had faced the Starlord Commander and aberration that possessed vast psionic powers even by their standards that was cut down by one of her minions. Or even how Symerria had nearly exhausted all of her magical powers even unleashing her mighty Nymph Daze to only in the end be put unconscious by the Starlord Commander. Lucky Ron had fought valiantly and even with the aid of one of the force field belts had almost been slain himself. The last I had seen of Swami Donnie his mind had been crushed by the Starlord Commander and he was either slain or captured. While all of the other Organization Agents had either been slain or rendered unconscious. I had been busy of course I had summoned Unicorns to heal my companions. Even used my Amulet of the Mage to prevent other fallen Organization Agents from dying including my favorites Gizmo Dent and Mac Daddy who like we all had been in grave danger but ultimately I was unable to save them or any of the other Agents. For while I had even dominated one of the Starlords and gained knowledge of how I might have disabled their weapons and shields even managed with my trusty Amulet to acquire one for Lucky Ron it was to no avail. I of course had made it to the Control Room with the aid of the my Thrall with whose aid I had even managed to save the life of Gizmo Dent but at the time I write this entry I wonder if I really did him a favor considering his fate. Once in Control Room I had harnessed all of brain power to attempt to grasp the workings of control and given just a little more time I know I would have succeeded. Alas that was time I would not have for while I had tried to dominate the Starlord Commander I had failed and gained her attention and with an ease I would have never believed possible she warped my mind. For I know now from Angelica my item familiar even thought I still find it hard to believe for such was her power that I had not as I believed somehow opened windows in the control room sending freezing cold and bleeding all of the air for the chamber forcing me to withdraw from the room. During that withdrawal I had lost valuable time during which Slick Rick and Symerria had fallen. To even describe the many options I might had devised to turn the tide would truly be a waste for while we might have prevailed with all us able to command arcane or divine forces either weakened, unconscious, being dominated the odds would not have been in our favor. That does not mean by any means I had give up on the contrary and while one of my Unicorns had been dismissed after taking heavy fire from the Starlords the two remaining had via dimension door saved Slick Ricky when one the Starlords had made an unbelievable shot to his eye almost slaying him on the spot. He had come too and called to a force I know now to be a Dark Druidical Godlike Force that has been helping us from the shadows which whisked him away to Berker Island on the surface of Emerald. I had sensed it and communicated with it and had been given a choice stay and continue the fight or be taken away to Berker Island where I would have the task of finding my fellow Dragonfirre members. My plan had been to regroup all of my allies and continue the battle and I will never know what might have happened for Slick Rick had already made his choice and was already leaving I had no choice. I had even made a desperate plea to the Drudical Force to give me the chance to gather my allies so that we might all be saved hoping that my Fey nature would have give me just another moment which would have been all I would have needed to save our Organization Agents. Of course my plea fell on deaf or uncaring ears either way I could only watch as I began to fade as the last thing I was aware of was Swami Donnie’s mind being crushed in a psychic battle with the Starlord Commander and I knew while in the past victory had been ours we had been defeated and force to turn tail and flee for our lives.

As I had appeared within the Berker Island Welcome center within the day room I was alone but thankfully I could see Slick Rick in a garbage bin some one hundred feet down and my heart had leapt for at least I had not lost him which I doubt I would have at the moment been able to bear. I was in pain and anguish and I had no choice but to withdraw to lessons I had learned from the Unseelie Sidhe. I had to embrace “Change is Good” and while I had just lost associated who had become dear to me perhaps forever who had been Hyborian decedents I had to believe we had survived. So I stayed focused and remembered “Glamour is Free” as I let the shadows shroud me as I descended to the lower levels of the Welcome Center to fill in Slick Rick on what had happened. I had a feeling it might only be a matter of time before the Moonbeast Commander might chose to come after us but I felt confident that for at least a little while we were as safe as we were likely to get. For while I knew “Honor is a Lie” I told Slick Rick the truth that I still had the power to contact the others and would secure a room and wait the others being I told him would only be Symerria and Lucky Ron. I had with ease acquired and entire floor one within one hundred feet of the ground and Slick Rick had retired to heal while I had contacted Slick Rick and Symerria. I no difficulty with my next actions for while my passions fought to overwhelm me for I had really had only wanted to find a way back to that ship and ram Widow Maker down that Starlord Commanders throat. “Passion before Duty” I had reminded myself for Symerria and Lucky Ron were my friends and my passions they came first and when the time was right that Starlord Commander I swore would be mine. Wait let me correct that when I was finally done with the Starlords they and every planet or world that had ever known of them for that matter ever even touched would know of the Princess of Air and Darkness as the one who had destroyed them.

I had cast sending spells to both Symerria and Lucky Ron informing them of where to find us and they had replied and were soon to be on their way. The Welcome Center floor had been still fairly free of other occupants and the three gangsters who had been looking over the place had been easy enough to work with and as my friends had arrived I directed them upstairs. Lucky Ron had arrived first and while I knew he was severely wounded with his Hat of Disguise he had looked both dapper and fit. Symerria had arrived last and we had retired to our on the eighth floor. I had summoned new shadow servants having lost my others in the transit setting them to guard the entrances, elevators, and windows and set Item Familiar Angelica the task of watching them and while I had wanted to talk with the others my mind could only keep working on ways to bring down the Starlords. I also knew it was time we acquired some new allies but I knew I needed to rest so the others could rest in safety while I kept watch over them. I had entered trance with Widow Maker in my hand which of course I had hid with Glamour which is of course free and had thought of the loss of Gizmo Dent too whom I owed the many upgrades to my Desert Eagle and I realized I would indeed miss him and the other Organization Agents. As I had been awoken right on time by Angelica I rose and set my servants to prepare me a bath for which I was grateful. I had let my servants undress me and remove my outer garments and my Feycraft Mithral shirt which truly was more like a bikini and eased into the warm water and submerged myself beneath the surface to enjoy the warmth like I would a lovers caress which I realized for now might very well be limited to my shadow servant lovers unless I could bring any of Dragonfirre around one could only hope. Knowing that we had limited time at best I focused my intellect on finding some advantage we could exploit in order to reclaim our title as the Hunters. I had doubted a four hundred mile sea voyage would have been possible without one of the high tech sea craft of Emerald which was why I had chosen the Plane of Shadow. I had of course underestimated the Starlords and it started to make more sense why the Red Menace Red Kings had been setting up their own contingency plans against them. I had gained a great deal of knowledge of the Red Menace operations which I knew I would need to relate to my companions and I also knew with the loss of Swami Donnie I would need to find a way to pierce the shield of my stunningly beautiful and sexy cousin Symerria if we were to maintain one of our few advantages. I had a feeling that or new Starlord Commander would soon be able to with the aid of her captives had a good idea of where they might begin searching for us. It all depended on just how powerful her psychic abilities proved to be and if the display she had already shown us was any indication they were formidable indeed. I had considered a short jump to the Plane of Shadow and to be honest there was another way to travel that plane that they would be unable to detect it would just involve multiple castings of the spell for looking back their scanners must have been somehow able to detect the shadow path created by the spell. Now of course if I just used the spell to enter the plane and then dropped the spell I could being as much a native of the Plane of Shadow as the Prime Material still navigate the plane and then just be forced to cast the spell again to enter the Prime Material. More expensive in energy but it seemed a small price to pay in order to avoid being scooped by one of their sensing devices again which was an experience I did not care to repeat any time soon. The Starlord Commander of course made the first move Slick Rick awoke some three hours later alarmed and distraught. I had long since cleared my bath and had already redressed in a shall we say female gangster hit woman garb over my Feycraft Mithral Chain and I of course looked Lethal even stunning actually. I had even taken the time to create some boring low class cloths for Symerria per her request as well as a few outfits for Vadania to wear over her Mithral Chain armor. I had planned to work on their disguises once they woke up anyway which I looked forward to in addition to helping them change into their new cloths. Which I figured might very well be the most excitement I might get that day but as I said there was a disturbance and Slick Rick had awoke. He looked slightly alarmed a state I had never seen him in before and it almost gave me a chill which I assure it not an easy thing to do and then he told me he felt like someone had been fishing around inside his head and devouring his memories. Well so much for a relaxing day I thought as the others were awakened by my servants and I brought them up to speed. I informed them it had seemed that the hunt had already begun and I would be heading downstairs to consult with the gangsters downstairs and find the location of Fluky Luke who along with Smiling Ed who had mysteriously vanished and therefore been spared the fate of his friends might very well be our best chance to equip ourselves before the Starlords turned up the heat.

Dealing with and befriending the three gangsters along with my ability to read their minds made it a simple task indeed to acquire for them the best place to find Fluky Luke. It seemed on Berker Island he was sort of like their Chief of Police or something like that. I informed the others that our next stop might very well need to be the local Police Station since it was the best place to begin looking for Fluky Luke. I also had to find us a place where we would be shielded from the mental powers of the Starlord Commander at least until we had a chance to regroup and recharge our energy. I knew that the Mithral buildings which was an element that was in great supply on emerald seemed to block their ability to detect magical aura’s and the like but I knew of only one way to block psionic energy and that was lead. So as I headed back upstairs to confer with the others I realized that we might also have yet another possible ally for looking back Symerria had said when I first contacted her that she had been helped by a Moonbeast and if so perhaps he might have insight that might very well prove to be helpful since I knew the two races were enemies. After all “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” A quote from an obscure text my Mother used to read to me as a child. So of course we had options but time was not our friend and changes were on the way which after all was a good thing indeed.

Things were about to get really exciting on Emerald for Dragonfirre pretty soon not that they had been boring before but I was looking forward to it. We were closer to our goal of achieving the items needed to construct the Lightning Gun. We even had the Horn of Nodens as a fall back and it seemed even in dire emergencies the possible aid of a Divine Dark Drudical ally so we had options. When my dearly departed lover Nialla had been with us as well as Clean Eugene I had been trying to remain pure in my actions and thoughts. Well I had already seen that our enemies were under no such compulsion and I had a feeling it might take every Unseelie Sidhe trick I had ever seen or learned to stay ahead of the of the Starlords. I had a feeling I would soon be acquiring a lot more thrall to aid us in our mission. I also realized it was time that we perhaps reached out to possible allies that I had avoided before but now seemed the most logical choices. There were of course the Moonbeasts which I had a feeling would try and betray us at the first chance they had but they were no friends of the Starlords. Which would more than likely lead to the Mind Emperor supposedly a former Moonbeast who was rumored to rule over an army of ghouls or in reality cloned Hyborians. Now that leads to of course Garbage a group of supposedly powerful ghouls who were already if rumor was to be believed working towards the same goals Dragonfirre already sought. Which in turn I rationalized would lead to Queen B a possible Avatar of Bast and Hecate who it seemed was not on the side of the Dreaming God as well but perhaps seeking to pit each side against each other so in the end only those who served her would be on top. Not a bad idea really and of course that led back to the well informed reporter Nick Carter who worked for the Ajax Miltren press and had set us on this mission to begin with. Nick it seemed could be reached by his editor which might very well be our next stop for we need a Seer on our side. Which finally lead to the Seer I really wanted to see named Olga who it seemed was Nick Carter’s mysterious source. But first there would be Fluky Luke who if things had worked our well would be able to put us in contact with female Hyborian Spirit who had joined with Sneaky Pete who even if still decease I had hope that Vadania would soon return and we could raise him and perhaps bring her back into our sphere of influence once again. Lastly there was our ace in the hole the Great Race of Yith who were enemies of not only the Dreaming God but the Starlords, Red Menace and even the Mind Emperor who most recently had taken up residence inside Mongo. Either way Swami Donnie had said they had worked our an arrangement and I had a feeling once we found him they would be eager to give us access to their network for the small price of giving them a chance gain vengeance on the Dreaming God as well as the those who held members of their race captive. This was as a rule was why I had always believed that you should treat your Thralls with love and respect and if so they will love and respect you as opposed to be ready to rise up against you and the slightest provocation. After all it the best Thrall was one that served you and worshipped you of their own free will, well with the exception of those pesky Gnomes of course who were born to serve.

Of course the hardest task was not putting together my plan but making sure every member of Dragonfirre understood the plan and were prepared to do whatever it took to carry it out. Lucky Ron had said it best when he saw how the loss of Nialla and the Associate were affecting me in a moment of weakness. He had said “Before this mission is over I expect a lot of things to change even perhaps members of our team.” He had been right of course and had been reminding me of an Unseelie lesson without even realizing it. I had expected to be working much closer with him in the coming days for he had shown a devotion to the cause that had never wavered. Slick Rick I never doubted of course for I knew he was prepared to lay waste to his whole world if necessary to achieve our mission. He was my rock my foundation perhaps the last Druid and whole heartedly believed if not logically then emotional that he might very well find a way back to save Hyboria and rewrite history itself. I needed that kind of faith life and speaking of faith there was Vadania and she only had to continue to do her duty and continue to keep us alive and if she came around and loosened up a little so much the better. I also realized for yet another reason while I had believed Athena had blessed her with the knowledge and wisdom to aid us it seemed there were limits on what she had been able to foresee. We needed to bring her up to speed and fast before her attitude and worship of my cousin Symerria got her killed. So my awesome and provocative cousin Symerria and by the grace of Aphrodite was she blessed and sure my Mother as well as a few my Sisters were more beautiful if you could even use that word to describe such beauty which almost brought tears to one’s eyes was going to be I could tell a slight problem. I had seen it before I had liberated the Dust of Hermes she had been worried about the loss of life and even voted against it. Don’t even let me get started on her Vow of Poverty but the there was a bright side the Arch’s had indeed blessed and continued to bless her and we would need every advantage we could muster before we faced the Dreaming God as we dealt with its minions so I was willing to put up with her issues. Of course I could not worry about the moralistic Clean Eugene and Mickey the Torch and actually of felt it perhaps best if they were otherwise occupied since I felt they would have had issues with the direction we would soon be embarking on. I had always told Dragonfirre I always have a Plan well it looks like it’s become time to reveal that Plan and work the Plan. It was our time and by my divine patrons Aphrodite, Loki, Dionysus, Pan, and even Malcanthet under whom I had learned and studied it was time to open the Beguiler Black Book and let the show really begin. Before I was done Dragonfirre would turn Emerald inside out and all about and reveal to them what the Dreaming God is all about.

Chapter Thirty Nine : The Plan or The Great Escape

2010-05-26T23:37:00.000-05:00

So how does one begin to plan a celebration for a long lost family member who had been presumed dead for over several millennia well that was my dilemma. Now of course was there anyone more deserving than Symerria the Half-Nymph daughter of the Nymph Aretusa sister of my Mother the Queen of the Summer Court Fey. Now perhaps there were a few temporal glitches that needed to be worked out since she somehow had received a secret coded message from my Mother informing me to still my emotions and think about my actions before I acted. It’s a good thing actually for otherwise I might not have been planning a celebration and perhaps more like a funeral. One might imagine how could I consider such an action against someone who was graced with such beauty, charm and grace that many supernatural beings like Succubi or Angels would be jealous well perhaps because I am biased. Since while I will not say I am not a Beauty mine has always been physical as well as mental on which had in the past set me ahead of my equally beautiful, charming and graceful seven sisters of which I rarely speak or for that much write. So perhaps having to always work harder to charm or beguile those that my sisters enthralled before they even opened their mouths or even took a seductive step was often annoying. I of course have course had long gotten over it but from an early age I learned that just because you were not the most beautiful did not mean you could not come home with the prize. Did that not mean I could not wait to throw Symerria down and pleasure her until I became the only woman she would ever truly desire well of course I did. Not that I would ever become jealous and I would expect her to have other lovers both male and female as I myself was accustomed but she would know who really desired and loved her. It might be an Aphrodite thing or any of my various bloodlines of which I shall not go into but Symerria after coming back to us into battle and death deserved as much fun, excitement, and pleasure as she could handle and if I had anything to say about it even more.

Speaking of a girl who is wound just way to tight would be no other then our Favored Soul Vadania favored of Athena. Which of course begged an important question the fate of our Gods which I knew were tied to us in more ways than one was the resurrection truly in our hands? Perhaps so I knew the Arch’s and the Duke’s of Hell were concerned about our success we even had a few champions of the Gods themselves among our number. While I served Aphrodite who had come before them all not Gaia of course but one born of her in a roundabout sense being birthed fully grown with mastery of all her abilities when Uranus was castrated by Cronus when he had overthrown his Father before he himself was overthrown in a similar fashion by Zeus. So yeah Aphrodite had been around far longer than the current Deities that Vadania served and somehow she chose the youngest Athena to identify with the most go figure. Either way she was in reality a natural conduit that could eventually be channeled to bring about the full restoration of their power. Don’t get me wrong the whole selfless sacrifice that Vadania constantly displays has actually endeared her to my heart but seriously with Nialla gone off to the Hells taking the scrolls of life with her I needed to find a way to transfer Vadania’s power over life and death into a form that could be used to resurrect her when the day came that her actions brought her injuries beyond my ability to heal and she was gone perhaps forever. She seemed so sheltered and alone and I could tell the path of the Favored Soul had been hard on her no doubt leading her to a solitary existence away from Elven or even Fey influence. Truly sad for that meant she had never known love or ever felt free to express her desires and held on to an ideal of love that might be impossible for any man or woman ever live up to. Not that I ever doubted my ability to seduce her if the need ever arose but I was not looking for another thrall but instead a friend and perhaps even a lover which were of course the best kind.

So where did that leave my deluded and highly moral Mickey the Torch or in reality Erik who had been mutated by the foulness of the Mythos Lair. Well it left him invisible and beyond my ability to reach for where once he had been not only charismatic and handsome his appearance was not by the standard of many hideous. Don’t get me wrong a lover of mine in the past had often assumed the form of a Mind Flayer whose tentacles had brought me such joy that even to this day thinking about brings flutters through my entire body. This was different his skin his face even entire body was now strange and alien.

So alright enough fluff and time to get on with the situation that we really needed to resolve on what we call perhaps Hyboria Island. I know with my cousin Symerria around I may not be the greatest beauty but my brain and intellect which far outshines every member of Dragonfirre seemed once again to come into question. I will try not to blame my companions and friends because the truth is they really can’t keep up with every variable that I have calculated and deduced long before they have even come up with it. In the end my belief that one of the valuable items we had needed to complete our quest was indeed the anchor that was holding Hyboria Island within its interdimensional space turned out to be correct. It would seem that the drastic change which had already been foreseen was indeed to come to pass. What I had thought would start off quick enough after an unnecessary debate and delay I had liberate two vials of Baneful Dust of Hermes. This of course was the catalyst that lead to Hyboria Island instantly dimensionally shifting to Emerald. There was of course some drama before we had shadow walked to pick up our Organization Agents and after which eventually lead to a dimensional shifting conflict in space aboard a Starlord Space Vessel in orbit of Emerald. Of course it did not help that I already expended a great deal of magical energy and somehow our actions according to some prophecy had turned us into the Chased as opposed to the Hunters. The bright side we had arrived at one of the places I had wanted to be in space aboard Starlord spacecraft things could only look up as you shall see.

I had thought our acquisition of the final pieces on our list to be obtained with the former Red King mansion which turned out to be two vials of the Baneful Dust of Hermes would be acquired without so much debate and anguish from Dragonfirre. Wow was I wrong for in front of us once we had transverse to the end of the twisting dark cavern lay a earthen five feet by five cube that was floating in the air which of course emanated artifact level magic. I of course had already deduced that what we sought was inside and that its removal from the cube might very well lead to a dimensional shift which might very well hurl Hyboria Island into the dimension of Emerald. Now some might have said how I could have put such a thought together of how could I have deduced that there was a plan in place to cover it well there were many subtle clues. I had even informed the Duke of Winter that it might very well happen and to be prepared just in case. Of course where the Island had arrived on the world had been a mystery and of course the global geological effects that were to occur had been more far reaching that I would have expected but then again my Mother always said you can’t have your omelet unless the servants break a few eggs so there you had it. So ok while I will have to admit the confidence that Lucky Ron showed in me will always be appreciated the downright hostility displayed by Symerria and the utter dismay of Vadania were just on the verge of being overdone. Even Slick Rick while he agreed that we needed to proceed had seemed to have a moment of doubt. It had all started because I did not just recover the two vials within the earthen seal and let the others think about it for a moment or two actually like fifteen minutes but who was counting. Symerria had used her Incantrix ability to perceive into the Ethereal Plane and from there she was able to observe two vials that seemed to be sustaining or powering a magical matrix. Meanwhile since Vadania was helpless with divination Slick Rick had performed a natural right that spoke of earthquakes and floods if we were to disrupt the magical balance within the cube. Vadania and I had both deduced that we were dealing with vials of the Baneful Dust of Hermes which of course set off Vadania who it seemed was more in the dark about our mission then I had realized. Even Slick Rick held onto the belief that we might be able to go back in time and restore Hyboria a belief I did not share but then again his faith was stronger than mine and I would support him if he believed he was being guided in a direction that would make his dream a reality. Vadania had started to rant and rave about disturbing the resting place Hermes and while Slick Rick and Lucky Ron had tried to calm her their pleas fell on deaf ears. I on the other had just ignored her for she was only once again showing her lack of awareness and intelligence of which I knew she possessed but it seemed her sheltered life had stunted her emotional and intellectual growth a pity really. Symerria in her own rant while not saying she would try and stop me had continued to make a case to leave the cube alone as removing the jars could disrupt the order of this plane and endanger the lives of the inhabitants of Hyboria Island when perhaps another way could be found. She had even called me foolish which even coming from a mouth as beautiful as hers had stung me I mean really who she that she thought she could to speak to me that way. She had apologized but had told me she had needed to say what she said in order to make sure she was getting my attention. I relented slightly and even had cast a divination spell to allow me to pierce the Ethereal Plane and what I had seen was miraculous for what I had perceived first was of course absolute proof of the Baneful Dust of Hermes but also a magical matrix that stretched away in every possible direction that resembled and anchor of sorts so entranced was I for a moment that I had started to move back upstairs to see if it did indeed reach to the sky. As I had arrived and looked out the window it did indeed and of course the front door was open yet again and since I was unable to feel the minds of the Count’s made men I had withdrawn back downstairs. I let the others know about my deduction and about the open door and Lucky Ron stepped away to investigate. Vadania had stepped over the cube as if to try and move it physically and Slick Rick had given it a better look and informed us that it was a cube composed of almost every natural element. In the end I even pulled the Lamp which had taken on a darker look and the answers it gave I felt were indeed warped by our environment which caused me to not consider it advice to of course claim the two vials within the cube. I guess there was never really ever a doubt what was going to happen for in the end I summoned a Shadow Earth Elemental which charmed with my Fey gifts just as an extra measure and had it step through the earthen cube and bring me the two vials and instantly just like that things changed. Of course there was the sudden quake but then my Elemental suddenly appeared normal and Slick Rick had said we were back on Emerald and that we needed to exit the cave for soon it might collapse or flood.

We made our way upstairs and it was daylight and we could seem a great deal of commotion outside as it had just went from being almost sundown to at least midday which I am sure had thrown the Counts made men for a loop or two. As they ran around in dismay and chaos I informed the others that it was time to enter the Plane of Shadow and travel to Winter to recover our companions. I had summoned a force cage to surround the two vials of Baneful Dust which actually had names on each jar one being the Horse of Apollo and the other being the Eye of Medusa and mentally sealed it with the command word dolphin and passed the vials to Lucky Ron to keep in his magical haversack. The vials would be protected for twelve days which I knew was the best I could do for the moment as I had then told everyone to prepare themselves for the Plane of Shadow. This was to be my first return to my third home in what had in reality been decades since my last trip with my Mother when she had spent months teaching me how to navigate and understand my shadow abilities which of course paled in comparison to her own but still I had felt at home and for the brief few minutes we had spent travelling to Winter to reclaim our missing Organization Associates my already flaring temper had due to the influence of the Plane of Shadow cooled. We arrived and of course we were around three hundred feet off course for even with my gifts the transition back to the Prime Material Plane sporadic. I had begun scanning around looking for a telepathic Brownie as had Lucky Ron and soon we were able to not only pick up our men but see to it that the Duke and his Gold Dragon Sherriff would receive the message that what we had discussed had indeed come to pass. The others had felt the need for me to instill a greater sense of urgency when I truly felt as I had tried to explain before but which I was sure had fell on deaf ears the seers and prophets of this Island had to be expected this one day. Of course they were but at the time I did not yet have proof on my deductions and my own belief so I suppose I could understand their stress and dismay. We had not delayed long and moments after we had arrived I made sure Swami Donnie had brought his men up to speed about what they were to witness and that they would remain calm and then cast the shadow walk spell to allow us to once again enter the Plane of Shadow were every minute we spent travelling we could transverse just a little less than a mile or actually point eighty three percent of a mile ever sixty seconds to be exact. I had intended to spend some quality time with my Red King thrall or even take him with us with us but sadly twelve was my limit and I had already reached it. We had been discussing travelling to the Elder Thing shop and acquiring a few crystals but I felt our priority needed to be to check with the High Priest of Nodens who I was sure could fill us in on their plan to deal with the coming disaster and perhaps a few clues for our future.

Minutes later after another comforting well at least for me for I could tell the all consuming twilight of the Plane of Shadow was taking its toll on Slick Rick the most and the others to a lesser extent we arrived in Ringtown around three hundred feet from the main Nodens temple complex. As we had approached it seemed the day was indeed a good day for the faith for the complex was surrounded. We used our natural charisma to make our way to our contact at the front of the complex and within moments stood before the High Priest. She had been surrounded of course but upon seeing we had ushered those attending her aside and with her leave I placed her into my telepathic link. I had informed her quickly of what had happened and she was able to deal with it as I expected a High Priest should and I was able to find out that she had indeed been expecting this day and that a plan to save Hyboria Island was already in place. Perhaps I might have forgotten to mention that Slick Rich had actually said that the entire Island might sink over four inches into the ocean well in reality it was more like six miles but who was counting. Slick Rick had wanted more details and I had informed him that as I had anticipated a plan was in place. At which point he had told me to shut up and while I had looked at him with awe I had merely said “Really” and he had replied “Really”. At which point I had shut up for Slick Rick I had appointed to be my spiritual guide and while I will admit I was furious for it only made me realize just for my intellect exceeded my companions I had relented and faded from view allowing the shadows to claim me but I kept the telepathic link active. The High Priest had off course answered Slick Ricks inquiry into their plan and told them that they had for as far back as she could remember had a plan to save the island and the Islands powers that be would in effect raise the entire Island above sea level. Now she had of course included they had no warning about being sent to another reality and I had of course informed her of the factions and powers that be so she could inform the others. I had realized a few important things at that moment our clock had just accelerated for now there was an entire new Island of Hyborians ripe for the plucking and history had already shown that they would not fare well. I had also concluded that raising the Island while it would preserve the Island which it seemed as Swami Donnie and Slick Rick were able to confirm now rested four hundred miles north of the lands we had already explored and come to know it would also cause a natural disaster the likes of which the world had never seen before. Last but not least and I was glad to see that Lucky Ron was thinking along the same lines if no one else noticed the arrival of a new Island then the Starlords in space were bound to notice when a giant blip just appeared on their screens. So when I had asked her for it seemed as we had now been more successful than any of our previous temporal incarnations in the past if the prophecies offered her any advice she could bequeath upon us. I had not really been surprised but of course it’s always good to hear when you deduction prove to be correct for she basically told us that while in the past we could have been considered the Hunters we could now until we found a way to change it due to our actions be considered the Chased.

We had not delayed much after that since staying put only raised the chances of us being caught and the Elder Thing Crystals would just have to wait. I realized what would come next would be just a little complicated for we would need to travel four hundred miles of mostly ocean to arrive at the northern tip of Phaedra Farms at the very least. I took a moment to consider the eight hour travel time as well as how we would cross the Shadow Ocean when we came to it and realized we would need a barge. I had explained to the others what I had meant for the Shadow Plane while quite variable mimicked the terrain of the surrounding environment to a great degree. So while I had no doubt that Slick Rick and I could have made the swim I had my doubts about the others hence the need to acquire a boat or a barge. Of course the city was in a complete upheaval but after a few moments we located a young man who could rent us a barge which I of course chose to buy as we would not be returning it. After working on haggling which I soon realized was useless since the price from his own mind was one hundred and fifty gold. I found he was willing to settle for one hundred and forty five at best, for he would have been responsible for the remaining cost either way. The others had seemed concerned over how he had wanted to know what we offered and while I had opened with an offer of one hundred gold which had been turned down due to the cost difference of our currency it actually ended up being exactly what I had expected to pay and after summoning my shadow servants fifteen to be exact who then picked up the barge we were almost ready to go. We had travelled outside of town as everyone who was anyone seemed to be intent on heading into town since after all around ninety percent of the Islands population lived there it did not take long to find a secluded shadowy forest locale for me to cast my third shadow walk spell and our journey could begin. One might ask if I felt bad for the servants who I had tasked to carry the barge and who would later be manning the oars well of course not for I am royalty after all and that’s what servants are for after all at least I did not have the Organization Agents doing the work.

I had believed that at the most during our extended journey we would at best encounter a resident of the Plane of Shadow with whom I would have been able to negotiate what actually happened surprised me. Don’t get me wrong we had traveled over a third of the way which equated to around one hundred and fifty miles and were making our way on the ocean with my servants manning the oars. During that time I could tell the darkness had stilled the others my mind had wandered back to conversations that while of little import at the time led me to believe could pose a problem in the near future. First off had been Symerria and her Vow of Poverty which would cause issues with almost all of the cloths I had already made for her the day before. Of course if she wore nothing at all that would have been fine with me and in the darkness where only I could see I had spent a great deal of time staring at her beautiful body while none of the others could witness my state of lust. I had even offered to allow her to use my Hat of Mystery which she of course she had turned down due to the constraints of her Vow and I realized I would have to settle for an illusion once we arrived on the continent for it seemed she could only wear what a commoner could wear and I figured I would set her up with Ves acolyte gear. Meanwhile Vadania was able to alter her armor as Lucky Ron had show her with the aid of a Hat of Disguise to resemble the gangster garb we had all changed into and she only needed tie her weapons and place them within her haversack and her transformation had been complete. She had even gone on to explain to Swami Donnie in detail the limitations on her ability to raise his fallen comrades. Worth nothing of course but it made me even more aware of the need and the sacrifice we might all need to make to help her create a Scroll or two with the raise dead miracle inscribed upon it you know just in case. I will admit I also found that I had been wise while I will admit it had been hard to bit my tongue and not explode at Slick Rick he had confided to me thru the private mindlink I maintain with him something that truly even on the Plane of Shadow warmed my heart. He had apologized to me for snapping at me and informed me with his wisdom as a guide that I needed to remember that sometimes my intellect put be far ahead of them and that I would help if I remembered that often they needed time to catch up. I had of course thanked him and I informed him that I would do my best to keep him and the others better informed so that they could keep up with me. For a while there I actually thought we might be in the clear but of course during the third hour something unexpected happened one moment we were on the Plane of Shadow and the next were in a white sealed prison and don’t let me forget to mention there was not air inside.

Alright I was just a little upset for what had just happened should have been impossible perhaps only within the powers of a God. I mean really were in an entirely different dimension and somehow something had not only locked on to us but had also transported us to who knew where. Now of course sadly I still have one major weakness I still need to breath and so I summoned a Shadow Air elemental that could sacrifice itself to give us air to breath until I could work our current situation. I of course first tried the most direct route and cast another shadow walk spell for I figured wherever we were I could get us back to the Plane of Shadow and work things out from there. Of course it was blocked and it had the distinctive feel of Mythos Magic which of course then caused me to ask Vadania for my spellstaff back or I did not plan to cast my last sixth circle spell unless I absolutely had to and I had placed that very spell within my staff. I could increase my spells more in a pinch but I really would prefer not to have to drug myself and deal with the massive side effects afterward. Now before I could enter into a state of concentration to release the magic within the spellstaff I expanded my senses and found outside the chamber which imprisoned us three minds but not just any minds Starlord minds and I realized they were also telepathic. I informed the others and simply telepathically let them know that we were inside and if they could let us out so we could talk. I know pretty smooth and soon as I let my mind register the other minds around us I found at least twenty one of which one seemed to be some kind of aberration. I began to concoct a tale to tell them as the first thing once they had lowered the walls was how we had ended up in the rift from which they had just scooped us. The three Starlords wore silver metallic outfits and wore belts similar to the one I had seen before an impressive Psion who had run an Apex Science Center and I derived that they would have some kind of personal shields. I scanned their minds and I was able to determine from their surface thoughts that they were not able to read my mind in turn so I will admit I got a little cocky. Perhaps I should have stuck with the tale of finding my spellstaff and that it had led us to the rift from where they had detected us and scooped us. But no Miss know it all Beauty the Brain had to have it all for while I had a feeling that we were now in space and I needed to prove it. I had taken the high road and informed them that I knew we were in space and were actually undercover agents sent to investigate their actions. Of course I had trusted my eloquent persuasive skills to cover almost anything I said and make it believable but it seemed that the Starlords were actually up to no good and I had in reality instead of building confidence I had instead instilled fear which caused them to attack in order to silence us and protect their mission.

Well Lucky Ron was expecting them to attack at any moment and seemed ready for them and while I was also ready I was upset that of course they had to be part of some sinister plot against their own kind. Of course the Starlord pulled wrist blasters and called for backup. Did I forget to mention that their scooping station was location in the middle of their ship in the center which placed four entrances from which they could call those said reinforcements to surround us. A fierce melee soon began with many of our Organization Agents taking the brunt of the onslaught. There were of course a few hectic moments where Hawkeye Allen’s misfire took down Diamond Jim and even Gizmo Dent fumbled a grenade which dropped and detonated at our feet which caught me as well. Lucky Ron had advanced into their ranks and with his sword and the arcane force magic of Symerria one of the Starlords went down. I had faded from view, cast a haste and was busy using my blessed bandages to stabilize or Organization Agents as they began to succumb to the increasing blaster fire. I had even summoned my Fey Knight to attempt to hold them back but their shields made their attacks almost useless and since they had no minds which caused them to ignore them. Slick Rick had transformed and was holding one entrance and I had no choice but the cast a shadow wall of ice to block another entrance which left of course two entrances clear. I could sense an odd sensation from Vadania and I had a feeling we might be losing her to whatever realm our Dragonfirre members went when they were called away. Swami Donnie had been busy at my instruction scanning our surroundings trying to get a handle on how he might take control of the ship while I was considering how we might escape back to the Plane of Shadow just in case. To be honest the concept of capturing one of the Starlord spacecraft really turned me on but not if it meant the loss of life of members of Dragonfirre or the Organization. I was not worried for I knew I had a few more moves to play but I was not liking my options but I had no choice but to play the cards I had been dealt and with Lucky Ron still standing I figured might as well go for broke.

I will not attempt to deduce the powers of the Starlord Tech and only say the most important part when am I going to get my hands on some of it. It’s no wonder that Hyboria fell after a prolonged battle for if their technology can bridge the Planes of Existence then not matter what happens to the Dreaming God the Starlords are still going to be a problem. For while I had already been formulating a plan to sneak into their spaceport and perhaps commandeer a spacecraft since I have know of the technology since my first encounter with the Moonbeast I had placed those thoughts in the back of my mind in the belief that for the most part we had little to be concerned regarding the Starlords. Perhaps exactly what many Hyborians who perished might have also believed but I could see the silver lining in our transport aboard one of their vessels. We were in a position to seize one of their ships or at the very least we had gained confirmation of their ships in orbit. Of course I would much have much preferred to be sharing a little quality time with Symerria, Lucky Ron and a few of the Organization Agents but alas it seemed that once again Emerald had other plans for us. Well alright I was still a little upset with the outbursts of Symerria and Vadania but I have always found a little pleasure goes really far in my book to heal all wounds. I of course had a number options left either to flood the entire ship with water, perhaps breech the hull and see how well the Starlords did without an air supply or perhaps my favorite and of course the most dangerous find the leader of the ship charm him and have him call off the entire attack. Every option I knew was bold and I even had a few more dangerous options it had thought up but each of them would have called for me sacrificing either members of Dragonfirre or Organization Agents so I shall not even place those ideas in this record. Suffice to say Dragonfirre the Organization Agents and I were in the thick of it again and would I really want it any other way for without peril can one really ever appreciate pleasure by the savage Ares or for the love of Aphrodite I really doubt it.

Chapter Thirty Eight : Yet Even More Mythos Minions or Becoming Even More Ruthless

2010-05-26T23:36:00.000-05:00

Well our little foray into the last sub-basement which led into the Cave of Despair was actually something I welcomed for it mirrored the state of my heart. Eight hours had passed since our meeting with the Mummy Guardian and Symerria and Vadania were both rested. Lucky Ron and I had spent a little quality time while they had rested that was of course disturbed by the so called siege of the Mansion of the Winter Provider and a few of the Count’s made men. Which forced me to stay on my guard while Swami Donnie had rested to restore his own energies and I had even taken an hour to do the same after I had summoned shadow servants to keep an eye on every entrance of course. Mickey the Torch had not yet returned to us nor had Clean Eugene and even Slick Rick had vanished as well. Which told me that since due to word from the Count’s made men we were running out of time to either acquire what we needed and leave or otherwise be prepared to deal with them since they seemed to want to lay claim to not only the Mansion of the Winter Provider but everything within it. Not that I was overly concerned since I knew we had a way out which they had no knowledge but time was working against me. So we had prepared as well as we could and began our descent in the Cave of Despair. I was still going by Beauty since it seemed that Symerria chose to still call me by that name and so I decided to go with it and it had actually warmed me toward her since I had had to time for my emotions to catch up to my brain and come to terms with the fact that it had not been her fault. The cave had been dark, damp as well as slippery but my magics allowed us to transverse it without any difficulty. We encountered Flying Polyps, Enlightened Ghouls and even a Minor Shoggoth which had tried to keep us from our goal. Vadania who was still sadly worshipping Symerria had even almost died. I will admit my mind had settled with the aid of my friends of which I even now counted Vadania, Symerria even Swami Donnie but Lust, Avarice, Vanity, and Wrath were just waiting to be unleashed and I am thankful to Aphrodite that I was able to find release. Looking back I realize I may have surprised some of my companions with my dramatic turn and even at moments brutally honest statements but they had gained a glimpse into my Unseelie upbringing. I had thought I had abandoned those ways but it seemed they were just waiting to resurface and without anyone to truly love I knew it would be a battle to contain that darkness but I shall reveal how this came about so all will become clear.

To begin it had been a close battle but we had achieved yet another objective on our list to construct the Lightning Gun which we were to eventually us to put a stop to the so called Dreaming God called Cthulhu. Where did that leave us well it left us with two magically exhausted beautiful women who needed to rest and no I was actually not one of them. Actually Vadania and Symerria had both exhausted themselves during our encounter with the Mummy and her minions. Meanwhile Mickey the Torch and Clean Eugene were still missing and Slick Rick soon joined them which left us three operatives down. For the love of Aphrodite whatever was going on was really starting to get on my nerve. I will admit I have always realized that for our mission to succeed it would rely on my intellect and not my looks or truly the efforts of Dragonfirre. It was apparent to me that the reason I needed Dragonfirre was to keep myself in check so that I did not become worse than the very chaotic force we were trying to destroy. On might think that I could be overestimating my abilities and perhaps I might be but that is for others to determine once they have gained the intellect or the insight to understand my motives and the full extent of my abilities. That being said Swami Donnie seemed to need a little rest as well and Symerria retired to one of the upstairs bedrooms with Vadania following right behind her and what a vision they made together. For while Symerria like many members of my family redefined the concept of beauty so much so that I had even been considering changing my name from Beauty the Brain to Faith and Vadania’s beauty was a stark contrast to her berating personality but it had been growing on me. I will admit for a few moments I was envious of Vadania getting the chance to sleep with Symerria but I could tell from her actions that she hoped that they were only going to share the room together which was something that Symerria even commented on which was actually quite humorous to me at the time. I had decided to summon my shadow servants to keep watch on the entrances since I had noticed since arriving here that a number of beings I had encountered including Symerria seemed to have the ability to either mislead or even cloak themselves from my Mindsight so I was not going to rely on it for our security. As Vadania began her four hour rest cycle and Symerria her eight I was taking the time to size up Lucky Ron who I had felt I had been neglecting long enough and if all went well I would soon have relieved a little fatigue of my own.

Once the others had settled in Lucky Ron had begun to discuss the magical tattoos that I had been inscribing on myself and in the past on by departed Nialla. He had inquired about my ability to place the tattoos and how they worked as well as how long they lasted and I had let him know they lasted twenty four hours and enhance his physical combat skills as well as his overall resistance. I of course informed him it would be my pleasure to place them upon him each day if he so desired. He was of course eager to receive the enchantments and as my shadow servants removed my clothing and armor I had told him excellent and to strip for I needed to place the tattoos on his chest and back. After stripping I was of course more comfortable but of course I realized that thanks to the arrival of the nearly for most mortals stunning beauty of Symerria which I am sure would leave most of this dimension awestruck I knew my beauty would now go unnoticed. Which I was actually comfortable with for with her breathtaking body around to distract our foes I no longer needed to be the charmer and I could therefore focus on my more carnal desires and while I realized that might cause me to appear to some as a more ruthless individual the reality was this mission had already cost me two lovers dear to my heart and it was high time for me to begin getting my revenge on the minions of the Dreaming God. I found great pleasure in straddling Lucky Ron’s firm and athletic body first his back and then his chest as I applied the magics upon him and while I had left it to him to take me if he so wished for the pleasure of placing the spells were enough to bring orgasmic surges throughout my entire body he neglected to do so. I was a little sad for the wasted opportunity but I also needed to rest to restore my own energy and I figured we had plenty of time after I awoke as I only needed one hour of rest. I felt confident when my familiar Angelica woke me but I was a little upset for she informed me of strange sounds that were emanating from outside. So as I rose I could see that Lucky Ron was waiting for me and was already moving toward the window. From what I could make out something had changed the Brownies looked fearful and there seemed to be an air of oppression in the air. I would soon find out that the Count’s made men no doubt Vampires or some other Mindless Minion who seemed to literally scare the assembled army to death. Lucky Ron always the gambler opened the door and motioned to the Concierge Shrimpy to whom we had spoken before to come over as it seemed as if they were perhaps getting ready to begin an assault at any moment. We were also able to notice that the trees in the distance of their seemed to have little birds in them and to be honest on second glace to determine that they were actually bats. Shrimpy walked over and I let Lucky Ron know to go ahead and speak for us and I would be ready to back him up if necessary. Shrimpy it seemed to be scared and as Lucky Ron pressed the point of our truce and Shrimpy let us know that the Count’s men had arrived and taken over the siege. Which in other words meant that we no longer needed Shrimpy and Lucky Ron informed him that perhaps he should have one of them come forward for he thought we had a deal but if we needed to renegotiate than they should come forward if they wished to avoid violence. Lucky Ron also asked me to wake the others just in case and so I concentrated my will on my shadow servants to rouse them as well as informing them with telepathy of course I needed to inform Scrounger who would have to fill in Symerria. I basically informed them that the guard had changed and we were going to be speaking with the new management and we had wanted them to be aware just in case things became hostile although I doubted that they would. Symerria insisted on coming down which meant Vadania followed and once again the vision they struck together was quite provocative. Only Swami Donnie took my advice and continued to rest but I could tell at a moment’s notice he could be ready to react which worked perfectly for me. It was only a few moments before a figure seemed to form from with the ranks of the assembled Host he was large wore chainmail and as I expected he either had no mind or it was shielded as I had suspected which of course meant I had a feeling our conversation was going to be an interesting one.

The Counts made man who seemed to instill fear in all of those assembled around the mansion had walked up with unearthly grace and of course no mind to speak of. He introduced himself as Lord Crux and asked if he could step inside and Lucky Ron had stopped him letting him know we were under a truce and for now we should talk at the door and he seemed reluctant but agreed. I stood at Lucky Ron’s side to support him and I noticed that Symerria and Vadania had arrived and I realized I really needed to make Symerria some new cloths not that didn’t look hot in her wrap but who can blame me for wanting to strip her lovely and seductive body of those cloths and dress her in more formal attire. After all there was such a thing as standing out and while I looked forward to the distraction I was sure would follow her wherever we went conformity would help to build on the strength of Dragonfirre or even our current alias the Limited Enforcers. Crux had meanwhile started to explain that he felt that perhaps there might have been a misunderstanding and that when Shrimpy had informed us that we had until tonight to clear out what he should have informed us was that not only was his Master laying claim to the Winter Providers mansion but also everything within it three basements as well. He honestly seemed to be looking for a way to avoid a confrontation and even went so far as to explain that since he believed were already clearing out the basements that there might be a little wiggle room on what he would allow us to leave with. That was of course he implied if we wished to continue the state of our truce and avoid any unnecessary conflict in the near future. He had continued to speak on the matter of the lives of the former inhabitants and their fate and Lucky Ron had moved to quickly and informed him that all that were inside were already dead. Well that was the stroke that almost broke up the negotiations for while Lucky Ron had tried to recover Crux no doubt felt that if we had shown no quarter to the Winter Provider could our word really be trusted. Lucky Ron even tried to delay stating we could talk again but Crux had started to turn and exclaimed then perhaps it will have to be the hard way after all. Which was my time to act I smoothly convinced Crux to hold for a moment informing him we truly preferred a peaceful relationship with the Count and that our issues with the Winter Provider had been personal not business. In addition the fate of the Winter Provider had not yet been truly determined for at least two of their number still resided within Ringtown and while we were indeed looking for something once we were done looking it might very well be in the Count’s best interest for us to speak again. I even gave my word that we would inform them before we left and after all where could we really go after all and he had looked me up and down and agreed. As he had departed and we shut the door Lucky Ron had looked at me and looked at me and said how did you do that you only just said what I had already said, it must be that you are a woman. I merely smiled at him and looked to the others and said perhaps or you I might have only been waiting for you to soften him up before I closed the deal.

As Symerria had started back upstairs I had stopped Vadania before she could follow and asked her for a moment before she retired. I don’t know what had come over me for while I had intended to eloquently try and dissuade her from following Symerria around what I actually said was actually what had really been on my mind. I actually surprised myself for I had told her basically what an idiot I believed she was being not only for following her around but that her actions were starting to bring her sanity and intelligence into question. Even Swami Donnie had woke up as he had heard me tell her off and while I had follow up with an sincere apology she had seemed to take my comments in stride. Swami Donnie had of course taken another moment to confirm that I had really just said what I had just said and I smiled at him and said it happens. Vadania it seemed actually preferred someone being bluntly honest with her but that she still felt that Symerria was an Avatar sent from the Gods for how else could she possess such beauty and grace. I had even tried to explain to her that she looked just like many members of my family but being the outsider that I knew she was she would not hear me so I had moved on. I had continued on and removed my spellstaff within which I had placed a shadow walk spell and informed her that I wished her to hold it for me for if something happened to me and they needed to withdraw she or Symerria I was sure could use it open a gateway into the Plane of Shadow to travel to Ringtown. I decided to communicate with Vadania telepathically and asked her to ask Symerria if she was alright or if she needed anything. Or shall I say that’s what I recall for when Vadania had asked her the question she had of course said one of our companions instead of posing the question from herself as I had implied. Lucky Ron had started to smile for he realized that of course it would be obvious who had asked the question as there were only three of us in the room and he knew it was not himself and was not doubt pretty sure it was not Swami Donnie. When Symerria had answered Vadania by basically telling her she could tell Beauty that she was fine and it alright for her to ask me questions directly. I will admit for a moment my anger wanted to flair at Vadania’s inability to complete a simple request but the sound of Symerria’s voice calling me Beauty which seemed to hold just a hint of sexual innuendo had caused me to change my mind. Lucky Ron had spoke to me telepathically and asked me if I had a problem speaking to her and I said no it was just that her mind was shielded and it was easier to communicate by mind than speech. He of course valued my telepathic gifts but he let me know that speaking was still something he felt was necessary and so I relented. What came out of my mouth though was more like a curse as I gazed upon Symerria and I spoke of how sometimes I hated my Mother for having done many of the things she had done. For of course it was not Symerria’s fault that she had been trapped for millennia in a hellish soul crystal only able to live vicariously through my beloved Nialla with whom I had shared many a erotic moment which she may have very well witnessed perhaps even experienced. So I therefore endeavored to treat her better for after all she was my cousin after all and she deserved better. I should have been celebrating her release from imprisonment instead of treating her with what could only seen as callous distain. So I had smiled at her sincerely and told her I did not blame her and that I was glad that she was free and had joined us. She and Vadania went back to continue their rest cycle while Lucky Ron and I went back to for all intents and proposes watch duty for after the change of the guard we both realized it would not be wise to not stay alert. How I envied Vadania and what a waste for I was pretty sure that she was just going to rest up there and not even comfort Symerria much less herself since she was such a stuck up and conceited misguided prude. I also began to think of how I would celebrate Symerria’s liberation perhaps with a celebration worthy of a member of the Fey Summer Court back in Ringtown before we left to return to Hyboria.

Once everyone was once again awake and refreshed we all knew it was time to descend into the final basement into what I had come to call the Cave of Despair. Lucky Ron it seemed has still looked a little concerned about what we would have to deal with once we were done. I will admit I like that about always the officer thinking ahead and looking out for our well being. So as I had planned to do I made sure everyone was aware of my spell staff which held a shadow walk spell which was our ticket out of her even if I were in a worse scenario fall in the coming battle or be too exhausted to cast the spell. Lucky Ron I could tell was now relieved as he now realized why I had not been worried about how we could avoid the massing army outside and I reminded him that within moments and a short walk thru the Plane of Shadow we would be back in Ringtown celebrating our success. We wasted no time descending into the lower chamber where the dark Cave of Despair laid in wait for us. Before we entered Lucky Ron had of course asked for any spells that might strengthen him before we entered and Vadania placed a shield of faith upon him and I placed a barkskin upon him as well as myself as the duration for each spell was hours it was the best we could offer until were engaged. Lucky Ron took point with Vadania and Swami Donnie following with me left to watch Swami Donnie’s cute ass and Vadania in a position to protect Symerria. Darkness enveloped us an all consuming darkness and I soon realized I was the only one able to see and as I had asked Lucky Ron if he could see he informed me would need light. The floor was slippery and I realized that if one was not careful one could easily fall into whatever lay in wait below. I noticed that Vadania had cast an air walk spell so she I could tell would have no worries and after casting a spider climb spell upon myself had followed by casting the same spell on Lucky Ron and Swami Donnie. I looked to the graceful Fey Symerria and I asked her if she needed assistance with the cave and when she said she would I moved toward her and placed my hand on her breast and smiled at her and told her it would be my pleasure. I then followed up with summoning glowing orbs of light which I could control to bring light up to a thirty foot radius. I used my mage hand amulet to convey an orb to everyone’s hand and gave them the commands necessary to control them and while I could control them at range and did not really even need the light it’s always best to be prepared. Symerria had seemed reluctant at first to take the orb as I could tell she wondered if it held value and I informed her it was an item I had created with simple magic and was free and to not worry but I could tell she was concerned. She also took a moment to thank me for saving her from death earlier that day and while I had brushed it off in truth it had touch my heart more deeply than I had let on. I put my feelings aside and drove my mind to the harsh point as I became one with the darkness and prepared myself. For I knew what stood before us would not just hand over what we needed and it might take every trick and ploy I could muster to ensure our victory but that is the job I was born for after all and I was more than ready.

The cave was at least eight feet wide and even seemed as tall as if made by some huge beast and as we had moved in we were in not danger of falling down the slope and had light if my companions needed it so I felt secure the only problem I knew was the noise. I had never realized just how loud my companions were and I realized I was once again thinking of my former friend and confidant known as Associate. For I had learned to play hide and seek in conditions such as this my Mother telling me at the time that is was a gift of the Gods that needed to be kept secret instead of the truth which she wished to keep hidden. For the shadows were like the water a second home to me but secrets I still kept from almost all of companions. So was not surprised when after sixty feet into the cave after it had turned I felt the minds of several aberrations know as Polyps and no sooner had I given warning we were under. Within moments one creature had flown up and engaged Lucky Ron first blowing a cone of solid wind that buffeted us all with deadly force and then creating tentacles from it body and lashing into him like a mad sadist with a cold iron tip. Another flew up and past him to engage Vadania while yet a third moved up on Swami Donnie. Three others waited still behind them and I could tell they were getting ready to engage us as well. Vadania was lashed without mercy and a lesser woman I know would have fallen, cried or even fled but she was true to her faith and stood her ground giving Symerria the chance to cast her haste spell. While Swami Donnie was not as fortunate for while he was serving his propose giving me cover so that I could assess the situation he was overwhelmed by the Polyp and fell before me he body flayed like a soul trapped in the Abyss but I could tell he was still alive. Lucky Ron attacked the Polyp on him with a vengeance whirling like deadly dancer but I could tell these creatures were not just going to lay down for us which was fine by me for I welcomed the chance to unleash my Wrath. I cast a displacement spell upon myself which I knew would give me an added advantage and unleashed a shadow fireball in the midst of the three waiting to back up the fellow Polyps. In the next moment as I had expected I was under attack and the assault was a impressive as I had expected by my Fey gifts and my displacement spell kept me mostly protected but I will admit I was surprised it had attacked me for did it not really realize that I was Beauty the Brain and that soon it and its Master whoever that might be would soon fall before the combined might Dragonfirre. Perhaps not I realized and so I realized it was time to show them just who they were dealing with. The others did not fail me Symerria began to unleash holy magics which along with my own ripped two of the Polyps apart. I had weakened them all with a mass whelm spell with the exception of one that had managed to resist not only my fireball but my whelm as well. I also realized it was time to show these creatures what a true acrobat was capable of for while I had been pressed to cast while under attack that would not last long for I tumbled up and back using the walls and my spider climbing ability to distance myself from the Polyp so I could regroup and summon backup of my own which took form of three Fire Vampires but who were in reality Black Unicorns. It took me another moment while the others held their own to cast a haste upon my Unicorns and send them forward into the fray to help heal Vadania. The Polyps it seemed also called backup which arrived in the form of intelligent magic using ghouls who began to light up Symerria with magic missiles and I could see she was not happy about it and soon unleashed a fireball upon the that dispatched them all with ease for while I had already softened them with a shadow fireball of my own I try to give credit where its due. Meanwhile Vadania mindless of her own danger had healed Swami Donnie who became stable and even Lucky Ron but left nothing for herself and paid the price. For the Polyp that had been on her as well as the one that had been on me ignored Swami Donnie and they double teamed her literally ripping her limb from limb it was almost hypnotic and again she did not scream only looked at them in defiance as she fell seemingly to her death for while my Unicorns or Star Vampires take your pick had healed her the Polyps were stronger than I had anticipated not that I was worried. Why worry my Mother had always told me remain calm seek your center and act, so that’s what I did by informing everyone thru my mind link and told Scrounger to inform Symerria that I was preparing to fall back strategically in order to save Vadania. The only hold out was from Lucky Ron who I could tell was angered that his foe still stood before him. So after he had dispatched it I called upon my powers over shadow and cast a regroup spell that called all of my allies back to me and I pressed my Unicorns to channel all of the healing power at their command into her shredded flesh while using my Healing Belt as I placed my hands on her beautiful breast as they reformed and even calling a potion of healing and bring it to her mouth with power of my Amulet of the Mage I brought her back to life before her soul could begin its journey away from us. I knew the others Lucky Ron and Swami Donnie not longer doubted me but I could see that Symerria was indeed impressed. I will admit many of the tactics I was using were coming to me as I worked and I had noticed before I had cast my regroup spell that Lucky Ron had been struck by a huge tentacle which I could tell was attached to yet another intelligent creature which turned out to be a weaker form of Shoggoth. Vadania wasted no time rose healed Lucky Ron, herself and summoned a Celestial Griffin which took the form of a huge single horned bear to protect our flank. I knew the odds were slim for the plan I concocted to succeed but I figured with Lucky Ron on my side as my good lucky sexual charm I would act and as he was fond of saying hold nothing back. So I cast a hold monster on the one of the remaining Polyps which was held fast as Vadania’s Griffin and Lucky Ron took out the last free Polyp. I then sent two of my Unicorns to hold the passage as I had a feeling the Shoggoth would try and advance while sending third to dispatch the last Polyp. So alright perhaps I had said that very same day that I would do my best to stop just killing our enemies without giving them a chance to resist but I also had told them that when it’s a matter of my life or theirs for the greater good I would embrace my darkness and seek atonement for my actions later. The Shoggoth tried to interrupt and save its last minion but my Unicorns served their purpose and held it off and I could see that Lucky’s luck was with us. So I figured why not go for broke what did we have to lose and I summoned forth my Shadow Fey Legion of Sentinels which appeared wearing the Fey armor of my honor guard wielding magical blades and began to rip into the Shoggoth fully blocking it approach. What happened next I realize happened so quick the others barely had time to even register for I then cast a hold monster upon the Shoggoth and he was mine held and easy prey for my avenging Unicorns to dispatch. I knew the odds were against their success but I would have to kiss Lucky Ron later for as fate would have it the Shoggoth wailed and collapsed and I felt it’s mind die.

I looked to the others and I was able to still see Vadania’s holy weapon floating in the air, my Unicorns had returned to my side and my Fey Legion still stood at attention ready to obey my commands. The others were sort of looking at me in shock as I had healed myself with my Wand of Curing no doubt waiting for some other dark force to rise to oppose us and while I was also ready I found it hard to deduce that anything more powerful than the Shoggoth could still remain below. I knew it would be soon time to negotiate our way out of this basement and this building and make our way to the barn and from there Shadow Walk back to Ringtown. For unless the Count’s minions were really savvy they would have no way to follow us and perhaps the blood of the native brownies could be spared. Either way I was not worried and I looked forward to a celebration worthy of the Summer Court back in Ringtown in addition I had already created a new outfit for Symerria and I could not wait to help her try it on. Things by the love of Aphrodite were looking up and I might even be able to wipe the constant scowl off of Vadania’s face and I looked forward to the return of my other mission companions especially for from the way he had looked at Symerria he just might be willing to let his hair down and enjoy the festivities for once. I of course would hold off on such thoughts in regard to my companions until we had actually arrived in Ringtown for the Realm never ceased to try and find ways to ruin my chances at joy and happiness but you had to claim pleasure wherever you found it and I knew come what may Dragonfirre would not let me down and if I was becoming perhaps a little ruthless well that can be pleasurable too.

Chapter Thirty Seven : Death Of My Beloved Nialla or Rebirth Of My Cousin Symerria

2010-05-26T23:35:00.000-05:00

As I look back on the events that so quickly transpired which with which my now God-Like intelligence allowed I tried my hardest to find joy amidst my despair. For was there a reason my Mother had never spoken of one of the loves of my life Nialla daughter of Hell did she know she was doomed to fall from grace to make way for another. Speaking of this other she was none other than Symerria daughter of the Nymph Arethusa a former mentor, lover and Aunt being the sister of my Mother. Might sound complicated I know but there were many reasons in my youth I had spent in the company of Arethusa but I totally missed the birth of her daughter perhaps with the help of my Mother. Now of course Symerria was a woman whose beauty far surpassed my own much like my sisters and Mother which was to be expected since she was a Sorceress who served the Angels or the Arch’s as they were sometimes called. Of course had she just showed up to help us I would have been of course more than a little jealous but also happy to have another Fey among us. Well much to my despair that was not how she showed up and how I realized my Mother was involved. For in the morning after our battle with the Gog as was my practice I had risen to prepare a meal for Nialla and the others and in that short time my beloved was taken from me. She had decided to step outside and since she was well within the range of my Mindsight and of course Scrounger had been with her which mean I had not worried even less so when Vadania had walked out behind her. Suddenly she and Scrounger were just gone and before I could even make a move to the door there was a bright glow and Vadania was calling in my mind we were under attack. It was of course Vadania overreacting but then I beheld why as I looked upon one of the most beautiful Fey women I had ever seen. I had also noticed two things at the same moment Scrounger had returned but without Nialla and he claimed he had a new Master whom he trusted as well as the new arrival was invisible to my Mindsight. Even Slick Rick while unaffected by her charms was giving her a look of approval meanwhile my anger started to boil within me and she was about to meet Widow Maker if she did not have some really good answers as to who she was and what had happened to my Nialla. I was actually shocked speechless as she had informed me that she had been the soul trapped within the Soul Gem. Then continued on and informed me that she was Symerria daughter of the Nymph Arethusa and bid me greetings from my Mother speaking my Fey name Ali’Ama Er’Odar as a final stamp of her truth. For she had managed with those words to disarm me and while it was not really that simple we had moved on as we still had work to do. We had descended down into library and proceeded into the room beyond where we faced vile Oozes, nefarious Elementals, and a Mummy Magi as well sentient Vermin intent on protecting the items we sought. In the end we were of course victorious and the items we discovered placed us ever closer to our goal the details of which as well as other important facts I shall reveal.

On the morning after putting down the Gog being already awake I had taken upon myself to prepare a morning meal for everyone. The Brownies and Bugbears now seemed to measure around three hundred plus and were indeed laying siege to the former warehouse of the Winter provider not that I was bothered. Which was how I had ended up not at Nialla’s side when she rose and walked outside with Vadania in like a lovesick puppy? My unseen shadow lover was helping me prepare while keeping me occupied in other pleasurable ways as well which was why I had decided to simply let Vadania keep an eye on her. I had not expected to suddenly lose her as well as her friend and familiar Scrounger from my Mindsight. It was as if they were just gone without a trace and I called to the mind of Vadania asking her what was going on but the shock overwhelmed her and she did not answer and then there was a blinding light outside. As Clean Eugene had vanished as the sun rose Mickey the Torch was alas still missing which left Slick Rick, Lucky Ron and Swami Donnie aware of what transpired next. But first Vadania called out into my mind that she was in danger and under attack and Slick Rick and Lucky Ron quickly moved for the door. I left my unseen shadow lover behind for my actual lover was nowhere to be found which I relayed to everyone and suddenly Scrounger was back. Slick Rick arrived at the door and informed me that Vadania seemed to be having trouble with four bow wielding Brownies which he quickly repelled by moving the very earth they stood on away from us. Only one of them had managed to avoid the fate of the earth move but he wisely chose to run off and join his friends and leave us to our own business. Meanwhile Vadania looked a little odd and seemed to be in awe and said she had been poisoned and Slick Rick as I would have expected told her the truth “Quit embarrassing yourself and cure yourself.” As I arrived at the door after Lucky Ron who seemed to be watching something of interest as well I had already had a conversation with Scrounger. I had asked him what happened and he told me that Nialla had gone to the Hells and that the woman he was with now was his new master and that he trusted her. Well I didn’t and I mentally pulled Widow Maker from it holster placed in my hand which I glamored so it was invisible and was ready to blow her head off for whatever she had done to my beloved Nialla. I looked upon the stranger and it was like walking into the Feywild such was her beauty which was breathtaking and I realized I would be needing a new name of course I allowed her to live. I the moments as I looked upon her I knew now why Vadania stood in awe for she had never likely seen anyone with such an exquisite and nearly flawless form. I had of course she looked just like my Sisters not that it mattered and she was speaking Sidhelien or what some might have heard as Fey which I set aside and removed the glamour around my face and said in common who are you and what have you done with Nialla for her mind was still clouded from me. She had answered that her name was Symerria daughter of Nymph Arethusa and then continued Ali’Ama Er’Odar you Mother bids you well. She had continued that she was sent her to help me and Dragonfirre. My mind had already put it together but my emotions were trying to not let it be so as I had continued. What happened to Nialla I had asked my heart already broken? She had responded that she had been lost as she had reentered this dimension. Meanwhile Vadania who had indeed cured herself came closer and bowed at Symerria’s feet as if in worship of her or awaiting her bidding like a thrall. Lucky Ron had told her to get up and that she was embarrassing herself again but his words fell upon deaf ears. Slick Rick had asked me telepathically what had happened and my mind went clinical as I confirmed for him my fears. I informed him that Symerria was indeed a Half-Nymph and was not doubt the good spirit trapped in Nialla evil Soul Gem. I had continued to let him know that the holy magic of Clean Eugene had trapped both of their souls in the Gem and that somehow the Arch’s she served had sent Nialla to the Hells and returned Symerria who no doubt had been trapped in the very same hell plane not doubt for eons. Which I related I knew since I knew her Mother and she had spoken my Fey name as well as given a greeting from my Mother which unless she was perhaps the greatest trickster next to Loki she had been told would placate me which meant she was on the level but Nialla for now was lost to me. Symerria’s greeting to Slick Rick had involved the mention of her Father a human Druid named Garrick a name known to me whom Slick Rick seemed to be aware of as well. Symerria had continued to tell us that Nialla was even now taking her place on the fifth plane of Hell where she planned to turn things around. Slick Rick and Lucky Ron were not so easily swayed and nor was I but I realized that cousin had indeed arrived. I also came to the conclusion that I was going to need a new name for it was in insult to Symerria to even call myself beautiful, not that I couldn’t but then you would have to come up with an even more deserving word for Fey allure and grace. As we started to head inside even Slick Rick made note that she would need to do something about her appearance and I could tell even he was aroused and as she started to join us she had said she was unable. I asked Scrounger mentally if he would catch her up and even spoke aloud to Symerria if she was caught up and she confirmed that she was and that what Nialla had known she knew. What was of course sad was that Vadania had not moved from her prostrate position on the ground and even though I has asked her to get up she did not move until Symerria gave her leave to do so. I took the time to inform Slick Rick of my new abilities including why I was not the least bit concerned about the siege since my powers had grown and I could now Shadow Walk us anywhere on this dimension I needed with ease and the look of approval he gave me was perhaps the highlight of my day.

We did not waste time as Lucky Ron was eager to get underway and only asked if our new arrival would delay us at which point the two of them began a discussion on the nature of her abilities which from what I heard were indeed along the lines of Sorcery. I almost broke into tears when Symerria handed me Death Dealer the customized pistol that was the model upon which Widow Maker had been based. She told me about her Vow of Poverty which would not allow her to wield or own such a valuable possession. I looked at the weapon that had last been wielded and even repaired by my beloved Nialla and realized that my heart had indeed been broken not once but twice. For in a span of less than five days I had lost not only the Associate but my Dirty Anna as well each of which I might never see again. The new arrivals Vadania and Symerria I realized might very well be better pieces on the game we played even wildcards which I could harness to our mutual advantage but try telling my broken heart that. I knew now was not the time for I had been brought up to be able to put aside my feelings and so I did as I gave Death Dealer and the extra ammunition to Vadania who I knew would die to protect Symerria and with that we headed to the Library to see what new vile evil creatures the Dreaming God Cthulhu had to throw at us.

We had arrived at the inner door of the Library and Swami Donnie and Scrounger once again took up there door opening duties. Symerria it seemed was true to her word but I did have to admit she seemed to indeed have full knowledge of what we were doing which told me perhaps she had not been so dormant in the soul crystal after all. I could not ignore her beauty as it easier to ignore by Aphrodite the Sun or the Moon and the fact that she was my cousin would not normally cause me to doubt my intents for her lovely perfect flawless body and I assure you a few choice sexual tortures reminiscent of my time with the Cult of Loki kept distracting me. For beauty or no she had cost me my beloved Nialla and I detected the subtle arts of my Mother and I could care less about the planes of Law be they Arch’s or Devils screw them all. Nialla had once asked me why I trusted the Demons and had learned Abyssal years before Celestial or Infernal and I had told her with the Demons you knew they could turn on you at any moment but woe to those that trusted the Arch’s or the Devils for they always had some plan of their own devising which made them me far more insidious than any Beguiler I could ever think of. Well I had been correct of course and when I looked at my cousin Symerria who had bound Scrounger to her and with the blessings granted from her Sacred Vow all I wanted to do was tie her up and let her feel my pain. For I had lost not only my Associate/ Alex but my Dirty Anna/ Nialla and while I put up a firm front and kept my mind focused on the task at hand before us as I had been taught my anger was growing and becoming a fever which was inflaming my vices and my mind was focusing on Lust, Avarice, Vanity, and Wrath and woe to anyone who stood in my way. I knew my face was steeling and become hard even perhaps cold a look I had practiced but now it was not just a look I placed on my face to instill confidence or instill fear but my natural state. I still had my friends and I knew Slick Rick would look over me as I had asked him to do and I would remain true to the mission but I felt hollow inside for what was there now for me. I realized I had found my new name which fit this new time and world now that there was one among us who more fit the title of Beauty my name would become what I would hold onto the love of Aphrodite for I knew she would always love me I would become Faith. Lucky Ron it seemed had decided he would go in first as he was not our front line and while I had discussed casting a haste Symerria had spoken and informed us she could cast the spell as well and even included that her spells were divine focused and would not harm those who were good who were caught in her offensive spells. More a warning I am sure not that I really cared about her but I of course filled it away in order to be aware of how she might help Dragonfirre. I asked for a moment to prepare and Lucky Ron asked if there were any spells I knew that could protect him and informed him there were and even asked Vadania and Slick Rick if they could assist. Soon Lucky Ron was protected by magics of Nature, Sorcery and Divine and he was ready. Slick Rick had even given him two extra arms and the Lucky Ron opened the door and danced through the threshold into the chamber beyond. I had of course cast arcane sight as well as barkskin upon myself and with the greater mage armor spell as well as my magic tattoos I was as ready myself as I could become before combat actually commenced. We all followed into the room that was overlaid from ceiling to floor in what looked to be reflective gold leaf and the room was filled with braziers, ornate book shelves and directly ahead a large square crystal which I could tell contained magic. As we all had entered with Slick Rick holding back and Vadania assuming her enlarged form I had cast about with my Mindsight and found what I expected to find several elements each in a brazier and two air spirits and even an Undead near the black crystal. For a moment they let us advance as I had informed the other of what I had learned which included of course Scrounger for it was not his fault that Nialla had been betrayed and if he chose to inform Symerria so be it. I felt it was about time she endured a little pain and I felt it would do her some good and perhaps save me the trouble of having to do it myself. As expected the creatures let us advance fully into the room before the sprung to the attack quite literally for the elementals from within the braziers literally stretched their black amorphous bodies creating limbs with which the struck us. Meanwhile the two wind spirits near the crystal struck us with buffets of the pure impactful forces of the very air itself. There leader than rose and I could see she was indeed a Mummy of some kind dark and magical. Symerria was faster than me and had cast her haste spell before mine which was fine my me since it left me with other options which I took in the form of a mass suggestion spell to cause all of the creature in the room to ignore our presence. I had affected a few of the black globs and even an air spirit but my success was short lived as the Mummy who finally able to see clearly was wearing an ornate golden crown as she raised her hand then began to cast and within moments she had dispelled my control over her minions. Well alright I realized it was going to be like that and I set myself and prepared to begin a whole new game for I had Faith that she was going down and the items within the black crystal she was protecting would soon belong to Dragonfirre.

Events in the battle happened quickly with Slick Rick calling upon the lightning at his command after shifting into a mighty four armed ape, Lucky Ron moving like a mad dervish with a purpose using his Katana literally singing as he laid into the dark creatures who opposed us destroying them and leaving nothing but organs behind. While Vadania had moved forward to protect Symerria and even rushed the Mummy her sword crackling with lightning. Meanwhile Symerria has started to cast bolts of fire and even her divine sparked spells in an impressive magical onslaught against the Mummy and her two air spirits. Swami Donnie had even brought his psychic powers to bear against our foes and I had to admit he was getting more skilled by the day. There came a moment when the shape shifting black globs began to engulf my companions first Vadania, then Slick Rick and finally even Symerria. I had in the interim cast a displacement spell to give me better cover against just such a tactic and had already readied a plan to give us the tactical advantage we needed. My next move was then to cast a shadow dimension step which would allow all of my allies to teleport to the full extent of their movement instantly. My knowledge of the arcane as well as my connection to the Plane of Shadow had strengthened and it was high time to begin flexing some magical muscle. Those that were trapped were freed and while I had needed to cast the spell again for good tactical advantage since the black globs were if nothing else persistent soon they were all put down. Vadania had been held fast and only Lucky Ron’s timely arrival had saved her life and with the aid of my spell she been able to shadow walk to my side as I had instructed her where I could protect her. For good measure I had even cast a shadow lightning bolt while I had continued to allow Widow Maker to deal death to those that had opposed us. Symerria had with her magics managed to put the Mummy down but a creature composed of a swarm of insects reformed and continued had prepared itself to attack. We were close with the new arrival having no minions left alive when suddenly Symerria had cast a divine ray of light that was somehow perverted and literally drained her own life force and she fell to the ground her spell revived the Mummy which had previously been dust. I of course had it under control and broke the hold upon Vadania and I was thankful that Slick Rick who had also been held had broken free on his own and then using my the power of my Dimension Stride Boots teleported to my cousins side and using the power of my Healing Belt revived her placing my hand on her ample bosom and calling the magic forth. I had looked back and saw Vadania moving forward to continue healing Symerria and I looked down at her and could only think she did not know how lucky she really was for if she had not been my cousin in addition to having gained the favor of my Mother and now a valuable member of Dragonfirre I would have let her die which would have suited me fine after all Vadania or Slick Rick could raise her and we would see just how powerful her Arch protectors really were. She of course rose and without so much as a thank you which I did not expect or want from her anyway dimension hopped closer to the risen Mummy and started to launch more fire bolts. The Mummy had of course had enough and my arcane sight let me realize she had just cast a teleportation spell and was by now far gone and beyond our reach. I informed everyone the battle was over and it was time to collect what we came for and Swami Donnie and I began our search of the area in earnest now that guardians had been dispatched or fled.

We were able to determine that what we sought was buried within the black crystal and was composed of a book and a sealed scroll tube and only need to devise a way to free them. Swami Donnie had volunteered to crack the black crystal with the powers of his mind and I he had informed me he was unsure if it was a full proof plan but was willing to try. I was a good thought but I had of course a better one which would serve to protect our prize as well as liberate it. Swami Donnie seemed to think I would not be able to do but really I had called myself a Brain before I no longer lacked any Faith in myself and I approached the crystal and cast a shadow force chest around the items and then summoned a vile Earth Shadow Elemental to move through the earthen crystal and come out the other side with my force chest. I had also set a telepathic trigger and I informed the others that it was dove just in case during the next twelve days of its existence they needed go gain access to the books or the scroll by opening the force chest. It was over in moments and I realized we had just located a good number of the spells we needed for our battle against the Dreaming God and believe it or not I once again had to Red Menace to thank. Which was something I intended with eager anticipation to do with my thrall in Ringtown before we left this dimension of course. I already knew since she had spoken it aloud during the battle that Symerria had expended a large complement of her magical power and even Vadania mentioned that she had during the hectic but brief battle extended herself and was mystically exhausted. Which meant since it was still early morning we could take a break if they needed and resume our assault on the self named Cave of Despair in perhaps eight to nine hours. I would only need two at best to fully restore myself which I realized would give me plenty to time to explore the spell book and scroll as well as perhaps even get to know Lucky Ron little better who had caught sight of my tattoos and inquired about their power so I could tell he wanted one and I was actually in the mood to give him one perhaps of course with a few conditions.

Dragonfirre was of course victorious and now we had one more sub-basement to explore and no doubt another fresh batch of guardians to face. Vadania was still following Symerria around like a puppy dog and even Slick Rick was still giving her the eye well whatever let them drool and dream to their hearts content perhaps she would even relent and sate her sexual needs with them. I had plans on Lucky Ron for I just knew as soon as Clean Eugene who I had last seen passing out at the sight of Symerria before he had vanished I knew would be instantly smitten. So I would see if Lucky Ron had the same needs an almost every man I had ever met or if he beyond such things if so I still had my shadow lovers but did not want to lose contact with my friends whose minds I now dwarfed. I knew for sure I had no good desires for Vadania and Symerria but they were both valuable additions to Dragonfirre and so I would tolerate them perhaps even try to befriend them. Would I inform my dear cousin of our connection perhaps not she was lucky to still be alive after what had happened to Nialla. So I knew I would need the help of Aphrodite with that which was why I would now be calling myself Faith for there was not need to try and fool myself and call myself that anymore since the arrival of Symerria. How was I dealing now with the loss of both of my beloved former companions well let’s not go into that for the time being. I planned to do my best to stay focused on the mission lest my feelings allow me to do something I might regret. So alright that was not true at all more like I did not want to do anything that might cause my remaining friends to ever want to turn away from me. I was now truly feeling the weight of the situation that Dragonfirre and I had been placed in and while I would not give up on love perhaps it was time to embrace my immoral and hedonistic nature and come to terms with the facts that if the ones I loved were taken from me then to love the ones who served me. I have Faith in Aphrodite and my future wherever it leads and by her love I know we will prevail.

Chapter Thirty Five @ Six : More Than Meets The Eye or Depression And Intellect

2010-05-26T23:34:00.002-05:00

We had been suddenly joined after the Red Menace King bloodbath by Slick Rick, Mickey the Torch and even Clean Eugene. After a heated moment between Mickey the Torch on the method of how I had slain a few of the Red Kings I had been prepared to let him have a piece of my mind and perhaps even shove my Rail Gun in his face. For to be honest it was bad enough that my head was still killing me but when he and the others had vanished leaving us to deal with the Red Kings I felt we had done what we needed to do. I was surprised and rebuked by Slick Rick who seemed to instead of taking my side had sided with Mickey the Torch so I had relented and we had moved on to the business at hand the acquisition of the Orb of Sight. After a little creative door opening which had come from the insight of Lucky Ron we had descended to a sub-basement and come face to face with six stone Gug’s and an Avatar of some unknown God who impressed on us that he was a Gog. I will admit the battle that ensued was chilling and destructive but in the end due to our perseverance and all of us coming together as a team we prevailed. We had of course found the Orb of Sight as well as another Orb which we still needed to identify and rose from the sub-basement with two other subterranean areas still to search. We had also come to the realization that we had been surrounded by a small army of militant Brownies who seemed to have laid siege to the Winter Providers estate. I had thought perhaps it might have had something to do with the two strange visitors who I had dismissed before but I left the matter of dealing with them to Clean Eugene while I had focused on the two sub-basements. Of course what we found led to my deductions proving to be correct and when as the insight of Slick Rick confirmed we needed to stay and acquire the remaining artifacts I knew we would need to rest before we began yet another battle. We also had a few visitors ranging from Brownies guard captains to a representative of the local Vampire Count to even the friendly neighborhood Red Dragon. Now add to that the Cave of Despair and the Library of Antiquity we had discovered and I realized the fun had just begun. The only bright side was when I woke up I felt better than I had in years and that is only part of the story of which I shall now detail.

I stood there amidst the blood bath that had resulted from the massacre of the Red Kings by both magic and technology. I had felt the minds of Slick Rick, Mickey the Torch and Clean Eugene return to us and I had sensed as Dirty Anna distanced herself from us and she seemed to be distressed. So perhaps the sight of my Elder Earth Elemental squeezing the life from the remaining Red Kings was a bit much for her to bear but I needed to make sure they were dead for they were far too dangerous alive to be allowed to live with their psychic powers. Lucky Ron, Deadly Dayna and Swami Donnie were pulling themselves together and it was at that moment that our returned Dragonfirre members began to inquire as to what had happened. It seemed that Mickey the Torch was surprised that there were no survivors and Dirty Anna decided to mention that my Elemental had squeezed the life from many of them as she had withdrew to clean herself up. Which of course lead to an argument between men and Mickey the Torch regarding killing helpless enemies. I could perhaps relate more details but it really all boiled down to Slick Rick having an issue with my actions since I had actually placed one of the Red Kings in a deep slumber and then summoning a Shadow Earth Elemental to crush the life from him. He let me know that he felt killing in battle was acceptable but only if you enemy had a fair chance and I relented but not before mentioning if they had been present perhaps I might not have had to use such dire means. Slick Rick’s temper had flared and he had informed me that they had been taken away by the Gods and the I was no one to question their motives. I had rallied and informed him that I would alter my actions and that was not questioning the will of the Gods only stating a fact. The truth was I had indeed chosen Slick Rick to be my moral guide and I had given him my oath to abide by his judgments and therefore I would. Perhaps it was the comments from Mickey the Torch accusing me of being an Assassin well alright perhaps it was true but in was not my profession and while I was not insulted I had found it strange for an Assassin who had slain another Assassin to be calling me an Assassin talk about irony.

In the distance I could see that Dirty Anna and Clean Eugene were still not getting along but we did not have time for their romance to rekindle for we needed to head downstairs to acquire the Orb of Sight. What we beheld was not what I had expected we descended and were stopped by a door that was magically trapped. I knew I had the means to magically bypass almost any trap but I first asked Swami Donnie and Scrounger if they might mind giving the trapped door a look. There were able to deal with the trap and with the aid of a rope which turned into a snake which was an actual good idea by Lucky Ron we were ready to enter. I found that once the door was open I could sense the minds of my friends as they went below and they entered into the chamber with Slick Rick and I holding up the rear. Inside we found a chamber filled with six giant stone Gug’s and at the far end an altar where a figure sat as if waiting for us. It was a man-sized figure and on each side of it atop to over ten feet long poles sat an Orb. It resembled a figure I thought I should have recognized by my infernal headaches were making it hard for me to concentrate. Thankfully I did not have to worry about my headaches for while the ground had many holes and I could even sense the minds of undead underneath the ground Slick Rick dealt with it by calling on the power at his command to reform the ground and seal the holes giving Dragonfirre firm ground to enter the chamber. No sooner then we had and formed a wedge than the Gug statues started to animate and rushed forward to attack. I of course had moved forward and cast a haste spell and drew Widow Maker and began to fire as the other began to unleash prepare for battle. Deadly Dayna had started casting spell of clerical power to increase her size and strength and she now stood over ten feet tall which put her two feet short of the ceiling even casting an air walk spell for good measure. Meanwhile Dirty Anna had taken to the air with her wings and had began to rain down Eldritch Bolts. Mickey the Torch had taken the point of combat wedge. While Slick Rick had called upon the power of nature to call down lightning and within moments the Gug’s were suddenly on the defensive.

I knew it was coming and I was not surprised when the figure or Gog left the altar and drawing to rods began to whirl them like a mad dervish and danced into battle. It was strange for I could feel the chill akin to the Plane of Shadow move forward with him for while I was resistant to cold I was not immune. I could only imagine how the other might feel but I of course remained calm and expelled that calm telepathically for while feared few things that did not mean I did not respect them. My concerns were proved to be correct as the Gog had moved forward and began to attack Mickey the Torch. If I had not seen what happened next with my own eyes I truly don’t know if I would have believed it. For within moments the Gog had struck Mickey the Torch and frozen him into a statue composed of ice and with his next blow shattered him. He had then moved on and began to attack the already wounded Dirty Anna and Deadly Dayna almost slaying my former beloved. I knew it was odd to consider her my former beloved but I knew something was wrong her mind did not feel the same and I feared it might never be so again. It was to our fortune that Slick Rick in the form of a fox was ready for he moved forward and cast last breath spell with instantly reincarnated him and while he should have been fully restored but still weak he had reformed into a deformed state no doubt due to the perverse magic that had corrupted my previous summoned Elemental but we had little choice for casting of the last breath spell was on that could not be delayed if it was to stand a chance of working. Meanwhile Clean Eugene had moved forward to strike the Gog and found himself transformed into ice after he had struck him. I almost found it impossible to believe but while I was till fighting my headache I could not doubt my perception. For somehow or someway any attack on the Gog or for that matter any attack it made had the chance to turn that person into a solid block of ice. We soon had other severe issues for within moments Clean Eugene had tried to smite the Gog but somehow his divine power was turned back on him with explosive results. He had cast a spell which had been protecting all of us who were near him and I could feel it power move with him as he fought to remain conscious. Even Swami Donnie pistol was turned against him and exploded in his face even as he turned into ice sending him falling back outside the chamber. Slick Rick at that moment had altered his form into a giant dire wolf and began to attack the Gug. Lucky Ron had taken the brief respite to move forward avoiding the snapping little undead creature and hurled a spear at the Orbs and it had disintegrated. He had mentally called back to Clean Eugene who was busy pulling himself together that he needed his help to destroy the dark blessing on the altar but Clean Eugene was to busy pulling himself together and informed him that his ability to smite evil had been already expended for the day. There were still a few Gugs left and with Dirty Anna almost down as well as Deadly Dayna and Clean Eugene even Swami Donnie out for the rest of the encounter I had begun to wonder. I knew Slick Rick could make it out and in a worse case scenario I could take three others with me and while I was as yet still unharmed the problem was the Gog looked the same way. I had first informed Slick Rick of the situation and he did not seem worried and moment later after I had cast a slow spell and found the remaining Gugs to be highly resistant to my magic I had informed Lucky Ron of the same fact. He seemed more the fearless and I could tell he wondered if I was doubting myself and I firmly let him know I was not only letting him know the situation. Dirty Anna had come awake after being beat unconscious by the healing hand of Deadly Dayna as Lucky Ron had asked for healing for even he had begun to succumb to his wounds. I witnessed Mickey the Torch begin to vanish and I prayed his journey would with the blessing of the Gods restore him once beautiful form perhaps it was reward for having slain the Associate but it saddened me to consider it. The Gog had decided to eliminate Deadly Dayna and unleashed a fury of blows that should have struck her down but somehow she still stood or actually hovered her body beaten nearly to a pulp. I did not doubt it would work but I felt I had to try and I reached out with my mind to the Gog and attempted to negotiate a truce which in the past had worked but he had responded with a violent telepathic wave letting us know that we would all doomed and would be sacrificed on his altar. Well so much for that I had thought and as I called upon my dark powers I faded from view and moved toward Deadly Dayna and used the power of my healing belt to bring her back from the brink of death and using my wand of curing on her as well just for good measure I fired on the last standing Gug and Widow Maker did not let me down as it fell dead and finally used my Amulet of the Mage to send my last Emerald Mega Healing Potion to Lucky Ron.

We had rallied quickly and while both Dirty Anna, Clean Eugene and even Lucky Ron were again turned to ice with the aid of Deadly Dayna’s restorative magic they were able to use their own innate resistance to break the curse. I of course had tried to break the curse but the strength of the curse was stronger than any I had ever attempted to break and my prayers were answered when I had mentally called to Deadly Dayna to attempt a resurgence spell if she could and she had answered that she would. The battle was decisive and quick and I had even summoned an Earth Elemental to attack the Gog as well and while it had been of course mutated as I had suspected it still served its purpose and pummeled the chaotic Gog. It had of course been turned to a solid block of ice and it had been then that I had realized that the creatures vile ice curse knew no boundaries for as my Elemental has stuck it I had needed to resist the chilling effects of its curse. I had of course at that moment raised Widow Maker again determined then to defeat this creature at any cost and while I had cast another haste spell which had affected my Elemental as well it had done it little good. It was for a moment quiet surreal for the Gog at first had seemed to be not even slowing down and then Lucky Ron was upon it as Deadly Dayna had moved away from Dirty Anna after using both her touch and healing magic to bring her further from the brink and then turned her healing touch and magic on Lucky Ron. Lucky Ron was a whirling dervish and while Slick Rick the rest of Dragonfirre were bringing all of their might upon the creature it was his telling blow that finally severed its head and the Gog fell its power broken.

As we recovered Deadly Dayna was able to restore and aid those who were still wounded even restoring Swami Donnie back to himself. Deadly Dayna had done far better than I would have ever expected and had never lost her composure during the entire affair never once thinking of herself but only of others. She had even called to me in the storm seeking guidance and without her I know that our victory might not have been a certainty. I was impressed as she went about healing the others using her healing touch and magics never once casting a spell upon herself until finally everyone was restored and as I followed her I withdrew my wand of curing and began to do for her what she had done for the others. It was interesting she seemed to barely register what I was doing so intent was she on the health of the others until I finally asked her after expending four charges from my wand if she was alright she had looked upon me with a faraway look and said she was. I took the moment to thank her for her efforts and told her she had done well. I was an odd thing for me to do but I am a realist she did what I would have had great difficulty in doing and so I had merely given credit where credit was due. I was ironic that she barely seemed to even register my words perhaps she was paying attention to the two rods with the Orbs on them. Soon so was everyone else Dirty Anna had asked me to look upon the Orbs with my Arcane Sight and within moment I could see that both orbs contained overwhelming magic but I could make out that the one on the left was more attuned to divination magic. Lucky Ron had warned us that he felt the dark aura might still be around us and I had asked Slick Rick if he could sense it and after a moment of concentration he had told me he could and since we still might have issues with the undead rodents which sadly had human faces he moved forward and sealed the holes with two more elemental earth spells. In moments we had both Orbs after a little tossing and Deadly Dayna racing forward and catching the Orb of Sight while the other fell to the floor and thankfully did not shatter. After some debate I Slick Rick placed the Orb of Sight within his magical backpack and Deadly Dayna gave up the orb she had been holding and gave ti to Lucky Ron to place in his magical backpack. Slick Rick afterward had cast the spell which allowed him to sense the valuables and let us know that he could sense from below the other chambers beyond and they each contained items of value. So with nothing else below to acquire and every as ready as they could be moved back up to the main floor of the Winter Provider compound with Lucky Ron taking point.

Lucky Ron let us know that he thought he had spotted visitors and that the main door might be open. I been moving up behind and him and my Mindsight let me know that they were two Brownies. Looking back it might have been better to just talk to them but oddly in addition to my headache which had come back with a vengeance I was not suddenly feeling like I had lost something or perhaps had found it again I could not really at the time determine which. So I had reached forward with my mind and spoken into their minds asking them why they were here as I had gleamed from their thoughts that they were a scouting party sent ahead to survey the area. They of course had been scared and ran off out of sight and while Lucky Ron and Slick Rick had moved forward to keep watch I informed the others that while I believed we should rest before entering the other rooms we should at least check them out. Now the first chamber was easy money for Swami Donnie and Scrounger and the second chamber opened up to a great cave into the earth. I had asked Slick Rick to come take a look and let me know what he thought and once he had arrived he had confirmed what I had believed from the time we had arrived. He felt a strong feeling that other items we sought could be found in the basement we had just entered as well as the one we had yet to explore. Meanwhile Clean Eugene had used the powers granted to him by Hercules to enhance he already moderate charm and had commence to start putting the Brownies at ease with wit, humor and strong ale. I had a feeling that Deadly Dayna and Lucky Ron were making it difficult for him to pull off his bluff but either way it was nothing I had not felt I could clean up if his namesake failed him. Instead I had continued my focus on the other chamber and had even asked Deadly Dayna to come with me for leaving her and Clean Eugene alone for too long was not in my opinion the smartest idea. We ran into a little snag for Swami Donnie and Scrounger failed to disarm the other trap and while had had withdrew she had delayed had had barely missed being struck by lightning. I had of course be advising the other telepathically of our progress and Lucky Ron had asked about the delay as I had risen from the chamber heading for the door. I had let him know I needed to step outside in order to summon and elemental that I could use to bypass the lightning. Darn headache had been making me sloppy for while I had summoned the shadows to cloak me and even cast an invisibility spell to give myself even more concealment one of the Brownies or perhaps their reinforcements who seemed to be either Bugbears or Hobgoblins had noticed me and fired a catapult at me. The chances had been slim that they would have hit me but the next thing I knew I was surrounded my faerie fire which I of course dispelled and moved inside with my Air Elemental leaving Clean Eugene to smooth things out with the Brownies. My elemental was able to bypass the lightning since it was immune to it and open the door to reveal a large library. Which lead me to cast and break the enchantment on the trap and within the room were found many interesting books and a door beyond that was sealed locked and trapped. The room was filled with plays and musicals ranging from the Tales of the Happy Highwayman to an obscure title called the Way Out. I knew we were low on magic and would not be leaving what with the place being surrounded by over two hundred Brownies and at least thirty or so Bugbears and Hobgoblins we needed to rest and Clean Eugene had done well in negotiating a truce. Since I was not leaving until we cleared the entire place out.

I knew I would only need an hour to rest and so I had summoned my shadow servants to guard every entrance including the ones to the chambers below and rested for an hour. It had seemed there was some kind of land dispute between a Count Devorik another Vampire of course and Baron Edward and it seemed they planned to claim the facility for their very own. When I awoke I felt refreshed my headache was gone as my unseen shadow lover woke me the way I longed to be woken and as I reached my peak I felt my mind expand further and as I cried out I was grateful for the zone of silence I had cast before I had began my rest or the others I am sure would have been distracted by my cries of passion. For I had just experienced my first tantric revelation a secret art that my Mother and Sisters had always channeled into their charisma I had finally mastered and my mind reached out and comprehend many mysteries that had confounded me in the past. So I was not surprised when after a few hours the Counts Castellan had arrived and basically let us know that the estate of the Winter Provider was ours until the night of the Full Moon. Which actually made me consider that perhaps the Count was perhaps a Werewolf as opposed to a Vampire or perhaps even both which I found quite intriguing. We had one more visitor before the others rose that morning and it was none other the who I had been expecting the Red Dragon. He of course had similar shielding to the Gold Dragon but I now knew what to look for and while he was at the door he let Clean Eugene know he was looking for a package. I had already deduced as much as I had began to move toward the door as one of my shadow servants had already found the packaged and after Dirty Anna had confirmed it was not magical moved it toward the door. I realized that they had been preserving food for the Red Dragon which in these lands could indeed be a benefit. Feeling much better at the moment I let the Red Dragon know that former residents had been in league with forces that had lead to this realm being created and the place was better off without them. He let us know that there were still three of them left to be accounted for and I had let him know he was more than welcome to them if we did not find them first. We even shared a joke about him burning the assembled forces outside and encasing them in smoke as he had left I let him know in Draconic that perhaps we might be in touch if we found something that might be worth his while. He had looked to me and nodded before retiring into the night until then. It would only be a little while before everyone was awake and ready to begin and I felt renewed and confident and my only sorrow was that my former beloved Dirty Anna could not share in my pleasure I had gone to her as being still mostly human she needed more rest and cradled her as she slept and I hoped her dreams were pleasant.

The others were up and fully restored and it was time to face whatever other mysterious dangers the Winter Provider had left to offer us. I was a new Woman and I had made a yet another sacrifice that I knew my sisters would have looked down upon for I had strengthened my intellect at the price of my beauty. Well I have always said we never got along and if anyone had ever thought I was a beauty they had never seen my sisters any of which could bring almost any man or women to their knees begging to be their servants. So while I always knew I was beautiful what I actually possessed more than anything else was talent to use what I had been blessed with to my full advantage. It was that trait that my sisters had always envied but I always believed you have to work what you have and be ready to gamble it all from time to time otherwise you might as well go home. We had two chambers to clear and while we were missing Mickey the Torch we would just have to make due and when it was time to leave I was no longer worried for I could shadow walk us all back to Ringtown within an instant for the my other home the Plane of Shadow was now mine to travel as well as the shadow evocations within my power to command so let any that would dare appose me or Dragonfirre beware for our combined power will only continue to grow and by blessed Aphrodite first of the Olympians I know we will prevail.

Chapter Thirty Four : The Winter Provider or Time To Take Out The Trash

2010-05-26T23:33:00.002-05:00

My name is Elysia or for the moment Beauty and Dragonfirre had chosen to ride to the Winter Provider on my summoned shadow steeds in our continued scavenger hunt as it were and along the way we had encountered a lone Red King who soon became my Thrall. This of course was only the beginning for soon after gaining much valuable information from my Thrall we had encountered the Red Kings on their own grounds and commenced to make them rue the day they had ever put on their crowns. Things might have been smooth sailing after that were it not for the six stone multi-armed Gugs and of course their Avatar Gog who seemed intent on freezing us all to death. I will admit there were times when I considered withdrawing in order to not continue to risk the lives of my friends but with the exception of the briefest of moments when Dirty Anna had almost lost heart and was reaffirmed by my outward confidence in the face of such power as well as the healing touch of Deadly Dayna who after the stunning performance she displayed I may very well find a way to sell her real name after all.

I will admit I was starting to have headaches over what had been transpiring and what my mind had already been exposed to in such a short time and therefore I shall be brief in my relation of the events that transpired and perhaps elaborate further in the future. For while riding to the Winter Provider we had literally stumbled upon a Red King who was making his way to Winter to replace the Red King in town per schedule. Well when I saw him the other had questioned what we should do and I already knew what I was going to do I was going to acquire a Red King Thrall or we were going to have to eliminate him. I had started to cast when I was in range and he had fired his wrist blaster which struck me in stomach and threw me from my horse. He had started to try and say something smart but alas he had not realized who he had been dealing with for with the skill honed from years of training I withstood the blast tumbled from my horse landing on my feet and completed my spell and he was mine. I felt the rush of power and sexual energy from the spell almost overwhelm me as the power of the spell bound his will to my own. I maintained my composure and informed the others that he was mine as I had walked forward healing myself with my wand of curing and I began to quickly sift through his mind. With the help of my natural ability to detect his thought as well as mentally direct him mind as I saw fit it was easy work for me to have him shield himself from the others whose range seemed to extend for miles. I quickly acquired as much information as he had to offer concerning Emerald and their operations and found out that the ones sent here were basically the rejects and were for the most part on guard duty. I even acquired information about the mysterious figure known as Doctor Death the Red King in charge of Internal Security. He let me know that their base held twelve additional Red Kings and that while he knew little of the artifacts he could confirm anything we sought could be found in perhaps one of the three sub-basements of their facility. After giving me a full layout of their estate I bound him to continue his duties and report as he was intended while continuing to cloak himself and await my return in Winter. My headaches were getting worse and while I had plans upon plans to get closer it was perhaps the mention of a Red Dragon being in the area by Mickey the Torch and confirmation by my Thrall who was worried about him that lead to a more low key approach to the lair of the Winter Provider.

We had ridden up and decided to just use the cover of coming to sample their wears and offer our services as security. Sadly Mickey the Torch had vanished along with Clean Eugene and even Slick Rick. Lucky Ron took the lead and in short order the horses were stabled and we were inside getting the grand tour. We were left with only Lucky Ron, Dirty Anna, Swami Donnie and a as yet untested Deadly Dayna to work with and entire room of Red Kings which numbered five inside and of course at least three other who could storm the facility at any moment. I knew with our numbers diminished we would have no choice but to be decisive and ambush them otherwise we might never reach the chambers below. I had explained the Orb of Sight to Swami Donnie and he had been able to determine that what we sought was underground and he was even able to determine which of the three sub-basements we needed to search. I had found it odd that I could not penetrate through the floor with my Mindsight for I knew there were guardians below us and so as the other Red Kings had moved closer and one of them who seemed to be eyeing us with a look of concern I signaled Dirty Dayna to give him something to be concerned about as I cast a haste spell upon us and our battle began in earnest. After an additional slow spell to further hinder the Red Kings efforts and even summoning an Earth Elemental which oddly resembled some kind of elder creature after putting one of the Kings to sleep in order to slay him the Red Kings proved no match for our power. A few others had stormed the area of course but after a well placed solid fog spell they were slowed down and quickly dispatched.

Perhaps more could be said and I might elaborate more in the future but I still had an infernal headache and the others had performed admirably even Deadly Dayna and I was almost ready to even consider calling her a friend for she had not hesitated either in healing Dirty Anna when she had taken fire of dealing it out with her Lightning Long Sword or her pistol which as she had said she was skilled. So as I had ordered my perverted Earth Elemental to make sure the remaining Red Kings were indeed dead by crushing whatever life remained within them I began to consider our options and how we would face the Ugly Thing below. Which was right about the time that I suddenly felt the mental presence of Clean Eugene, Slick Rick and Mickey the Torch returning to us and I knew the Gods were with us.

Chapter Thirty Three : Back Into The Darkness or Embracing The Light

2010-05-26T23:32:00.003-05:00

So perhaps I should have seen it coming and perhaps I did but either way what has been done has been done. My beloved beautiful and exotic Dirty Anna by the actions of shall I say our lover yet her love Clean Eugene broke the hellish connection that had been forged and bound to her soul. Sadly let us just say for the record she was not exactly ecstatic and thrilled about it. If that had been all the Dragonfirre and our Organization Agent were left to deal with then it might have been the start to a beautiful and lovely day. Of course it was not as we were after making new friends and allies in the town of Winter in the Nexus Pocket Dimension scheduled to liberate a number of artifacts from the base of the Winter Provider and also coincidentally front for the Red Menace of Emerald. Now of course the heated debate that had suddenly risen up between the attractive yet artistically deluded Dirty Dayna Favored Soul of the Olympian Pantheon and the dashing still bold Clean Eugene Paladin of Freedom of Hercules almost got completely out of control. I almost missed my chance to intervene and prevent disaster it was only that my beloved Dirty Anna had retreated into the recesses of her mind and gone into a catatonic state and was not responding to my mental or verbal voice that had enabled me to become aware of the dire situation erupting only a few feet from me. As per usual there is more to be told even the triumphant return of Lucky Ron and thankfully he was there to remind me of the situation between our two Olympians Aphrodite bless him. Of course how this all happened and transpired so quickly I shall reveal.

So I had let Dirty Anna sleep a little longer as I took the time while I watched her in anguish tossing and turning as if being tortured to update my journal. I had a feeling of what she was going through but sadly what she was enduring in her dreams I had endured in the flesh. I have vowed to keep my thought pure and free of the pleasure and pain I endured at the hands of my Fathers brothers Incubi in service to Loki. Let me just suffice to say while I had tried to distance my mind it had not really worked out that well. Flashes of being tied and bound while being ravaged by demon after demon in every available orifice while pleasurable I will now admit were quite painful. It had all been part of my training to learn to distance myself from my feelings and to learn to use my body as a weapon. As I looked upon Dirty Anna whom I realized I loved by Aphrodite with all my I realized I had let her get closer to me than anyone else I had ever known even my former Associate Morgan or in truth Alexis. I still missed him and all that we could have been together but I realized that in the end his battles with the darkness within had led his undoing. For in reality could I really blame Mickey the Torch for if someone had threatened my life as many times as the Associate had he would have met his doom far sooner and none of Dragonfirre would have had any idea I was even responsible. Dirty Anna was shaking herself awake and I was aware that Clean Eugene who was already awake and keeping an eye on Dave our reluctant guide and cover into the region known as the Breadbasket had just vanished as we were preparing to get underway. It seemed that Deadly Dayna had decided to take his place in the lead cart to keep an eye on him and I figured all would be well as long as she kept her mouth shut and her presence alone would keep Dave in a if not pleasant than watchful mood. Watchful that if he crossed us he might end up like the dead slavers on the road sad but true I have to admit.

Dirty Anna was now fully awake looking terrible and I realized that while she had vowed to never again eat the flesh of our enemies the infernal connection that had been forged within her were becoming a burden that I feared my soon overcome her unless a solution was found. I knew of her dark book of shadows and the magics it was allowing her to unleash and I realized in her mind she no doubt believed everything she did was necessary and that one day she might actually rule a plane of Hell. From what I could tell whoever was granting her the abilities that were changing her had her convinced that she could outsmart the ultimate deal makers the Devils of Hell perhaps even if she was correct the original unnamed one who embodied law and its corruption into evil. I could see within her when she looked at me and when she was with Clean Eugene that there was still a part of her inside that fought to be free of the prison that had been erected around her mind and soul and I was wracking my brain to find a way to release her. She on the other had was trying to hold on until her power had grown to a level where she would be able to manifest she claimed a portal to a realm resembling Hell where she would be able to restore herself and the thought of such a realm really saddened me for it meant she would be pulled away from me more so than perhaps she even realized. While I my mind had suddenly been thrown into turmoil over the possibility of losing yet another person that I loved I sensed the mental presence of Lucky Ron and he was returning to our reality literally right on top of my beloved Dirty Anna.

We were soon underway with Lucky Ron joining us as we now had room since it seemed from whatever dimension Lucky Ron had been banished had once again claimed Clean Eugene. So while we rode I spent a little time perfecting my lovely hellish Dirty Anna for her appearance was really starting to suffer. I then began to telepathically fill in Lucky Ron on the events he had missed as well as show him a uniform I had for him since we were still posing as the Limited Enforcers and I was not surprised when he clothing shimmered and then resembled the clothing I had already summoned for him. It seemed that Lucky Ron’s luck was indeed turning up for he had acquired a Hat of Disguise which I realized would be useful for him in the future since not in an emergency he could manifest his own disguise. Of course not as good as one of mine but in a pinch he had yet another card up his sleeve which I am sure he would put to use when needed. I had noticed that he and Diamond Jim as well as Hawkeye Allen were catching up as Dirty Anna had started to once again study her Book of Shadows. Meanwhile I had in a moment of nostalgia taken out my journal and reread the letter that had been written to me by the Associate and as I realized the no doubt Dirty Anna was becoming concerned by the looks that Clean Eugene had been giving her I realized that she still loved him even thought I could tell he was fighting the urge to smite her before the evil within her overcame her. It made me realize of how I often speak of love and I realized how I had let my vengeful nature a gift from my from my service to Loki cause me to reject the Associate when I could have offered him my heart instead I had been willing to offer him Widow Maker. I realized that violence was still in my future but I prayed to Aphrodite to let me see past the violence and to at least attempt to use my prestigious gifts of persuasion to prevent it whenever possible.

I paid little attention to the landscape as we rode but I do remember it was pleasant I only paid more attention as I heard Lucky Ron thinking to me to get my attention since it seemed that six riders had been spotted heading in our direction. He was asking me if I had any way to determine anything about them as they were still some way off and I informed him telepathically I would not be able to determine anything until they were within one hundred feet and even more once they were within sixty. It seemed their lead rider was holding a spear with a white flag on it and he was approaching the lead cart and Deadly Dayna and Dave of the Red Beard had stopped the caravan to await their arrival. As he rode closer my Mindsight allowed me to determine he was human and quite intelligent and since he was now within my range I used my gifts to pierce both his and the mind of Dave as they started to talk. Lucky Ron had looked to me and after a few moments asked me what was going on and so I started to relay the information I was gaining as they spoke. It seemed that they were lost and while they were now near the city of Winter they had in reality been heading for Costal and it seemed their guide who was known to Dave was an incompetent drunk. Dave of course felt obligated to give them a chance to follow us to Winter where at least they would have a chance to sell their wares. Speaking of those wares their two carts were filled with them which were basically pelts of animals types I could not determine which had to number over two thousand and from Dave’s mind I could tell were roughly valued at around then gold per pelt. It seemed their speaker whose name was Jot informed Dave that he was glad for his offer if he was unable to lead them to Timyuk and would consult with their bands leader who actually had my attention. They were still within my range and as he walked to a older quiet unattractive woman who sat next to a younger women who resembled her I realized she was their Shaman or spiritual leader. They had started to speak a most interesting language the likes of which I had never heard before. Which I will admit I thought was odd since the people of this land as varied as they might seem were for the most part descendents of Hyborians. They had a short argument were she at first was not interested in travelling to Winter and wanted instead to travel to Timyuk and if not that two towns so small they were not even on the map a place called Cesna or Kuda but finally she was swayed by smooth arguments from Jot who informed her that Winter was actually quite safer then Timyuk which was known for its Undead infestation. Which was how he ended up returning to Dave the Red and asking for his help and him eventually having to walk back to our wagon to consult with us over if we were alright with the deal since of course he was still intimidated by the actions of Clean Eugene and no doubt the lethalness of or current guise and the Limited Enforcers.

It had been a short conversation and I truly had not issues with others joining us and the new group did seem interesting. I had to admit I was more saddened by the loss of the personality of my lover Dirty Anna who now seemed to no longer remember much of our relationship. At the time I had felt the loss of the Associate more deeply for I had now lost my beloved Nialla as well. I will admit at the time I had started to slightly despair over the many losses that I had suffered in my life. I also realized something else as well there was another path for my beloved the path of the Fey. There were Fey words of power that I knew of from legend that might call forth the powers of the Fey to alter reality itself but for even a mind as powerful my own I was still missing a vital piece. My mind would need to expand and for that their might indeed be a high price to be paid but for my beloved I would be willing to pay it. I had spent my time probing the thoughts of Dave and the lad Jot and realized that I had a few questions for the tribe of natives. It seemed that Lucky Ron was also curious about if they were aware of any signs of the Red Menace. I spoke with their Shaman leader Pigwith and she had been unaware of any Red Menace activities and honestly the only useful information I gained was that there were other tribes that they dealt with and that the reason Jot spoke common was due to his tribe speaking it and he was left with their tribe for the three women that had been taken from her tribe. As I had returned to the wagon with Lucky Ron, Dirty Anna and the others Lucky Ron spoke of something that was right on the tip of my mind. As we were approaching what looked like a checkpoint I realized that if Dave the Red had plans to betray us he would soon have the perfect chance to do it. Well of course not if I had anything to say about it.

So I had to admit while I was using the name Beauty I did find it to something that I often taken for granted for within my family I had always been the ugly duckling so to speak. I know what some might think how could that be possible well let us just say it is and leave it at that. So I was not at all surprised as I had cast a dominate spell upon Dave the Red and found out that his plan had indeed been to betray us at the checkpoint around one mile outside town. I of course had felt the orgasmic experience almost overcome me as his will was bound to me as he became my thrall and his mind opened to be which was now even more intense as his thoughts were now mine to read as well as direct. I was able to therefore gain a complete understanding of the walled town of Winter as well as a detailed overview of the current Baron and the state of the City State. The towns make up was indeed quite diverse and included Bugbears, Ogres, Elves, Half-Elves, Humans and even the near extinct Brownies who seemed to actually be thriving on this Demi-Plane. In the City State of Winter they even had their own sector of town. We soon lost track of the natives and I bid Dave the Red good day but of course I bound him to reveal nothing of what he had witnessed. Sooner than I realized I noticed something quite interesting in the center of town was the only Inn usable by visitors and right near it were the heads of two Storm Giants. So either their heads were there as a warning or they were being kept to be used as some kind of Zombie defense but I did not read anything from their minds so for the moment I was not worried or for that matter even concerned. For we were in the City State of Winter home of Baron Edward who was believe it or not an Ogre. So after a quick barter although in truth I was not really in the mood I bartered down the proprietor of the Inn to twenty five gold (25g) from the thirty four (34g) per night he was asking to rent a Tower from the mansion sized Center Town Inn. We entered and were show the direction of our Tower and we could also see inside the Inn a few people of which from my Mindsight I could determine numbered around fifteen or so. There was a large serving area where food was laid out and to each of the four corners there was a bar which seemed to house both a different kind of bar as well as bartender. So while there was a Brownie, Orc, Elf and even a Human bar I of course selected the Elven one for there was an attractive young Elf there who I figured would be the oldest person in the room and might very well be the best place to start gathering information. I asked our Organization Agents to spread out and keep us covered while Lucky Ron, Slick Rick, Deadly Dayna and Clean Eugene accompanied me to the Elven bar. Dirty Anna asked for some gold so she could head over to the Orc bar and while she was still not acting like herself although to be fair she was just so much had happened since then and I was still wracking my brain to find a way to bring my beloved back to me. Meanwhile Mickey the Torch had chosen to drink over at the Brownie bar and impressive constitution or not I knew the Brownies were know for magical elixirs and true to form in short order he was drunk and singing telepathically to me and through me to the others. I will admit there was a moment where I figured I could use his state to my advantage but the memory of what happened to the Associate while not changing my mind did cause me to stick to business instead of pleasure. The Elven bartender was named Tess in common and informed me after I had ordered a barrel of elven mead that her and her family had been sailing and ended up here some centuries back and that she had been born and raised in this land. It seemed her family had been on a fishing expedition and somehow ended up on the Demi-Plane. After a few more barrels of elven mead were ordered I lead the conversation to what my new friend Tess knew of the Winter Provider. It seemed they had become quite popular in town over the last thirty years with the ladies and even wore their crowns openly. It also seemed that Baron Edward did not seem to completely trust them and they were not allowed to recruit in town and she was able to confirm the location of the local office in town which I had already gleamed from my Thrall Dave the Red before we arrived. So conveying everything to the others telepathically I let everyone know that it seemed if we were to gain any additional information we might as well head to the local office and see what we might find.

Leaving was slightly more complicated than I would have thought for Mickey the Torch was far too drunk to trust until we dealt with the problem. I had consulted with Deadly Dayna and she let me know she could assist him with a neutralize poison spell. I let her know we should check into our Tower first and then once we had taken care of Mickey the Torch we could be on our way. Which is exactly what happened and we then headed out to visit the local shop of the Winter Provider. The Winter Provider’s shop proved to be both informative and interesting for three reasons the brownies working in the shop, the Red King from Hyboria of course and then there was the Gold Dragon Sheriff. Once we had arrived we had decided to wait out the clientele that were trying to haggle over tomatoes and perhaps have a little talk with the local Red King after hours. I was hesitant to use my magical gifts to read the thoughts of those within but I took the advice of Lucky Ron and managed to acquire the thoughts of the Brownie staff and one of the two women who were doing the tomato haggling. All in all there were about eight minds in the shop a few women a few kids and of course the help in addition to the Red King. One of women took the moment to leave the shop in a huff and I had a feeling she might have had a reaction to my magic while the Brownies with whom I quickly struck up a discussion informed me of information I needed to know. It seemed that the Red Kings were rotated in an out and there every three weeks had indeed been a large shipment of magical artifacts brought through here a few weeks ago on their way to the Winter Provider base to the North. I also found out if we chose to wait him out he closed the shop at exactly the moment the sun started to set which of course be a good time to officially make his acquaintance. Well we had heard enough and were actually in the process of escorting the remaining client out the door as the Red King seemed to be getting a little nervous. At which time the Gold Dragon Sheriff showed up and asked us to step outside with him. Now here was the interesting part I had not realized he was a Gold Dragon he actually looked like a slightly bigger than usual human wearing quite ornate armor. I of course was polite with him and at the time did not feel that we would have had a problem dealing with him if necessary not that I wanted to and it was not until I saw the effect he had on Mickey the Torch did I put it together. For as the Sheriff had told us to step outside and be on our way Mickey the Torch had suddenly looked quite impressed and bowed and said “Then I will be leaving Brother.” With that he left us and heading back to the Inn. Meanwhile I struck up a conversation with the Sheriff and I knew something was up when I did not have him eating completely out of my had so to speak. He informed us of the unspoken law of the City State which involved no exposure of weapons and no casting of magic against the populace. There were of course plenty of loopholes in that law and I realized he had only known of my magic from the women who had fled the store. So I changed my tact and confirmed that he was aware of the situation within the Demi-Plane and even concerning the founder of the town some one hundred and twenty years ago. He had volunteered that he was aware and that he served the Baron of the City as he had his Grandfather. I therefore related to him that while we would abide by the laws that the people he had come to his town and become the Winter Provider were in league with the forces that had cast all of Hyboria into despair. I did not elaborate but instilled in him the importance of speaking with Baron Edward and he informed me that he would make it so when Baron Edward rose after sunset. I of course had given him an inquisitive look and he had reassured me that the Count was not a Vampire but merely kept odd hours which made sense being a Ogre. So we bid him good day and returned to the Center Inn to await our appointment with the Baron of Winter.

As we had left Lucky Ron had said he was going to stay behind and keep an eye on our Red King and I therefore confirmed with Swami Donnie that we assign a few men to him and so Ace, Hawkeye Allen and Diamond Jim kept him company as the rest of us heading back to our Tower within the Center Inn. Our Brownie concierge was waiting for us and I asked him to wait outside the door and to knock when dinner was served as we were expected an important guest in the evening. The time passed quickly and I took an hour to restore myself so that I might be able to keep watch while everyone else slept and our concierge had performed admirably and set up a grand table for us to await our guest. Lucky Ron had returned with information regarding the large shipment that had been moved through town as well as confirming that he Red King had gone to visit a woman and seemed to be remaining with her for the night. Either way I knew we had horses and even if he left by night which I deemed unlikely we would make it by early afternoon on horseback. We had already started dinner when the eight foot tall four feet across wearing leather armor Albino Ogre who I realized was not other then Baron Edward had entered the Inn which by now as Tess had informed us quite crowded came in amongst happy greetings from all assembled. He was not alone for with him was a Brownie and as he walked up to our table and took the seat we had prepared for him his Brownie stepped onto the table and began to speak for him. Which I of course had thought was odd and I soon deduced that the Brownie was telepathic and the Baron had a speaking problem. His Brownie had informed us that his Sheriff had informed him that we had information that was vital to the survival of Winter. I had looked to his Brownie and the Baron and opened my mind to them telepathically and confirmed that the Brownie was indeed telepathic and I informed for what we needed to discuss it would be best if we did it telepathically if he was not opposed. I was actually quite fascinated to hear his mental voice which was intelligent and articulate as opposed to the grunts that had come from his mouth when he had indicated the he understood us and that the Brownie was his translator. So I took over the telepathic lifting and our conversation began in earnest. I did not hold much back and revealed enough to gain his confidence an confirm his concerns regarding the Red Menace. It seemed he was aware of the mysterious Mythos Magic they employed as well as shipment of artifacts that had made a brief stop in Winter a week before moving on to their base in the North. He also included they were one of three Trading Companies if you will in the north the other being a Fey controlled one called the Forest Realm and the other being a Brownie one called the Red Burrowers. I of course began to realize that those other fearsome artifacts that the Baron had spoken of were no doubt items that we would need but at the time I kept it to myself. We spoke of his Grandfather the last Ogre Paladin of Hyboria and I even volunteered to perhaps let Clean Eugene and Deadly Dayna help him if he would like the chance to restore his birthright. He had continued to speak of a secret Seer who had warned him of troubling times ahead and that he had been visited by twelve strange visitors from he believed to be Estaton who were tattooed with slanted eyes. I had inquired into the issue and found out that until recently Estaton was the reason they had such an Undead problem as they seemed to come from that dimension. I of course deduced the worst for either the Red Menace were planning something big or just using the plane as a secure storage facility. If it were me I would be gathering the artifacts to enact a ritual that would collapse the entire dimension and leave the inhabitants at my mercy all set to become space mead ingredients. I even mentioned it and set up a fall back plan for Edward for if his Seer had told him he must walk alone perhaps he would find his path on his own. My plan would involve giving him detailed information about Emerald and how to locate Berker Island and how he might go about contacting Swami Donnie’s people. Perhaps a bit much but I believed in being through and if I had learned anything it was that just when I thought we might have gotten a step ahead somehow our enemies already had a counter if not in place just waiting. After a pleasant meal and small talk during which time we shared with the Brownie about the Limited Enforcers perhaps setting up a shop in town and being willing to support the town in any way possible as perhaps even extensions of the Barony the Baron had left.

The night passed quickly and in the morning Swami Donnie suggested that his men stay behind as we headed to the Winter Provider and while some of the other looked concerned I agreed for it was always best to keep reserves and so I contacted our concierge who also turned out to be telepathic and informed him that our associates would be staying for perhaps a few nights. I left at the advice of Swami Donnie one hundred gold (100g) to cover any unforeseen expenses as well as paid for five day in advance just in case and as we had stepped away from the Inn the Baron’s a Brownie wearing the vestments of the Baron came forward to let us know that if we had the means to speed our journey we had been given leave to create our own transports. So while I trusted the Baron I of course combat cast the spell and within moment I had summoned the black steed who were livered in the symbols of the Limited Enforcers and as we rode of I knew we looked Lethal as we departed the City State of Winter.

I knew a few things for sure and a few I had to deduce we were not doubt heading into unforeseen danger that would not doubt be yet another test to our abilities. I was not worried but I was becoming depressed for with all that was happening to my beloved Dirty Anna I knew know how to help her and by all the magic at my Mother’s command and the power of Aphrodite I prayed for a solution to present itself. Until then I knew I would despair but I would not let my feelings hold me back from my duty to Dragonfirre. Perhaps it was the changes within me that I felt stirring yet again and the power that I knew would soon be mine or perhaps it was the path I had chosen or reality been placed upon me. Either way we had an Orb of Sight to acquire and if my deductions proved to be correct perhaps even a few other items on our list for it seemed the Red Menace did not waste time so therefore we the last saviors of sundered Hyboria needed to prepare ourselves to face a Guardian which for reasons I had yet to deduce had left willingly with the Red Menace. Mysteries abounded but by the grace of Aphrodite I had faith we would find a way.

Chapter Thirty Two : The Return Of The Red Menace or The Lethal Limited Enforcers

2010-05-26T23:32:00.000-05:00

So events had been happening fast and furious over the last two days and while I can thankfully say for once that during that time Dragonfirre and the Organization Agents that were travelling with us seemed to never be in immediate danger. Now of course that did not mean our stay so far in the Nexus Plane had been without incident quite the contrary. For while we had tracked down the quite helpful followers of Nodens who had related to us among other things that the whereabouts of the Orb of Sight had changed the revelations did not end there. It seemed that someone had already dealt with the Ugly Thing and its minions and made away with the Orb of Sigh I would be willing to give someone three guesses as to whom had liberated the Orb of Sight but you would only need one. That’s right the Red Menace Kings were on the scene and from how it seemed still on it and trying to takeover while making a profit. So it came to pass that we were soon on the hunt for not only the Orb of Sight but the Red Menace directly into the Nexus region known as the Breadbasket home of Vampires and of course slavery, torture and death. Where the farmers of the land were literally enslaved to the land at bound to the whims of the reputed Seven Families. Which of course did not go over so well with Clean Eugene but seemed well within the law as far as Vadania who I am thinking about calling Deadly Dayna with her cold adherence to unjust enforcers of the law is concerned. We had continued our journey through Breadbasket by first adopting a new mercenary company name the lethal Limited Enforcers and let me just say our emblem and costumes designed by yours truly were sure to strike fear into our enemies as well as bring comfort to those who might seek our services. Of course we elicited a ride with a caravan who just so happened to indirectly be dealing with the Red Menace or those friendly to them and had proceeded through the city of Timyuk on our way to Winter and along the way met the a Sheriff and his Vampire Lord who were happy that we had arrived to deal with their Red Menace problem. So while of course there are many additional details to relate I can thankfully say we arrived at the gates of city of Winter where we would be seeking the Winter Provider purveyor of bottled mushrooms which could only have come from Emerald. Rest assured all will be revealed in painstaking yet loving detail so relax and enjoy.

While I thought I had been picking up positive energy from the Pawn known as Sir Montague in reality it was more like his power source for what I had been really picking up was the emanations of a Construct who had never truly known life as I knew it. Which when I thought about it I realized why their offer to the Hyborians to give up their souls had been firmly rejected by the religious hierarchy. Even their form which looked Humanoid was only a form they resembled in order to allow the Humanoids with which they interacted to feel more at ease. So after coming to that realization I realized that our Pawn would not doubt have information about the Nexus dimension that might just be useful since in reality he had been present since its creation. This was how I ended up acquiring a map of Nexus with all of the major settlements as well as the easy way to return to Emerald. For it seemed on only had to sail off in the right direction and you would end up in one of four different realities. Of course North West from whence we had arrived led to Emerald while South East would take us back to the remains of Hyboria which I found they called Hyperboria. It was also worth noting that the dimension of the Chessman was called Solstice and lay to the South West. Now there also seemed to be a mystery dimension which led to a realm known as Estaton of which our friendly Pawn knew next to nothing about. Which of course led to realize that plane might very well hold mysteries that we might just need to figure out. I was also with his assistance able to confirm something ironic which happened to be something concerning or Organization Agent friends. They all seemed to be descendants of Hyboria no doubt somewhere around Olympian influenced Argos. This in itself explained a lot which I chose to share with Swami Donnie since I felt he needed to be made aware of his history now that both he and his Agents were being supplied with living breathing proof. This of course led to me inquiring to our Pawn about our task at hand and the location of the Nodens worshippers and anyone he might know or be aware of who might be able to help us contact them since they seemed to have information we needed which I had hoped would lead to the Orb of Sight. Believe it or not the person he mentioned and recommended was someone we had already met Marcos the Ogre who hung around the Vault. So as we prepared to leave I began to realize something which at the time struck me as odd, why were the elves even here if they had only been here for around a thousand years.

So on our way back to the Vault I opened my mind and started to sense for Elves for while it seemed we were a little out of the loop regarding the thought of the Hyborians who had lives through the ravaging of our world it there were any Elves here than they might very well remember. Since really a normal Elf could live over a thousand years and so I figure it should not be that hard to find someone who might know more. So while the others followed me I had filled in Swami Donnie on what was going on as relating a similar but downgraded story to Gizmo Dent and Mack Daddy who I had realized ironically were decedents of Argos I should have know it from their skin tone. I needed to find an Elf with whom I was sure would have information that we might need. I also realized that there indeed must have been more to the events than met the eye for while My Mother had no doubt escaped with many Elves to the Feywild what kind of Elves would have been left or chosen to stay behind. I really did not have to think long as I looked at our stunningly attractive no doubt stuck up Favored Soul Vadania who wore an Athena Medallion proudly. I really did not fell comforted by the fact that while she was not a Priest of the Pantheon but a Favored Soul dedicated to the Olympians that she would have the skills we needed. Don’t get me wrong I was trying not to have anything against her but I realized that the faith of Athena was indeed a harsh one. Athena Goddess of wisdom, crafts, civilization, and course war, let’s not forget she is also the patron of judges and constables and embracer of Law in its purest forms so shall we just say I have not always seen them in the best light. So I could therefore reason why many Elves might have stayed behind for loyalty or perhaps even love but I planned to see if our Favored Soul embraced Aphrodite who in reality stood above all of the Olympians and I told myself I would reserve judgment until I had more information. As I walked I noticed a number of Elves but basically only on the street and then I found what I was looking for a giant ceramic tree house with an Elf inside. While Slick Rick had mentioned shopping it seemed that Mickey the Torch was still a little wary of the Chickamazee but in reality I realized he was just trying to get me to move along such lack of patience that one. I will also admit that I was still getting acquainted to my new friend my Ring of Sustenance which I should call by its name Angelica. Just for the record I am not losing my mind my newly acquired Ring was in reality an Item Familiar which while not the most intelligent truly only slightly above average unlike my friends I could say that it was one hundred percent loyal and in addition to enhancing my perception it also had expanded my mind where now I could pierce the minds of others at will if I wished. So upon entering the shop while I did not attempt to pierce the mind of the Elf who seemed to be running an operation called Potions, Lotions, and Notions seemed at the very least intriguing. Well it was a complete bust regarding information regarding the past for it seemed from what I was able to deduce from the Elven proprietor who had only been running the shop for a few months was that more time had passed than just one millennium more like three which meant that if the Elves who had come here in the first place were the cast offs than it made sense that give or take and assuming hard times he was no doubt sixth generation and did not even have knowledge of magic. As a matter of fact which was proven when I had telepathically asked my dark darling and beloved Dirty Anna to check the place for magic and she found nothing stronger than sweet water. In addition the proprietor had informed me that due to inclement weather his shop had only stood for thirty years or so which allowed me to come to the conclusion there was not need to continue wasting our time. So it was time to leave and I realized perhaps with the exception of a few the natives would be useless to us and as always we were on our own. So focused yet disappointed and my anger consoled by Angelica I led us back to the scene of the previous nights escapades the interdimensional inn known as the Vault.

We arrived at the outskirts of the Vault in search of Marcos the Ogre and the sight we beheld was about what I had expected. The entire inn was surrounded by Chimpanzee and black armored men. Marcos was sunning himself on a rock about two hundred feet away but as he had said if we needed him he would be near the Vault and he was not wrong. I approached him and got right to the point the Nodens and where they could be found. It seemed that indeed Marcos was the right person in which to inquire as in short order he was able to fill us in on the Nodens and their three local sects. There was of course a Female Society which seemed to be quite elite and secretive. In addition to the Seasonal Society which it seemed was heavily influenced by festivals and the Elder Things. So while Sir Montague had informed us about the Nodens Elder Things and I truly thought it to be a worthwhile lead the fact that introductions as well as the random festivals made locating them not our best option. So when he began to speak of the Golden Horn Society which it seemed while located about two miles away was always open for business seemed to be out most logical choice. Upon further inquiry I was able to acquire the name of a female Acolyte named Escaron who he recommended that we speak with. In regards to the temple complex itself he let us know that we would recognize it by the four surrounding towers and a lamp shaped structure which they surrounded. For good measure as well as prodding from Dragonfirre I also asked if he had any information regarding an object that was being watched over by the Duke which he and a number of his order had failed to acquire. Marcos could only add that he was aware of a legendary object being held in the Reliquary he called it that he was aware was guarded by a fearsome creature. For his efforts since it seemed for whatever reason he seemed to work for free I asked him to keep this between us and offered him a gold piece for his trouble. On our way to the Golden Horn Society I stopped by the bizarre sized outdoor restaurant and picked up drinks and snacks for the Organization since I realized a walk of two miles while not really that much for natives of Hyboria would no doubt be an experience for our Argos Hyborian descendants.

As we had made our way to the Golden Horn Society as I kept up a telepathic link with Dragonfirre, Swami Donnie as well as my dynamic duo Gizmo Dent and Mac Daddy we ran into a little trouble. While I will admit I was pleased to have Angelica with me to help me deal with my feeling regarding the loss of the Associate which still plagued me I could feel myself growing cold inside. So while I no longer felt the unending pressure of my sexual appetite I was suddenly made aware of something else which was that I actually enjoyed it perhaps to explore the sheer physical aspect of the whole ordeal would be an exciting thing to pursue. I also had to admit It was not hard to notice how hard Smiling Ed kept looking at my beloved Dirty Anna as she walked down the street. It also seemed that the other Organization Agents with the exception of Swami Donnie, Gizmo Dent, Mac Daddy and Smiling Ed were focused on our new attractive demure yet perfectly poised sexual man trap Vadania and I realized that perhaps I had found her name as she reminded me of spider inviting and seductive and the infamous line “Welcome to my parlor said the spider to the fly.”. That name was Deadly Dayna and with her lovely long hair, picture perfect eyes as well as her elegant delicate body well if her devotion to Athena was any indication then bringing war was also part of that package. To put it lightly they all seemed to be in awe of the new girl as it were and her mild mannered act had them ready to eat out of the palm of her hand. Not that I was worried but still I had my concerns about anyone devoted to Athena as I had often found them to be to devoted to their own sense of justice for their own good. So sure I was still keeping an ice cold mask on my face as befit the new role I was preparing myself to assume. Of course I relaxed my gaze whenever I spoke with someone but I was focused on maintaining a studied demeanor and saving my fun loving and adventurous self for evenings with my beloved Dirty Anna perhaps Clean Eugene and perhaps a few others of my choosing. I had also devoted enough energy to focusing on my companions with my Mindsight so I would not have to deal with anyone straying off as my darling Dirty Anna had done earlier that very morning. So when Swami Donnie had informed me that he had sensed a presence but could not lock it down and that presence was no doubt psionic like did not exactly worry me but I did put me on edge and I asked him to keep an eye out for us. Of course moments later when Hawkeye Allen had suddenly stopped moving I stopped everyone and as I looked to him and asked him telepathically if he was ok while simultaneously asking Swami Donnie to check on him with Hawkeye Allen’s mental confirmation as well as Swami Donnie’s that all was well we moved on. We then approached the Temple of the Golden Horned Society and it was indeed a intriguing structure which matched the description given to us by Marcos and I relaxed my cold exterior for a warmer and more provocative posture as the curtain was about to rise and perhaps it things did not work out I figure I could always sick Deadly Dayna on them.

Each of the four towers surrounding the lamp like temple complex were over thirty feet tall and topped by minarets and were staffed by personnel of varying intellect but only one possessed a woman who was standing in a guard like posture outside one of the towers. I could sense others inside the temple proper but I felt it best to be respectful so I moved our group toward to woman in question. All of the members of the Golden Horn Society seemed to be wearing silver chain and helms while the woman I had approached her hair long and whitish blond wore two golden horns at her waist. It turned out that she was exactly who we had been looking for as she was indeed Escaron and she actually had been waiting for us to arrive. I telepathically confirmed with Dragonfirre if they felt it best to move forward with caution or directness and while my vote would have been directness I was glad to find that all of them with the exception of Deadly Dayna were with me. While perhaps at the time I might have felt it worthy to devote some time to Deadly Dayna. I truly did not see the value as she was proving to be as haughty and as stuck up as most followers of the sect of Athena for the world of Hyboria had not been one to welcome law the path of Ares had actually gained more of a following. So I moved on and began our discussion with her with questions about the nature of Nodens the faith this establishment which bore a striking resemblance both in sight and smell what with all of the incense of Iranastan. I could see that it seemed to be having a calming on my Dirty Anna of which I was glad. Acolyte Escaron then began with only the slightest prodding to explain the difference between the other Elder Gods and the one she followed. She basically stated the while Nodens did not exactly fight the other Elder Gods at every turn his faith was more opposed to them on purely philosophical reasons. She of course added some additional fluff concerning the power of her deity but then again who wouldn’t. So while she stated that the other Elder Gods believed in a state of primordial chaos or it seemed to me actually entropy. For she then stated that they tended to seek the absolute destruction of everything and had no use for the things that Nodens embraced being beauty, fairness, trust and safety. So alright perhaps not at their collective throats but in reality it seemed close enough to me to mean we could consider them allies and at the very least not enemies.

Therefore in short order I had relayed what we were seeking in regards to the Orb of Sight which was said to be guarded by an Ugly Beast and Escaron replied by giving us news that literally broke my calm. For the next thing she exclaimed was that the Prelate had come to her about a month ago with knowledge she claimed came from a vision. It seemed we had been expected and Escaron informed us that the Orb of Sight as well as the Ugly Beast and its minions were not longer in the Reliquary. As a matter of fact the Orb of sight and it guardians had been walked right out and headed to the lands controlled by the Winter Provider by beings from a far away land. So who was the Winter Provider and who had the skill or savvy to just charm the Ugly Beast well it only got better. To begin with the Winter Provider was located in the region known as Breadbasket rumored to be near the town of Winter. To make a long story short the area of Breadbasket is controlled by an organization called the Seven Families who collectively are called the Junta and they keep the peasant populace literally enslaved to the farmland which of course helped explain the inrush of refugees fleeing the region. Well the Winter Provider was actually known for its pickled food which gave me a clue that something by Poseidon was fishy about the Winter Provider. This of course let me to pulling out my sketch pad and already dreading what I would end up painting. So as I applied my brush to the paper and I began to ask her for details from the Prelates vision I just happened to ask if they were wearing red. Which was all she needed to jar her memory and the next thing I had before me was a picture of a Red Menace King. While my mind had already been putting the pieces together suddenly being slapped in the face with the knowledge that the Red Menace might have already acquired the Orb of Sight and even set up business in this realm for reasons known only to them caused me to literally go into a rage worthy of Ares. I fought to contain my fury for I realized that it would not be productive to loss it in front Dragonfirre and the Organization. Still it was a few cold moments and after a few moments I had regained my composure and confirmed with Escaron the Red Menace team had numbered around a dozen. I shared my anger with Swami Donnie just so he could be prepared as well as prepare his Agents for the confrontation that I was sure to come. His anger over once again running into the Red Menace helped to calm me for I realized they had been a thorn in the Organizations side far longer than they had ours and in that fact I was able to find solace. I realized the hunt was once again on for the Red Menace as I had inquired with Escaron about more information on the region known as Breadbasket.

It’s not that I was worried but in reality I wanted to find a way to reach the town of Winter in a fashion that would not give away our presence to the Red Menace. Now of course that was why I had needed information on ways into and out of Breadbasket and additional knowledge of the customs and rituals. So after a short while Escaron informed us of the caravans that traveled from the cities of Breadbasket to Ringtown and back again. She told me she was aware that caravans left and returned on a regular basis and if we travelled to the nearby Market and spoke with a Carl Junior than we could not doubt find a way to join a caravan returning to Winter which of course would lead to the Winter Provider then the Red Menace and finally the Orb of Sight. We could have left and moved out at the moment but I suddenly had a thought. If the Elder Gods had a presence on Emerald unknown to the majority of the natives then perhaps Nodens might as well and if so then the Prelate who had had the vision in the first place might be able to offer additional assistance. I had asked Dirty Anna when we had first arrived to scan the area for magic and she had informed me she sensed relic like power and I figured why not find out if they had any of that power to spare. I of course also wanted to find out more about Nodens for the vague descriptions given from Escaron about the Golden Horn with its ties to beauty and others with ties to War and Mysticism were a little to nondescript for me. Well let’s just say I soon would be blessed with more information than I would have thought possible on Elder God know as Nodens
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Escaron wasted no time after my request escorting us into the dome like temple complex thru a door that seemed to magically appear before our very eyes. Once inside it resembled many indoor temple complexes I had seen in past. She led us past a number of pews toward a woman standing before an altar who by her attire alone was a sight to behold and which I realized had to be the Prelate. I had mentioned to the others my desire to see the High Priestess since I figured she might be able to aid us with a possible Nodens contact on Emerald but us course as always I had more than just one agenda but I have found that it best to keep the appearance of being focused on only one in order to allow Dragonfirre to keep up. Either way I had the support of Slick Rick and since he is often the hardest sell I had carried on. The Prelate was of dressed in a interesting outfit her dresses train alone was perhaps forty feet and her hat was well I supposed Nodens priestly fashion the folds alone were quite interesting. So after a quick introduction and letting her know we were the ones who had come to receive her vision I got right to the point. I asked her if there were any followers of Nodens on Emerald and I was pleased to find that there were. I of course had followed up with an inquiry on how we might be able to contact them since our goals were along the same to oppose the other Elder Gods who I found out were actually called the Great Old Ones. I was pleased when she gave me a golden horn and informed me when we returned to Emerald if we sought the aid of Nodens and his followers then to blow the horn and aid would come to us. I of course was still looking for more information that I could study to learn more perhaps of the Elder God Nodens and those he often opposed the Elder Gods of which Cthulhu was of course a part so I had asked if she had a book that we could take with us that might aid offer more insight into Nodens. She then reached into folds of her dress from where she had also produced the horn and removed a scroll tube. The Prelate informed me and said “If you ever need to know of Nodens then read the scroll aloud.” Which at the time went right past me for I have never claimed to be big on intuition so I figured I would read it myself just not aloud and find the information I sought. It struck me that so far things had seemed oddly smooth what with visions and such and while I felt perhaps Nodens might very well be an ally of the Gods of Hyboria I was suddenly curious if the Prelate knew of others like ourselves who had been her before seeking similar information. As I had suspected others had come before but of course had never been heard from again. I just needed to hear it for myself for while we chose that moment to depart I figured I would start reading the Scroll of Nodens before we left the temple grounds proper. Oddly I had to admit Dirty Anna seemed more relaxed in the presence of the Prelate then I had ever seen her well of course with the exception of after a mind blowing orgasm which I was already planning of course. So as I had started to read the Scroll of Nodens suddenly I felt reality warp around me and suddenly I felt myself suddenly in two places at once. For while to the others I was still standing among them and had only stopped to stare at the scroll for a moment the reality was far more profound. I had been psychically transported to the realm of Nodens and he stood before me in all his glory he resembled an elderly human male with long white hair, grey bearded yet his limbs and body were still vital and strong he rode in chariot being pulled by Nightgaunts and as he descended from the chariot to stand before me he spoke. “You stand before Nodens to what do I owe this intrusion into my realm.”

Nodens in all of his naked and overwhelming glory stood before me and by Aphrodite was I in Lust. Suddenly it felt as if my ears were being stoked and licked while my already erect breasts were being licked and sucked and I was being penetrated and sodomized simultaneously. Nodens only looked at me and said “Are you alright.” While I could only moan and using all of the concentration I could muster utter “Aphrodite Help Me?” It seemed that Nodens understood my plea and suddenly I could breathe again. I looked up to the well proportioned male Avatar of Nodens as I suddenly had noticed that I had fallen to the ground and he was offering me his right hand to help me up. I realized there was no use in being deceptive and of course there was no need to be for by Aphrodite I did need his help. I needed detailed information about the Elder Gods and the Great Old Ones who were intent on destruction and mayhem. I opened my mind and reached for a link to the Avatar for as always nothing ventured nothing gained and my Mindsight showed me a whole new reality. In the past if one were to ask me what was the most profound and mind altering experience I might have said the sheer complexities of the Moonbeast with its alternate realities and complex science which was so similar to magic that there was very little difference. Now of course that experience led me along the path away from the Abyss and the Cult of Loki as well as my greed towards my love of the Associate, Dirty Anna my new friends and course Aphrodite. I perhaps would have also said that was nothing compared to the revelation from my Mother now a Queen of the Summer Court of the Feywild that everything that had happened so far including the ravaging of Hyboria while not part of her plan had opened the doors for her own accession to near Godhood and the fall of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Which of course explained how I had changed and been myself manipulated by my own Mother and learning that I was actually a member of an immortal Elven race know as the Sidhelien among other things which I had already come to terms with as my memories of the decades I had actually already lived came back to me. Along with the burden that lay upon me to make sure that Dragonfirre succeeded against the Elder Gods and defeated them once and for all in order that all that was once Hyboria could live again. Well not too much pressure but all of that paled in comparison to the information that poured into my mind as Nodens had taken me into his embrace and said to me “I will help you.” He had then kissed me and my mind was suddenly awash in and ocean of ideas and knowledge where even my impressive mind was swamped and only the knowledge that the Avatar of Nodens was holding me kept my mind from being washed away and lost forever. The bright side I had gained all of the knowledge I would ever need about the Elder God Nodens and even his adversaries the Great Old Ones of which Cthulhu was a member. The dark side the situation was far worse than I had thought for while I may in the future detail exactly what I beheld the harsh truth was that among all of the Elder Gods only Nodens could be considered an ally and perhaps Shub-Niggurath but that of course is another story for another time. Nodens had let me go and I felt myself coming back to reality and I felt my time with him was coming to an end and as I stood there he smiled at me while remounted his chariot and disappeared as my mind came back to the present and while it had felt to me like I had been gone for ages as I came to myself I realized it had only been moments in the real world. I of course now realized that the Scroll was better suited for someone more attuned to divine energy and I realized it was only my intense training, unique gifts and my determined will that had allowed me such a close and personal connection to Nodens. For in reality the Scroll would enable us to summon a servant of Nodens who would aid us and I realized perhaps the best place for such an encounter would be when we finally faced Cthulhu.

I came to myself and I took a deep breath and while I worked to discipline my posture and demeanor in order to not betray what I had just learned I am not sure if I really managed it. For I had noticed the Dirty Anna seemed to sense that something might be wrong. I spoke in her mind that the Scroll of Nodens was more than just a summoning or knowledge spell but also a direct conduit to Nodens. I had noticed that we were already on our way to the Market and I chose to also relate to the other members of Dragonfirre the nature of the Scroll of Nodens and I then entrusted the Scroll of Nodens into the hands of Slick Rick. I would like to have thought I would have considered offering the Scroll to Deadly Dayna but truthfully I did not yet trust her and she for sure did not so far seem like friend material. As a Favored Soul I would have expected her to have informed us of what she was capable of since was limited in her divine scope but so far she was being just as evasive as Mickey the Torch had been in the past which of course did not bode well with me. Slick Rick took the scroll and placed it into his magical backpack as I had done with the Horn of Nodens and we proceeded to our meeting with Carl Junior.

The building in the market we were looking for was a big red one and it was fairly easy to find as it seemed to be a central hub with many carts moving around busy with loading and unloading cargo. I did not hesitate and moved forward toward a younger man who seemed to be in charge of overseeing the operation and informed him that I needed to see Carl Junior. I asked him where I could find Carl Junior and I was pointed to a store where a clerk approached asking if he could help us with an order. For what it was worth there was a great deal of produce, baked goods, and even prepared foods in the shop. I informed him that we needed to see Carl Junior and at first he looked around like he did not know what to do and oddly his eyes fixed on Deadly Dayna as I quickly spun a tale that we basically were important clients who had important business with Carl Junior and he had better get him if he knew what was smart for him. He quickly spun and led us into the back office to speak with Carl Junior. We were within moment introduced to the quite round and jolly Carl Junior and I quickly began to inquire about his wares and where they came from. He was more than happy to share that six caravans regularly traveled through Breadbasket and Ringtown and that one was even in town now and scheduled to be leaving in the morning. He of course was a salesman and was eager to show us the newest product from the Winter Provider which turned out to be pickled radishes in a mushroom gravy broth. I of course asked to see a bottle and he was more than willing to show it to me and I barely had to look at it or even confirm with Slick Rick that is was artificial which was another nail in the coffin regarding the presence of the Red Menace and them still being in the area. I decided to of course buy a bottle which he said was one gold piece and I offered him one of ours and told him to keep the change since from his perspective they would be ancient coins worth more than their currently minted coins. He was of course happy to sell his first bottle and I used the betterment of his mood to inquire further about the safety of the roads and if the caravans ever hired security. He informed me the Junta employed a division of soldiers who were normally armored in gold and teal and wielded lance like spear guns which from what he described made them feared in the region. With enough information about the local situation I finally inquired about what information he could offer regarding the caravan in town. It seemed that the caravan was run by a Dave of the Red Beard and they were last he had heard staying at Rusty’s Tavern. I asked about his connections and he informed me that while his family was indirectly related to the Seven Families and connected enough to be given special privilege. So while Mickey the Torch made a quick purchase of trail mix I had a quick discussion with my beloved Dirty Anna. I will admit I had been holding on to the hope that the vision of the Prelate of Nodens might have been a prescient vision it seemed by the presence of the mushroom sauce the Red Menace for some reason had established a possible base of operations in a region far from the path to Emerald. I related to Dirty Anna that she had been right and we both were left to ponder just what the Red Menace were up to but I was sure we would find out soon enough. After our long walk through town it was getting late and we still needed to find a place to stay and I still needed to fit in lunch as well find a place to stay for the night and persuade Dave of the Red Beard that we were going to be travelling with him the next morning.

We arrived at Rusty’s Tavern without incident and I was able we could see several wagons secured in the back and there were a number two Elder Thing bouncers outside and around twelve humans inside of which I figured one would be Dave as well as a few other Elder Things and even a few Yith. As we closed on the tavern as if he had been with us all along Clean Eugene began to fade in I felt his mind as he returned to us and I had only informed Dirty Anna as I knew she loved him as I did. Just for the record not the way she loves him more like I love all of Dragonfirre with the exception of Mickey the Torch for the moment at least. Who while I will admit his actions against the Associate were in my mind perhaps to severe I have to wonder if I felt someone who I travelled with at any moment might attempt to kill me whenever he felt the moment was right I would not have waited for a convenient excuse to end them. Harsh I realize but I have come to the realization that anyone who threatens my life or the lives of Dragonfirre will be faced with the cold harsh darkness of death. I digress of course and perhaps if I had not at that moment I might have prevented Deadly Dayna from drawing her long sword in alarm. Meanwhile I had continued on and entered a telepathic conversation with the one of the two Elder Things guarding the door. I decided to leave it to Dirty Anna to calm Clean Eugene or otherwise be ready to observe just how impressive Deadly Dayna really was. My conversation with the Elder Things had to mainly consist of finding out that they were booked for the night and that Dave of the Red Beard was in attendance and he would be summoned to the door to speak with us. I did of course split my concentration to fill in Clean Eugene as to the current situation and that the Elder Things I was talking to were not an immediate threat but I did inform the other to all be on guard since no use to not be prepared. It’s not like I am paranoid but I realized another thing I would miss about my former Associate whose embrace I might never again experience and strangely I suddenly remembered the only passionate kiss we had shared which had seemed ages ago but had only been in reality days. Preventing his death had been one of the major catalysts which had lead me away from the Abyss and I had failed him. Were I a lesser woman I might have broke into tears but crying was for the weak and that was something I was not and as I tapped Widow Maker and sought strength from Angelica I found it and pushed on for the Red Menace could be around any corner and I vowed to Aphrodite to not fail again.

So as Dave came to the door of course the first thing he could not take his eyes off of was of course the three attractive women who stood before him. I could hear Deadly Dayna behind me insulting Clean Eugene behind me I believe she said something about him either being arrogant or serving and arrogant God like Hercules. Either way Dirty Anna seemed to putting the fire our before it could blaze into an inferno while I had a feeling it was only a matter of time before they came to blows on the battlefield or in the bedroom. Since it had not gone unnoticed that Clean Eugene was fond of having his way with Dirty Anna and she seemed more that eager to be the subject of his attentions. While it’s true that I also had my way with Dirty Anna I have often found that making love with a man or a woman can be equally satisfying depending on your partner or for that matter partners. Well back to Dave who was finally looking me in the eyes and of course I gave him one of my best business smile I let him know that Carl Junior had informed us that he was soon to be leaving and would be heading to Winter to visit the Winter Provider. I let him know we were interested in heading up that way and if he minded if we tagged along. He was an easy mark and volunteered that we might need either papers or a good covers story to avoid any trouble with the Breadbasket authorities which was the town we would be stopping in before we arrived at the town of Winter. He asked if that would be a problem for us to have papers and I of course smiled at him and told him not to worry because I would have it covered but I of course did ask him who he might recommend and he had dropped the Breadbasket Embassy as a place to validate papers. Before I left I of course asked him if there was going to be any excitement that evening or if he was looking for any. I of course had given the young man my best alluring glare and raised by succulent breasts a little higher for his benefit. Oddly I noticed that Dirty Anna followed suit and I had to admit I had noticed she was becoming quite the sexual creature almost reminded me of my old self which made me realize we might need to talk later. Meanwhile Dave looked like his world had just come to an end as he stated that the men he travelled with had already partied out and he was committed to them for the rest to the day. So I bid had a fond farewell and let him know we would see him again at first light.

I had considered the Breadbasket Embassy for a brief moment but I figured why not go back to someone who had already served us well so I directed our group back to the Vault and Marcos. I inquired if he could produce papers that could pass a routine check by the authorities of Breadbasket. He asked what kind of papers and I already having a plan informed him a Mercenary Company called Limited Enforcers. He had thought a moment and figured it would make a good cover and asked when I would need the paperwork. I smiled at him and informed him yesterday of course and within a few moments he went off to his room in the Vault in order to put our paperwork together. I truly did not think I needed the best work just something I could build on as I was already designing the outfits which would be black and gold as well as an emblem for our group and I assure you it would be Lethal. Which was of course going to be a catch phrase I would be using for our Mercenary Company and speaking of the emblem it would be a Long Sword and Musket Rifle crossed over in a cross formation behind a field of red flame. My intention was of course to allow our outfits alone to do most of the talking for us as I have often found out when it comes to a cover story often when you look the part it is often assumed that you are what you claim to be. So while I did not expect the others to be able to pull off any fancy conversation we would look the part and I could sell the rest. Marcos returned with the papers and I offered him another gold for his trouble and I could see that while Dirty Anna seemed to be getting excited and for that matter even the Organization Agents the same could not be said for the members of Dragonfirre. I almost had to wonder if they were doubting my abilities but I of course did not let the slow me down. On the contrary it was well past lunch time and as Marcos had mentioned the Falstaff Inn as a fair place to stay I figured why not either way I would find some excitement.

On our way to the Falstaff we passed the Breadbasket Embassy and I had an idea to check them out to get a feel for the region before we entered. I had already altered my appearance and felt confident that I could gain further information but Mickey the Torch had added that perhaps I should keep my eye on the ball. I of course heard him and while I had to admit even thought I was still a bit perturbed at him it was hard to say upset with such a handsome and charismatic man and it caused me to realize that he still cared about me so a agreed and we moved on. The Falstaff was basically a big open pit of an Inn where over one hundred and fifty people were already in attendance. What made the place even more interesting was the way they were serving food which was from trough well at least they were raised and the food seemed fresh which Slick Rick was able to confirm. Of course after looking he told us he would be eating here but not staying the evening. I really could not blame him for after the last night escapades I could understand his desire to fell the presence of the outside world. We were able to acquire three booths and some curtains from the staff with which we were able to construct the appearance of privacy at least. From within confines of our shelter I summoned my shadow servants and set them to preparing our sleeping area and while the others filled their stomachs from the trough I decided it was a good time to enter my trance and leave Angelica to watch over my servants and wake me if there was any trouble.

With the coming night I night I had looked upon Dirty Anna looking unbelievably sexy I mean really a beautiful woman reading a book to gain knowledge not that is a turn on that I could not resist. As a matter of fact I was so turned on that I even invited Gizmo Dent and his partner Mac Daddy over for a little oral satisfaction. I had already been schooling Gizmo Dent but it was time that I worked Mac Daddy into the mix and the fact that their intellects matched their muscle was just an added turn on for me. It had seemed that Dirty Anna wanted to give some oral satisfaction of her own and soon after getting Clean Eugene excited he had thrown her down and began putting using her body as it was meant to. All too soon it was time for everyone else to begin resting and as it seemed that Lucky Ron was not going to be making an appearance I will admit I was getting a little concerned. Either way I still summoned a uniform for him which I conjured from the plane of shadow since as with Clean Eugene I figure he could reappear at any time as I had created the uniforms for the Limited Enforcers and they were Lethal. Speaking of Lethal it seemed that while I was informing everyone of which watch they would be on Dirty Anna decided it was time to turn up the Daughter of Hell meter a few notches. For what she did next in full sight of Clean Eugene as well as Deadly Dayna was start speaking in a dark and organic language as a perverse aura of evil magic began to fill the air and within moments Death Dealer which had exploded the day before was suddenly engulfed in black and red flames and was fully restored. I had witnessed the entire affair and I was shocked as the dark orgasmic hellish energies tried to rip away her life force yet she resisted and the magic had obeyed her command. As I looked at her she seemed pleased and happy while I am sure she might have red shock and fear well the shock part was correct but the fear part was more of a memory from my past. I focused instead on the present as I realized just what Dirty Anna was allowing to happen to herself the magic she had just shaped was something I had never seen before so of course shock on the other had from the looks she had gained from both Clean Eugene as well as Deadly Dayna who looked at her as if she was some evil spawn that needed to be destroyed I could only stand there and feel sad for her and then of course angry. Angry because while I had always known my Father was evil I had never held it against him and by the Gods the things I had seen and the Unseelie Court and at certain dark Loki Rituals of which I had participated in I was not one to speak against her but I knew the ways of the world. A priest of Thor had destroyed my Father just because he was evil before even giving him the chance to redeem himself. I feared if Dirty Anna was not carful then she might suffer a similar fate and that was something that I did not want to live through again. As we spoke about it I did not withhold my concern we had a conversation where I asked her what had she done and kind of magic she was using. She had exclaimed it was a priestly make whole spell with I assured her it was most certainly was not and I had inquired if it was in reality soulfire and she had answered it was in reality done through her infernal power. I realized the truth of it that she had just manipulated an infernal curse and it by chance had worked when in reality it could have failed and harmed her grievously. I looked to my beloved and I asked her “Is this where you wish to be. Is this truly the path that you seek?” She had responded “It’s too late for me.” I almost exploded as I exclaimed “It’s never too late!” Then I looked at her and while I knew she enjoyed the power that flowed through her veins and the temptation to use it I am sure was near irresistible and so I had asked her “How much are you going to take?” I knew her hope was still to use the powers of Hell for good but in reality did she really believe she could pull it off I really didn’t think she was smart enough but I did have to commend her for trying with sheer force of personality. I knew she needed to rest but I also knew she had awful dreams so I had told her “You need to rest my beloved.” She had responded that “It’s not going to help much.” “Besides I don’t want too.” The little pout on her elegant face was adorable and I smiled at her and hugged her and told her “I told her she would be alright I am her and I would protect her.” She had started to cry and said something about me needed to sleep and I told her that I would be fine and I allowed my shadow servants to prepare our bed so that we floated to the ground as I held her and she cried herself to sleep. Besides the tossing and turning and moaning of my beloved as she slept which I had concealed with a zone of silence spell the night thankfully passed without further incident.

Before my beloved had awoke I had already placed the tattoo’s of power upon our bodies and I had already had my servants prepare a bath with fresh water I had created myself and heated with the assistance of a shadow fire elemental in a tub I had shaped from nearby wood. We had bathed and I had reapplied her makeup and I could tell that she was once again suffering the pain of her choice to bind herself to the infernal energies that I knew were changing her daily. I noticed that in the morning the Clean Eugene had while not confronting her know was eyeing her with suspicion and of course Lucky Ron had still not reappeared from wherever he had vanished to. My servants were busy getting everyone else ready in their new black and gold Limited Enforcer gear and I had to admit they looked great and just wait until Dirty Anna saw our outfits for while the men’s outfits were all custom fitted and designed to either show off their assets or enhance those best left hidden our outfits were another story altogether. We looked like elegant deadly dancers and our outfits hugged every curve and left nothing to the imagination quite a good job I had to say. I was happy to see Dirty Anna cheer up as her outfit was literally wrapped around her as was mine. Both Deadly Dayna and Clean Eugene were able to alter their glamored armor to match the Limited Enforcer design and after breakfast once Slick Rick had rejoined us I had even convinced him to alter his equally glamored armor to match our outfits but his of course as befit or Guardian became white and red and shall I say when you added the Sword and Musket emblems do I even need to say it we looked Lethal.

As we had walked back to the Rusty’s Tavern I had managed two conversations on with Dirty Anna with whom I was concerned about for I believed with all the magic at our command I could not believe the only way she could sate herself was with the blood of the recently dead. Sadly she told me from all she knew until she had gained more power and the ability to create some kind of dimensional sanctum then she would just have to endure it. Meanwhile I was curious how Slick Rick’s night had passed and while he had stayed in range of my Mind Sight I had left him to find peace in the outdoors as it were. He informed me as I had been aware that before sunrise the Chickamazee were busy cleaning up the streets and I had to admit they did a fantastic job for abominations. I also figured it was someone’s cruel joke no doubt to enable the liberation of the gnomes who seemed to be running around free instead of serving as they were born to do. I put those thought aside as we arrived at Rusty’s Tavern and I could see Dave who his crew it seemed were calling simply Red and waved to him. He was surprised and impressed by our new look and I could tell the businessman in him was ready he had already prepared to of the sedans who were already hitched to swift oxen and we split up into two teams one for each wagon. Mickey the Torch, Slick Rick, Clean Eugene, Swami Donnie, Hawkeye Allen, and Ace were in the first wagon. While Deadly Dayna, Dirty Anna, Starving Marvin, Gizmo Dent, Smiling Ed, Mac Daddy, and I were in the second. After conferring with Red I found out we would be travelling through Timyuk and then on to Winter and with that settled we had moved out. It took of course over an hour to escape Ring Town but soon we were on the open road and that was when things thanks to Clean Eugene and not Deadly Dayna as I would have expected began to get interesting.

I had been able to deduce as were even once we left the city still been moving slowly that we were not doubt expecting to be stopped as was not doubt customary. I was glad to see that both Smiley Ed and Starving Marvin had concurred with my hypothesis. We had to wait another hour and then we say them and they were actually riding horses the first we had seen. What we saw the drew my attention were the riders on the horses were in the gold armor and they even seemed to be holding the lance like projectile weapons we had been told to expect. Let me not forget there were also a few other men in black leather with whips and they were working over a hundred plus humans in the fields and of course they were all chained up. Now of course a few riders rode up to us and stopped at the first wagon and asked our business and they were directed to our wagon and they were speaking of needing to see our papers. Well I did not like the look of the so called Breadbasket militia so I fell back on our appearance and informed him we were the Limited Enforcers on our way to offer aid to either Timyuk or Winter and I had informed him as I had shown him our number and our matching outfits the I did not really think he needed to see our papers and he agreed and had started to ride back to his other associates. We might have made it past them but of course as we rode closer it became apparent just how enslaved the peasant farmers were to the land. For in the distance we could see a few hung from trees obviously dead and even a few still chained to each other as they all were by the way also dead. I suddenly saw with the aid of my Mindsight that Clean Eugene had jumped from their wagon and I asked Slick Rick and Mickey the Torch what was going on and I was informed that Clean Eugene was stepping out to deal with the slavers. Mickey the Torch wanted me to summon him a horse and I told him I would not since it was a waste while Slick Rick said he would take care of it and I could feel him mind leave the wagon as well. By Ares what the Hell I thought were we going to just start killing the guards before we even got to Timyuk well I guess I should have realized that with a Paladin of Freedom of Hercules no less his code would not allow him to stand by while the personal liberty of the peasants was being threatened much less being whipped or hung to death. I knew what was coming next and my face darkened as I called the shadows to me and vanished and moved to the back of the wagon to see what would transpire. I of course had also pulled my Rail Gun from my Backpack of Containment and set my aim over the shoulder of Clean Eugene. What had transpired was in truth a massacre for Clean Eugene had walked among them using his bow, club as well as his riding skill and dispatched all but two of the guards and their slavers meanwhile Slick Rick had with the ease of a Warden of Nature called down moisture from the air and created a lance of ice that had literally unhorsed and slew one that had tried to get away. For what it was worth which in truth was nothing they had tried to fight back with their projectile lances and by sword but really what chance did they have. Which had left only one and from the distance I could see that moments later Clean Eugene was releasing the peasants after stopping at each man he and Slick Rick had slain not doubt claiming whatever possessions they had for the peasants and within seconds they were free and running toward Ringtown where true freedom awaited them. I felt the moment coming for Clean Eugene was going to spare one of them and while he had altered his attire when he had left the sedan would it really matter perhaps not which meant I could not let there be any survivors. I took a deep breath and calmed myself as Clean Eugene and Slick Rick had mounted horses they had obtained from the soldiers of Breadbasket who obviously would not be needing them anymore took careful aim with the Rail Gun and shot him through the head. He fell to the ground instantly and Clean Eugene needed never know and as I replaced my Rail Gun into my backpack I allowed the shadows to fade and prepared a smile for when Clean Eugene and Slick Rick returned to us.

I knew that what we had done might now have repercussions but I would just have to deal with them and I related mentally what I had done to Slick Rick prepared to face any judgment he might impose but he seemed to understand that is was necessary. He did advise me to not reveal my actions to Clean Eugene since he told me he had promised him his life and while I did not understand it I had to admire Clean Eugene for the act of kindness he had just performed for the former slaves even while dispensing justice Hercules style. I thought for a moment that I might need to have a talk with Dave who I had noticed had withdrawn a spyglass as had Dirty Anna and like my beloved watched everything for he had stopped the caravan. He did not look pleased and after informed Clean Eugene to lose the horses he had strode right up to Dave and given him a piece of his mind and soon enough we were on our away again. Sadly Deadly Dayna was running her mouth condemning Clean Eugene for his arrogance and I almost lost my temper and let Widow Maker shut her up but Dirty Anna was trying to persuade her to calm down the reasons for which eluded me. I had looked to Dirty Anna and asked her why she even bothered it was not like Deadly Dayna was a Priestess of the Pantheon she was a Favored Soul and to let her be. I could tell she must have felt she owed Deadly Dayna respect where in my mind respect was often reserved for those who proved they earned it or were my friends and so far I was not impressed. How she had warped from the soft spoke demure elven maiden to a loud foul mouthed tart in less than day was beyond me. I could tell it was going to take some work to befriend to newest addition to Dragonfirre and I was beginning to wonder if I even wanted to. Either way after Dave had been thoroughly intimidated we made good time and within a an hour of nightfall we had reached the town of Timyuk.

Timyuk was ironically nothing more than a rest stop with barely enough time to water the oxen and drop off and pick up supplies. Of course what actually happened was due to the odd manners of the clerk and his Administrator who had strange questions about our Fathers of which I picked up the best answer was where he was supposed to be. Dirty Anna and Deadly Dayna were asked as well but thankfully they were evasive as well and with Clean Eugene standing next to his new buddy Dave we were soon ushered out of Timyuk to be on our way. It seemed the Administrator did not want a powerful group of Mercenaries like the Limited Enforcers in his town and I am sure it would have been Lethal. So with Dave unable to give away any concern we had we were soon packed up and on our way to Winter. Which of course I realized meant a night on the road but I was alright with that for it meant anyone travelling behind us with news of what they may had thought we might have done would stand a better chance being behind us by morning.

As we rode off had ridden off I took the time to enter my trance so that I would be refreshed for the entire night to come and to honest I had plans for the evening and I was going to give Deadly Dayna another chance to show me she could let her hair down and relax. Dirty Anna still had her eyed glued to that book and I was getting horny as all hell and it was not even from my body reacting to her it was my mind. Clean Eugene had decided to ride with Dave in the lead cart and I could tell from the others of his caravan that they were angry to be still travelling at night and have to camp on the road. Of course Clean Eugene worked his charm and of course his purse and spoke with each of the upset men and I could see he was giving each of them a gold piece which of course lightened their spirits and soon the wagons were circled watches were set my shadow servants summoned and it was time to get the party started. The others were sleeping mostly outside since my servants had prepared a quite elegant arrangement for everyone one but the one I was looking for my beloved and sexy Dirty Anna was still inside the wagon and planning to rest inside. Well I figured she had read and brooded long enough I telepathically spoke to Gizmo Dent, Mac Daddy and Smiling Ed and informed them that I and Dirty Anna had suffered through a rough day and that tonight was their lucky night for I needed their help to cheer up Dirty Anna. They were of course more than willing to aid me of course I mean it’s not like they could have resisted me and after the teasing I had give them the night before I knew they were primed and ready Smiling on the other had I knew had been staring at Dirty Anna in a new way ever since she had told him he could hold her tighter as they rode together on one of my steeds. Well that night was going to be Smiling Ed’s lucky night for he was going to have the pleasure of giving Dirty Anna his own ride. I informed the others to follow me into the wagon and follow my lead and informed them that when they saw me stripping Dirty Anna cloths that was their sign to remove their own cloths and the party would be able to begin. I needed the release for I still was missing my oldest and departed friend who I had only called in the end my Associate and let me not even get into the whole Nodens experience as well as the pain of having ended a life as well as the irritating temper of Deadly Dayna who I just wanted to pump full of hot explosive white phosphorous bullets as she had of course declined my invitation to join us. By Poseidon why had I even bothered but that was behind me at that moment and what was in front of me was what I desired and as I removed her book from her hand and removed my outer clothing I began to kiss her and within moments I was pealing her cloths away from her body as I telepathically informed the boys that the time was now. With Dirty Anna’s new sexual skill and my own honed over years of practice and our Organization Agents I was able to orchestrate a sexual masterpiece which fed my hunger, anguish and pain and turned it into bliss, joy, and enlightenment. After two hours they were sadly all exhausted and thanks to vitality granted to me by Angelica I was ready to rise and take my watch. Well in reality I did not actually have to leave the wagon to be on watch and in reality it was not even my watch but as I could be on all of them I kept myself alert as believe it or not we were in Red Menace territory.

I sensed their minds as they approached one was undead an augmented one which meant Vampire and the other was human but barely. For as I cast out with my mind to Clean Eugene who was on watch with Mickey the Torch he confirmed my concerns we were dealing with a Paladin of Tyranny or more commonly called by Paladins of Freedom and Anti Paladin. What set him off was that he stunk about as bad as the lair of the Glaaki so alright I will admit I had smelled worse but I will save that tale for perhaps another time. My shadow servants were waking everyone and Clean Eugene had told me that the Rider was known to Dave as we the supposed Sheriff. He rode a dark hellish steed which resembled a Nightmare and as Dirty Anna awoke and seemed to be checking herself to see if she was all there I informed her of what was happing as I stepped outside the sedan to see to or early morning encounter with a Vampire. Well if for no other reason I know knew why the men in the caravan might have been worried about camping outside. The Sherriff had of course wondered why Dave had not stayed in Timyuk for the night and I had stepped right up and informed him that was our fault we were in a hurry to reach Winter. He of course had asked who we were and I informed him we were the Lethal or shall I say Limited Enforcers only Lethal to those who cross us and asked how we could be of service to the Sherriff. He almost seemed to laugh for either he had seen through my story or it was just that good that he was impressed either way he let us know he was seeking trouble makers who were skulking about in his jurisdiction. I sensed the opening and took it and inquired if they happened to wear red uniforms and he said they did indeed. Well I then informed him that they were enemies of ours and if he or any of his deputies got wind of their whereabouts or needed back up in putting them down we would be more than happy to oblige. He had seemed pleased and even stated giving a long glare at Clean Eugene who was already returning his glare but thankfully holding his ground that we did not seem the skulking type anyway. He then related to us that it was almost sunrise and it was time for him and the Count to depart. Of course Deadly Dayna was venting and carrying on about Clean Eugene again and I swore if she blew this for us I was going to put her back in ice until we needed her. There was no need for as the Sheriff had said it was almost sunrise and his Count the Vampire who had hung back around one hundred feet would soon no longer have the advantage. Which of course meant we had a little while to prepare ourselves for the next day and as I looked to Dirty Anna I could see she was once again dreading sleep but I would have to find a way to get her to rest it was for her own good after all.

So soon we would arrive in the town of Winter and begin our investigation into the Winter Provider and its connection to the Red Menace Kings. We still had not to my satisfaction settled the matter of how things needed to change now that the Associate had passed or concluded the need for an established Leader. While I had stepped up and started to take charge I would still take counsel from the others as a good leader should. Lucky Ron had still not returned from wherever had had gone and I missed him I could have really used his friendship and counsel. Of course the main reason why was the brooding war I felt about to spring up any moment between Clean Eugene and Deadly Dayna who I still had not learned much about. Was it the whole Athena persona she seemed to embrace perhaps but I would have to find a way to rise above it for it seemed that no one else was going to step up and do it? For if we were going to soon be facing the Red Menace who by all rights possessed the Orb of Sight as well as a host of Ugly Guardians who were a wild card for sure who once guarded the Orb of Sight we did not have much time. I of course knew that Dragonfirre were people of action and as Mickey the Torch had said so bluntly I needed to keep my eye on the ball. So come morning I was going to have to perhaps have it out with Deadly Dayna known still as Vadania Amakiir and for the love of Aphrodite I hoped to keep Widow Maker in her holster. Now of course that left the whole Nodens affair of which I had not even revealed to Dirty Anna or Slick Rick which of course only stood to confirm that I needed a break or actually luck and I could not wait for the return of Lucky Ron but I will remember the words of wisdom he shared with me if the Gods or my Comrades will not help me the I will find the way myself. One way or another the Great Old Ones are going down and it was going to be Lethal.

Chapter Thirty One : Tales Of A Demi-Plane or Welcoming Vadania Amakiir

2010-05-26T23:31:00.000-05:00

It was a new beginning for me as the realization that the Associate was truly gone had finally set in and while I had done my best to distract my mind with the many distractions I found that I still missed him. While I had already known that no doubt due to his nature as well as other temporal possibilities he was doomed to die the reality had struck me harder than I had thought. I had found distraction from Shan my charmed Elder Thing and found out the Vault was in reality a temple of Hastur and the only reason it had seemed safe was due to the play or worship service called the “The King in Yellow” had been postponed for the evening. He even was able to give me directions to the local Elder Thing Crystal seller. When you add the fact that we also had to deal with maggot infested corpses of ourselves as well as gift wrapped ice trapped Hyborian who had been not only wrapped in a soul sucking Mythos magic flying carpet but also encircled with not locked but sealed metal chains. So alright the carpet was radiating strong magic while whatever was contained within had radiated divine energy. It had of course peaked my curiosity but we had and after quite a bit of effort the being within turned out to be a quite attractive Sylvan Elf named Vadania Amakiir who was actually smarter than any Sylvan Elf I had ever encountered. So after more than a little tension we had exited the Vault and I was released into my element and while Clean Eugene had vanished yet again we had a quorum and I had managed to lay the groundwork for the selection of a leader. Much was left unsaid but we had at least achieved a state of harmony amid chaos and along with our new connection to our Gods we had continued on. I was able to eventually even with the constant nagging of Dragonfirre who always seemed to doubt my motives locate the governing body of the region a figure who was more than met the eye named Sir Montague. Which led of course to questions about the Orb of Sight being answered and also stirred even more questions and answers then I believe Dragonfirre had really wanted but needed to hear that I had mostly already deduced. It more ways than one I realized we would soon be the same page as shall be revealed.

While my plan had been to defeat the Servitor and thereby cower both the Elder Things and even the Avatar my own delusions of grandeur had helped lead to the demise of the Associate. I was in pain and suffering but I vowed to not let his sacrifice be in vain and I dedicated myself to the task of achieving our goals in memory of my former beloved Alexis known in the end as the Associate. I had been standing in the room identifying magical items with the aid of my arcane sight enchantment which allowed me to read magical auras and I had noticed something odd in a corner of the suite. Now don’t get me wrong as Mickey the Torch had packed away all the items from the Associate’s doppelganger as well as his remains I was little concerned but I had been content to telepathically inform him that I would have need of his remains in the future in order to pay proper respects. He had let me know that he understood and I realized the I no longer saw Mickey the Torch in the same light that I once had. Where once I respected and honored his decisions I began to realize that it had been his choice to remove a threat to his life and in so doing he had changed and become a darker version of himself. I already had enough darkness in my life and speaking of that darkness my beloved might be the only one I believed would truly share in my mourning of the Associate and for that I had realized I loved her even more. I had not wanting to waste time began the spells to cloak all of my new magic items since I never liked being detectable by my magic. As I had completed my spells I had noticed within the room a statue of sorts in the room well actually a block of ice that seemed too wrapped in a tapestry and for extra measure wrapped in metal chains that instead of being locked at some location were instead fused together. Which made me realize one of two things could be happening either whatever was in there was a threat to whoever had wrapped it or it was a trap for anyone who attempted to free whoever was inside. Either way it was a dilemma that I had not felt like dealing with at the time. Meanwhile Slick Rick and Mickey the Torch has started seeing to the injured who still filled the Vault. Slick Rick had even spoke of me summoning my Unicorns to assist and while I was able I advised patience until we were sure all of the dangers we might face had been put to rest. Of course somehow Clean Eugene lover of Dirty Anna as well as myself had once again vanished to the God’s only knew where as was seeming to become a normal occurrence. About the same time I also took the time and relayed telepathically to the others what I had surmised I was also in telepathic contact with Shan my charmed Elder Thing friend and not surprised to find out that the Elder Things communicated by telepathy as well. Shan with only a little persuasion was soon filling me in on many of the questions I had about the Vault and the situation within the Demi-Plane. Basically I found out that there was not key to the Vault in the morning which it informed me was a little over six hours away would open on their own. What took a little more digging to ascertain was that not only was environment outside hostile but even opening the door would suck out all the air and put everyone inside of risk of being sucked out to their eventual death. Now as to why the Elder Things had been here to begin with had to do with the fact that they were hungry and claimed the deal on food when the play called “The King in Yellow” was postponed it was the best place to go in town. It also seemed that the Vault had indeed changed for the very play the King in Yellow referred to Hastur yet another Demi-Power similar to the Cthulhu and the Vault was his temple. This of course let the explanation about the yellow robed servants who had actually been members of the Brotherhood of the Hidden Yellow Sign Hastur’s own personal cult. As far as Shan’s story went he and his friends who were not really happy with him being so friendly who I basically told to stuff it since they seemed to not even care about their enslaved brethren on Emerald so screw them. But back to Shan’s tale they had come to eat and enjoying their meal when suddenly the Servitor, Green Guardian Ghosts, and the Avatar had appeared and told them to help get rid of us or else. Basically the Shan and his rude Elder Thing friends had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. I did have to thank Lucky Ron for while I was relaying what I was learning to the others he had been instrumental in me finding out the exact nature of the outside environment. While I did realize it would not be wise to hang around the Vault long after daylight something the Elder Things had said about the Duke being made aware of us and his Chickamazee Enforcers had led me to believe they might have had some influence over him.

Meanwhile Dirty Anna had seemed to become really infatuated with a magical book that she had removed from her doppelganger but her concentration had been broken by the mysterious creature wrapped and chained in ice. She asked me if I could tell her anything else about it and I extended my Mindsight and instead of a living creature I found instead an intelligence coming from the tapestry. Which seemed to be quite eager for my soul and as I informed the others of the situation I let them know I had had enough. Slick Rick had already walked off to continue his dinner. I decided to join him since I wanted a better look at the food and planned on packing away extra food for later on I also took the time to inform Slick Rick of the new items I had acquired for while I no longer needed to eat or drink the same could not be said for my companions. I only had a few moments with Slick Rick but his presence always calmed me and I thanked him for his efforts. I had noticed that everyone in the entire establishment looked almost dead or wounded and the lead cook I could see was trying to put everything back in order not that Eggland was dead. I telepathically contacted the cook whose name turned out to be Lar and he was totally useless unable to even give me any insight into the character of Eggland. In the meantime Dirty Anna had moved closer and had inquired both verbally and telepathically if we felt it alright for her to touch the creature bound in ice. I thought to her and calmly asked her to step away from vile thing and that I would see what I could do. I therefore summoned my shadow servants and while they were unable to remove the chains they were able to move the entire thing and swing it around and move to the other side of the room. I noticed that Mickey the Torch had decided to pick up his doppelganger and walked it to the furnace in placed it inside and then burned on it. I was quite interesting for the body it seemed within moments was completely consumed. Suddenly I felt all shadow magic sustaining my servants sucked out of them and I heard in my head coming from the tapestry “Give me more!” Alright I figure why not give it one last chance so I asked Dirty Anna to attempt to dispel it with her magics and see if she had any effect. I of course could have tried a more powerful spell but I needed to see how a weaker variety was dealt with by the tapestry. Dirty Anna had seemed worried that it might hurt anyone inside but I convinced her to continue since I figured anything inside for the moment was not even alive as it had no mind. As she unleashed her invocation the effect was unfortunately the reverse of what I had hoped but that I had deducted the magic was absorbed and Dirty Anna informed me she had heard the voice of the tapestry as her magic was devoured. So find while I knew that Mickey had been waiting I asked to go ahead and attempt to burn it and as he did the very magic within his flames which should have been impossible was drained and I could see that the carpet was getting stronger. Alright I had figured enough was enough I looked to Mickey the Torch and said let’s take out the chains and while he drew his Electric Rail Gun I pulled out Widow Maker and we commenced to make easy work of the chains which soon fell to the floor. I had asked Mickey the Torch what had gone on with his doppelganger and he told me that it seemed to have been still alive and were inhabited by strange maggots which was all I had needed to hear and as I had moved the now shrouded ice creature away from our doppelganger I asked him light them up. I know some might have been wondering why I was being so blasé about burning the bodies in the Vault well as far as I was concerned they would be lucky if I didn’t burn the place down to the ground before we left the Demi-Plane. While I watch our doppelgangers burn Dirty Anna had enlisted the aid of Lar to acquire some sticks and along with Mickey the Torch who used him Heavy Mace along with the help of several of the Organization Agents the tapestry which I could now see was a carpet was separated from the entrapped creature still frozen in a block of ice. Swami Donnie had of course stayed back as had Gizmo Dent and Mack Daddy upon my request since of all the agents they were my current favorites. It was then only a matter of Mickey the Torch unleashing his fiery breath onto the slab of ice while extending his aura to protect anyone who might be alive within and out fell a mud and moss covered Sylvan Elf who seemed to be wearing a mithral shirt. I could tell even amongst all the muck and grime that she was strikingly beautiful would stand about five feet tall and was fairly solid at least one hundred pounds with beautiful dark green eyes while her hair while I could not tell at the time was golden. When I noticed an ornately carved symbol of Athena around her neck I had seen enough and since I needed to arrange for our sleeping arrangements and did not have the time nor the interest in bringing someone else up to speed at that moment so I left her introductions to my beloved Dirty Anna.

While I had telepathically spoken with Lar and began to discuss our sleeping arrangements for the night I realized while there were plenty of rooms I needed one large enough not only for everyone but one I could secure as well. The Professor had come down and it seemed he had felt discretion the better part of valor either that or he was a coward either way he did have some interesting information he shared. It seemed from his point of view Eggland was an Ogre who suffered from some kind of magical disease called Elephantitus which could cause him to transform into the form we had slain. I really did not believe it but it did sound like a good cover story that could work to divert what I really believed was going on. I found out from my darling Dirty Anna that our new liberated Hyborian was named Vadania Amakiir and she had claimed was a Priest of the Olympian Pantheon. She even informed me she had awoken fully prepared and had started to heal the others which was something that she told me the Organization Agents were really enjoying no doubt I had thought. She told me her story was a little different from the other we had so far heard. It seemed she remembered being sent on a journey and being on the way to a castle on a frozen plane and being somehow surprised by a Frost Giant darkness and then waking up here. I had taken the time to confer with Lucky Ron and Dirty Anna about the nature of recruiting her or even any of the other Hyborians who seemed to be about. Lucky Ron had been willing to take her on since she was a healer while Mickey the Torch seemed more than willing to leave her here and Slick Rick even though she was Elven seemed not willing to divest precious time away from our mission to take her under his wing. I figured it had more to do with her clerical nature than anything else. Slick Rick who had rejoined me as I had been walking around told me telepathically that he had called down a flame strike on the ashes of our doppelgangers and that the power while neutral did not seem to have any disposition he could recognize. I managed to arrange for the Prop room to be cleared and for the necessary sleeping arrangements and even compiled watches. When Mickey the Torch who had went to survey the upper level is seemed was coming down with a new companion who I could tell was a genius level Ogre who he said wanted to speak with us. He told me he had already gave him the answer to his question but he had not been satisfied with his answer. I was able to discern that he was obviously drunk add that to the fact the moment Lar had seen he had quickly vacated with the rest of the staff to the kitchens. So as the new figure who I had already been sizing up who turned out to be named Marcos was in reality to drunk, high and hungry to even ask a question and proceeded to head for the buffet. Slick Rick informed me of an interesting occurrence he had witnessed it seemed that one of the other people in the Vault had looked in the room where we had left the black carpet and suddenly vanished but had left behind his shadow on the wall. So after that I had advised the Organization Agents to seal off the room and I even verbally warned everyone in the room that to enter that suite could be more than hazardous to the health but deadly and they all seemed to got the message. Dirty Anna had informed me that Vadania who had taken it upon herself to try and heal everyone in the Vault even the civilians needed to get cleaned up and so I arranged for Lar to have the bath and shower chamber cleared and while he had informed me it would only need a few moments to be warm I had let Dirty Anna know I would show them up. As they went upstairs I called upon the shadows to cloak me and followed Dirty Anna and Vadania who I had yet to even speak with as she began to undress and I was able to see every subtle and nearly flawless curve of her Elven body and I had to admit I was not at the moment horny I could lust after her which I had done. She was not in the least bit shy and while I fantasized I took note of her possessions which thanks to my still active arcane sight I had been able to determine her mithral shirt was magical and glamored even two of her weapons her heavy mace and long sword were both highly enchanted and last but not least she was in the possession of a magical backpack. After she was cleaned up we headed back downstairs and after a few more moments and the summoning of my shadow servants which would aid us with security as well as complete the arrangements of the blankets and pillows I was ready to rest with Dirty Anna and enjoy the pleasures of the body of my beloved Dirty Anna for an hour or two followed by rest for another two and finally my watch for the last two until daybreak and the doors of the Vault were due to open.

Dirty Anna who I had noticed was once again reading her newfound book and as I telepathically wished everyone good night except Mickey the Torch and Vadania I stripped off my feycraft mithral chain and my boots placing them into my backpack and after casting a zone of silence which would contain any sobs that might express themselves in cries of anguish or joy I joined my beloved who had removed her outer garments as well. She had surprised me when she had pulled the covers over us and started to cry and the pain of the loss of my Associate was washed away by her tears as I realized that in her own way she loved him as I did and now she as well as I might never see him again. I was suddenly even with my ring of sustenance aroused and horny and in complete lust with my beloved. I know I work hard to conceal from others the depth of the love and passion within my heart but after the loss of that day my defenses needed to rest. So after I had intertwined our bodies together with my legs I first kissed away her salty tears and worked my way down to her luscious mouth for as Aphrodite teaches pleasure can always overcome pain. In the past I had always held back my full knowledge of the sexual arts and much that I had forgotten came back to me that night and I was even more amazed for it seemed that by beloved Nialla had learned a few unbelievable pleasurable techniques of her own which she was more than pleased to show me. In the end after we both had found the joy and pleasure we had needed to sustain us after the loss of the Associate my beloved fell asleep completely sated. As she went to sleep I held her and relaxed my mind to begin the trance that would allow me to awaken refreshed. I dreamed of my time in the Nordheim and I even felt the presence of my Mother comforting me and I awoke to the sound of my beloved tossing and turning seemingly in the throes of another of her frequent nightmares. At one point she was about to scream and I had instinctively moved to quite her placing my hand over her mouth and while not necessary for my zone of silence was still in effect it was my growing concern for her that had allowed me to forget about my spell. The night had gone mostly without incident with only a mild disturbance which Slick Rick had informed me which had been Marcos stabbing the created shadow and killing in on the wall and then Swami Donnie using a mind trick to keep Marcos from entering the suite which held the black mythos magic carpet.

I was up before the others as usual and making preparations to be ready to leave once the doors opened as I had already been upstairs and had a little early morning excitement while Gizmo Dent and Mack Daddy had taken turns scrubbing my back. Basically I had just given them a show for which I am sure they were grateful since I do realize sometimes fantasy can seem greater than reality and I had needed to stay focused on situation. Dirty Anna had gone up shortly after I woke her an gone upstairs with Gizmo Dent keeping an eye on her and with my Mindsight I was able to determine they were undisturbed. Meanwhile before we could actually leave a fully coherent and sober Marcos came forward and let us know we were he was for rent as a guide if we had need of his services. I informed him we already had a guide we planned to visit and when I had mentioned Norris he had literally laughed and exclaimed that he thought we were smarter than that. I actually did not think I would even need a guide and Slick Rick had hammered home fact that he was opposed to heading back out in order to have to head back in which was a subtle way of saying we were not going to be using Norris. Lucky Ron meanwhile was not to eager to trust an Ogre for since this realm seemed to have its own strange oddities at work I was best not to trust another Ogre especially not one over seven feet tall wearing black plate mail armor. So I had kindly declined his offer nicely and spun a tale of how I had recently met this group and was really showing them around and even I realized it was pretty farfetched story but then again I am just that convincing. I did of course ask if we changed our minds where could we find him and he told us near and around the Vault and with that as Dirty Anna had just come down and was looking as refreshed as possible we were made our departure from the Vault as we possibly left behind the soul of the Associate.

Due to the shortage of time to rest and the addition of a new possible Dragonfirre recruit in addition to the still missing Clean Eugene I wanted to find a place to clear both the air with the group as well as my head in the suddenly crowded streets. I had looked around for someplace to acquire breakfast that could serve for a place to have a telepathic chat with Dragonfirre and possibly even Vadania. Before any of that could happen as I reached out telepathically for my beloved Dirty Anna she was suddenly nowhere to be found. This could only mean one thing she must have taken out her new infernal book of shadows. Anger almost overtook me but my studied calm took over and my mind focused on the magics at my command and cast the locate creature spell which would let me find her unless she was somehow more than eight hundred feet away and as I started to turn I found her about one hundred and five feet away a few steps out of my range. I quickly took a few step in her direction to once again bring her into the range of my telepathy and spoke into her mind “Where in the name of Aphrodite are you!” while she had responded she had responded “I got lost.” . She continued “There is some official here demanding papers.” The others had now all noticed my strange behavior since the look of concern and focus on my face was I am sure apparent and Lucky Ron had spoken to me “What’s going on?” I had told him that Dirty Anna had walked off and gotten herself lost and had been confronted by a local official who was demanding papers. He quickly causing me to realize perhaps what I had often attributed to luck was perhaps not only that but an ability to apply the intellect he possessed to the maximum potential for which I had to give him credit. For the next think he had stepped back into the Vault and spoken with Marcos and told him of the situation that Dirty Anna had just run into and he had asked him what it looked like. So I thought to Dirty Anna “What does he look like?” She responded to me that it was basically a cockeyed chicken man or Chickamazee and I sent that information to Lucky Ron’s mind and Marcos had responded yep that’s a Chickamazee and reached into a pouch and removed a note and handed it to Lucky Ron who after asking her location headed off to bring the papers. Somehow that had seemed just a little too quick and so I had engaged Marcos and inquired about the so called papers and the possibility of acquiring such papers. He had laughed and told me that was a freebee and only because he knew that particular Chickamazee and the papers were actually only a note which told him where to go and pick up his bribe since the Chickamazee were highly corrupt. I of course had informed Dirty Anna to relax and that Lucky Ron was on his way with her so called papers and even filled her in on the nature of her papers. As we waited for Lucky Ron and Dirty Anna to return I realized I was going to really like this town for not only were the officials corrupt but with this many people around I could blend and literally become anyone I chose. It reminded me of the evil old days when I had ran con games to learn how to refine my non magical craft before I had turned to recruiting others to do the work for me and tried my hand at fencing stolen goods of just about every variety you could imagine. When they returned I thanked Lucky Ron and informed him of the nature of the papers and I telepathically reprimanded my beloved as she apologized and I had asked her what was going on with her book. She told me she was learning magics from it which I of course had my concerns about but we needed every advantage at our command and I had even inquired into its possible evil nature which she of course tried to brush off. Well alright I had figured and cast a magic cloaking spell on it just in case Clean Eugene decided to return and her new found black book of shadows turned out to be as evil as I expected it to be. I had faith in her to use the powers of evil to do good after all I knew the legends of hell as well as the language. Well actually I knew a little bit about everything so I knew that during the primordial times before humanity after Chaos gave birth to Mother Gaia Law had been called forth and the battle of law and chaos had begun on realties beyond the mortal kin and out of that war a single devious and crafty evil agent of law made an alliance with the powers who as the ages had passed and after the birth of the Titans and the castration of their greatest Cronus and birth of Aphrodite, Erinyes with whom he allied to his side the Nameless One came in to power and gained the power to corrupt mortals. There are perhaps many different versions of the tale feel free to take your pick of which pantheons version you want to pay attention to for the no matter the origin the reality remains the same the seductive power of Hell is as real as the Feywild. So as I had been contemplating the path of my beloved we spotted a vast open area at least a block wide where I could see a great mass of people had already chosen to dine and I realized it was perfect. We entered the mass and moving into the center put two tables together which would enable us to watch every direction as well as give us the illusion of privacy. As Vadania seemed to be following us around like a good lost Hyborian no doubt due to stern words from Lucky Ron. When the server came around I ordered an assortment of breads, eggs, cheeses and assorted juices for everyone and it was quite interesting that Vadania ordered wine and Mickey the Torch ordered their strongest beer. While we waited for our food to arrive I began a telepathic discussion on the fate of Vadania who I still needed to find a new name for and I was still coming up at a loss. I will admit in a way I felt she was trying to replace the Associate and all of my plans for him had of course been burned to a crisp. This left me with no one who could cover my back if I ever needed someone to back me up in a situation where not being seen was a priority. So perhaps I was in a foul mood after all as I had realized Priests in the past had normally tended to slow me down and get in my way. I know I was prejudging but I did not like someone who was too quiet and so far that was exactly how Vadania was acting and kept waiting for the hammer to hit the anvil. Our group discussion had rotated around and Mickey the Torch had seemed angry that he had not been filled in on anything regarding our new arrival which really amused me since he had not actually been all that forthcoming when he had first arrived. Dirty Anna had relayed that she had informed both our leader Lucky Ron and I about her situation at which point Lucky Ron related to her that he was not now or had he ever been the leader. Dirty Anna looked abashed and not just a little angry with Mickey the Torch. I of course had stepped in and informed them that was exactly one of the things I had wanted to discuss. At which point Mickey the Torch showed his true colors and indicated how he truly felt that we were all too individual and followers of our own agenda’s to be able to nominate or follow a leader. He claimed then went into a tirade on the evils of my beloved at which point I informed him of the second and most important thing I needed to confirm and that was that we were on the same page to see the Quest to destroy the Dreaming God which had been simplified for us by the Lantern of Al-Hazred which I hoped would allow us to save to preserve the memory and heritage of Hyboria. My mind had already been putting the pieces together of how the Hyborians had reached Emerald and I only needed a few more facts to be able to confirm it but for the moment since I knew how everyone was fond of proof over my deductions I had kept my thoughts to myself. At which point since we seemed to have a consensus to invite Vadania to Dragonfirre I let the other know I was going to bring her into the conversation. Lucky Ron realizing I was going to talk out loud confirmed that I planned to include her in my telepathic link and I had in informed him in a moment. I introduced myself to her as Beauty the Brain and let her know that I was telepathic and was requesting her permission to bring her into a telepathic conversation with the member of Dragonfirre. She had spoken in a subdued and quite voice that had really irritated me that it was alright and I brought her into my link. In short order I and the others had brought her into the loop and that her name and clothing would have to change once we returned to Emerald. I realized it was a lot to take in but she would the second smartest member of our team and we did not have the time or the luxury of coddling her. I had attempted to confirm that she was a priest of the Olympian pantheon and she had suddenly become somewhat evasive and I began to realize that she was one of those Favored Souls. I had even expressed that thought to her but I had come across as “So you are of those.” This seemed to set her off which really did not bother me as I did not fear her and seeing her actually show an emotion meant there was perhaps more to her than she was choosing to display. Lucky Ron had inquired as to what I had meant since he saw that Vadania had become incensed toward me and I had informed everyone that Vadania was in reality not a Priest of the Olympian Pantheon but in reality a Favored Soul kind of like the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer perhaps more powerful but more limited. It had been the sudden realization of the limitations that had caused my reaction for its not like I have anything against Favored Souls but my mind had been busy going over all of the power that could have granted to Dragonfirre with the addition of a Priest of the Pantheon and to find out that we instead had been bequeathed with a Favored Soul which was like comparing your favorite appetizer to a fully fledged no holds barred banquet with Gnome servants at you beck and call. So I was just a little disappointed and Lucky Ron had taken that moment to inform me that I was being rude and arrogant which went totally past me. Since he was my friend and looked at him and asked him if he truly believed that and he had informed that he did. I informed him while I would admit I had a big ego by no means did I feel I was arrogant otherwise I would have perhaps already ditched all of them and gathered a force and already completed this entire mission if I did love and value my friends. He jumped on that and said that was exactly what he was talking about and I informed it that I was willing to concede the point as I had forgotten that by treating Dragonfirre as friends I was not actually trying to sway them as I normally did most people. So I apologized for my behavior and asked him to please to not hesitate to step up if he felt I was being unfair to anyone. Perhaps it was the added bit about him never lying to anyone to accomplish any task which had been laid before him that moved me for while I perhaps had not totally agreed I was not one to not recognize the value of others. I had simultaneously continued on and concluded quite eloquently I might add that even at that moment we were pursuing leads to lead us to the Orb of Sight and that I had already located a store ran by a Fast Eddie that sold Elder Thing Crystals. Our food had arrived and we began to eat and Slick Rick let us know that two Chickamazee were closing in on us but that we had some time. I asked him to please track their progress so we could leave and get lost in the crowd before they could close in on us which was a plan I was glad to see that Lucky Ron was on board with. During that same time Mickey the Torch who still seemed to be still in a foul mood and concluded with a vicious attack on me this time on how I needed to stop indulging myself in my pleasures and just get on with the mission. I calmed the situation with ease and let him know I was working on that even as we spoke and informed everyone I would be revisiting the issue of leadership but for now with everyone on the same page I was ready to go to stop indulging my pleasures as Mickey the Torch had said and get to work. Since of course it’s not like any of my companions had any real idea on how to proceed and they all seemed to be of such little faith. We were saved as the two Chickamazee came closer and on the signal from Slick Rick, Lucky Ron put down a few gold and we were on our way as the Chickamazee cried out after us but we were quickly lost in the crowd.

I had decided since Slick Rick was in the mood to shop that we should check out the Elder Thing district and begin our shopping at Fast Eddies Emporium. As we had drawn closer the mood became dark and oppressive as I the entire district seemed to be filled with Elder Things and members of the Great Race of Yith while the few humans and other humanoids seemed to be delegated to the work of slaves. I realized that we would only have to move about two hundred feet into the district but it was enough to cause me to consider plans for us to withdraw out of there. I found the Emporium easy enough but it was the masks outside that made me realize I was not walking in there. For the masks were of human faces stretched into various displays of pain, amazement and not even once pleasure. So before we could get to close to enter and as I could determine that Fast Eddie was not alone and had two other Elder Thing companions I began our conversation outside dropping Shan’s name of course as a form of introduction. It seemed that as I expected the price for an Elder Thing Crystal was three souls of which only two and an half were really needed but of course Fast Eddie was running a business and I of course understood the need for mark up and profit. I let it know I would be back once I had to necessary payment I had just needed to confirm what my friend Shan had told me. I had informed the Dragonfirre as well as Swami Donnie who I was keeping in the link due to his gifts. It seemed Fast Eddie had a deal for it broadcast out to us that it had a Elder Thing Crystal that he felt was exactly what I was looking for and he was even willing to cut me a deal and give it to me for free. Well I was not born yesterday and my Mother had always told me if it looks like trap, smells like and trap or ever feels like a trap then do not leave it to doubt and deduce that it is a trap. At which point Swami Donnie in almost a panicked state warned me not to go in and that we should leave and that I was in severe danger if I went in. Well alright I will admit I might have been bold enough to tempt fate but as I had just told Dragonfirre I was putting the Quest first and better to stay safe then be sorry. So while Slick Rick had inquired if the souls of Green Men would suffice I let him know they needed to be alive and sentient but I was not into bargaining in souls and we would be better off after we had acquired the Orb of Sight coming back and liberating the Elder Thing Crystals in a more clandestine fashion. Now of course that was just a fancy way of saying we were going to rob the place since after all they were the evil ones trading in souls we were just planning to use the souls they had already harvested and in using them let their sacrifice not be in vain. I had already found out from Shan that once we had them the way they recharged themselves was by sucking the life-force from nearby sentient beings which was another fact I had yet to reveal to Dragonfirre but all evil things in time. Wow this Demi-Plane I realized was a real den of antiquity and Loki would have loved it here.

Once we had cleared the Elder Thing district and after continually needed to duck Chickamazee patrols I came to the conclusion that since the Associate was gone and the chance for reliable silent back up was slim without the use of magic I would have to take the matter into my own hands alone. So I gave Dragonfirre the breakdown for I planned to slip away from them disguise myself and locate a Chickamazee and use my gifts to acquire a lead on the Orb of Sight. I only needed to know if anyone had a small magical item I could carry so that once I separated from the group Dirty Anna would be able to locate me with her ability to detect magic. I was only a precaution since I had many ways to escape this land but I did not want to abandon my friends unless it became absolutely necessary. So we found a nearby alley and I altered my disguise to better resemble the locals humans of the suburb and exited and began seeking out a Chickamazee. Looking back what was really funny was that before I had started looking for them they kept popping up but once I actually needed one they had suddenly all seemed to go on break. Thirty minutes later as I had the group following me at about one hundred and twenty feet I finally located my Chickamazee. I was able to determine that my chosen prey was not doubt a practitioner of magic and it might not be wise to use magic on him but I had full confidence in my other abilities since after all I had practiced them in settings like it for years. With the aid of a cover story of a relative who had been trapped in the vault the last night who had not shown up late that morning for breakfast in shock I was able to find out the standard cover story. Which basically covered that there had been a disturbance at the Vault last night but that Sir Montague had arrived in the morning surrounded the establishment and had everything under control. I let him believe I was relieved but then I continued to press him with my charm and wit to tell convinced him to me the real story and that I would keep it between us. He broke down and revealed to me that no one had seen Sir Montague in ages and that it was believed that some shadow creature had killed everyone in the Vault the last night and was even no loose in the suburb. As the Chickamazee who I came to know as name Ralph was now quite helpful I continued to gain information from him on the location of Sir Montague who I had deduced would be interested in situation and was supposed to be doing something about order and corruption but it seemed no one had enough stones to go and get his attention. Ralph had asked if I had any gossip that I wanted it to spread and I of course included the tale of a group bent on causing trouble that did not resemble my companions in any way who were odd because they wore all red clothing. You never know when the Red Menace might decide to show up and try to ruin your party so I figured why not sow a little dissent any chance I got. I figured if anyone one would be in position to either aid our cause or have need of someone to track down the shadow carpet in return for a favor or two then he would be the one. I even surprised him and gave him a gold piece for his trouble for which he seemed ecstatic which of course the point and I bid him farewell and signaled my companions of Dragonfirre and the Organization to meet me at our prearranged rendezvous and I began to fill them in.

It seemed leaving them alone in the big city had not done them any good for upon telling them that I had acquired a solid lead both Slick Rick and Lucky Ron jumped on me for not using my magic and finding out about the Orb. I had already explained to them my ability to read minds was limited by ability to direct a conversation and the Chickamazee I had found who while quite helpful had been intelligent and a practitioner of magic so I had decided to rely on my nature charm and wit and to relax for this was how it was done. As I continued to lead following the directions I had been give we I found Dunlevy Street which led to Kismet Street and finally to a castle which was easy to find and of course the large statue of a Giant Pawn that Ralph had told me to look for made it stand out. We had to travel nearly two miles and it figured the castle would be located in the lowly Gnome district the smell alone almost made me want to throw up and the six foot tall Chickamazee who wore pilgrim hats resembled actual chickens so to have finally found our destination I was still a little perturbed but also relieved as had I put on my friendly mask and we walked up to the gate. Where at a perch near said gate there was a small pigeon like creature which possessed a human face which had a small spear under its wing which seemed to be the gate guard. I stepped forward and told it that we needed to see Sir Montague and that it was concerning a matter of grave importance. It had the nerve to reply “For what reason exactly.” Well I was not about to stand outside a gate and be held up by the door guard I looked it straight in the eyes and told it “I don’t really thing you would want know what we need to discuss with Sir Montague!” I had put all of my formidable charisma behind giving him the impression that whatever we were here to see Sir Montague about was so dangerous that even speaking of it might spell its doom. I of course had the desired effect for the abomination screamed dropped its spear and flee away as fast as it little wings could take it. I was about to push the gate open when they opened on their own and into castle we all proceeded.

I know the others might have been surprised by actions but I was tired of holding back and while we had not exactly picked a leader I already knew who was the leader and if anyone else wanted it then we would discuss in detail in the near future. So as we entered the castle we came to a lit hallway which led to a circular chamber with nine seats and a single painting of young blond man wearing plate mail who I deduced was Sir Montague. I had expanded my Mindsight and besides my companions the only other intelligence I could find seemed to be a disembodied mind that for that moment had defied description so I had deduced it was distraction meant to deter anyone from seeing Sir Montague. A disembodied voice had begun to speak asking what business we had with Sir Montague. I let it know I was not interested in speaking with a disembodied magical force and had information that I need to speak about with Sir Montague. Among many things which had been occupying my mind at the moment while I will admit it could have seemed that I was about to lie but in reality it would not have been so. The voice spoke to me and declared are you really going to try and lie to someone who can read your mind? Alright so it was on I opened my mind for I felt if this being wanted to match wits then so be it for in reality I had been sincere I did what to help with the dark carpet and I did plan to shut down the shop run by the Elder Thing soul merchants and I needed the Orb of Sight. I had received telepathically from it that it planned to look into the matter of the flying carpet, as well as it being thankful that we planned to take out the soul merchant shop of Fast Eddie but that it had some reservation concerning the Orb of Sight. I figured it was worth a try and as I have said my ego knows no bounds and sometimes that’s a good thing for I appealed to its sense of preservation and I poured all my thoughts of how we needed the Orb in order to save the legacy of or world Hyboria. For moment nothing happened and then as I had held my breath the painting slid back and inside sitting on a modest throne was the skeleton of a man and as I watched the flesh began to reform around it and instead of eyes it had glowing golden orbs. I could now sense that it was undead but legends of the past flowed into my mind and my Mindsight confirmed it was not powered by the negative energy of darkness and evil but and positive power of the life itself. He emerged from the wall and spoke his voice now coming from his body and said “Excuse me for the longer the longer this goes on the more distant I am to humanity and the issues they must face.” I had taken the moments while had reformed to bring Dragonfirre up to speed and informed it that at first Sir Montague had not been willing to help us but that I had been successful in persuading it praise Aphrodite to help us which was why it had retaken a human form and I also let them know it was not an undead powered by negative but a spirit of the light able to return and inhabit its former human form.

Now that we were all friends and Sir Montague was once again remembering what it was like to wear flesh we began to receive the answers to many of the questions I had been looking for. On the top of the list was information about the Orb of Sight which was being held by a creature referred to as an Ugly Thing. Sir Montague informed us that this vile creature had withstood an assault by the Duke who he also referred to as the King and since the creature had resistance creature of his type they had failed over four hundred and fifty years ago. I seemed that while he would be of no help against our assault of the Ugly Thing to recover the Orb he did let us now of possible Elder Thing allies who might worship a Demi-God named Nodens who was an enemy of both Cthulhu as well as Hastur might be our best chance for success. For it seemed the Duke himself was under the influence of Elder Thing worshippers of Hastur which of course now made sense why the Dukes Chickamazee might be looking for us. It seemed the Duke had access to an entrance to the Ugly Thing but there might be other ways if we could find the followers of Nodens. It seemed that Sir Montague and as well as the Duke were actually ranked and no doubt had powers scaled up as they advanced and it seemed they were the assigned protectors of this small Demi-Plane. Speaking of the Demi-Plane it was a construct no more than eighty miles wide originally created by the greatest Magi and Priests of Hyboria ages ago to first launch a counter offensive against Emerald and finally to attached to the Final World of the Chessmen who they had determined by divinations could understand them be immune to the powers of the Gods they faced be willing to help as well protect the lives of those who would inhabit the created realm. So while the Duke was being controlled by Elder Thing it did not pose a threat to the continuation of life so he was obliged by his oath to not directly interfere. Other pieces fell into place as the existence of pure breed Hyborians on Emerald now finally made sense for Sir Montague confirmed the exodus as Hyboria had finally been turned into a wasteland. Of course other inhabitants who resided here over the last thousand years which he also confirmed were now native with the knowledge of Hyboria only a legend as we had already confirmed firsthand. We were even filled in on the plans of the final Hyborians whose plans had actually involved continually sending teams into the future to try and preserve the memory and heritage of Hyborian for if the Dreaming God was not stopped he would devastate Emerald as well and proceed with impunity to the technologically advanced world of the Star Lords and all would be lost. In addition he included a little hand to each eye movement of the hands which it seemed could be used to put the Chickamazee into a confused state in case the ever got in our way. Since it seemed that the entire division of Chessman employed Chickamazee I believed it was indeed useful information to have. I had also inquired about why if they had access to time travel they had never tried to go back in time. I was informed that they acted on the advice of their Gods who perhaps had ulterior motives which they kept to themselves. I knew something of that and it finally made sense for if the natives of Emerald had already infiltrated the past of Hyboria they knew everything they might do since for them it would have already happened on the other hand it made sense to push for the future of Emerald for only then could the teams sent to the future stand a chance of staying ahead of the Servants of Cthulhu. It seemed the Chessman had offered the Hyborians a solution as well as eternal life but they had declined which while the offer was tempting to lose the pleasures of the flesh and all the wonders reality had to offer I don’t know if even I could have endured it. We were made aware of an even greater power that both Cthulhu and Hastur served but in the big picture of things Cthulhu was acting alone. It seemed he had seduced the so called Star Lords with a plan to harvest the souls of the Hyborians in order to gain the power to eventually gain control of time travel and enable them to right past wrongs and no doubt become masters of the universe. They had fallen for the line hook line and sinker and were even still falling for it all the way to their eventual doom unless we did something about it. Lucky Ron had inquired about the wasteland that was Hyboria and if there was a way to visit and we were informed that the Bishops could open the portals for us but that we considered the journey the world might not even be capable of supporting life as we knew it. I realized that Lucky Ron hoped to reach our Gods and get answers from them if possible and the idea even came up of trying to ask anyone who might have known the final plans in detail and we were informed that all who might have know were now long dead. Vadania had spoken softly as seemed to be her annoying habit about perhaps being able to speak with their spirits but I have to assume that her words while heard were doubted for if I had learned anything about my friends who composed Dragonfirre it was that they were all strong will hot heads of action who did not have time for her demure and delicate actions. If there had ever been a time when I had hoped for more excitement to stroke the fires of Dragonfirre it had been then for it might have brought them and Vadania to life In the end it was not to be thankfully for I was equally alright with not constantly being in a fight for my life and as I acquired additional contacts from Sir Montague since he planned to deal with the Vault and the flying carpet personally to assist us in seeking the Cult of Nodens as well as a secret entrance to the caves of the Ugly Thing I was oddly relieved for now all that I had deduced could be proven.

We had been through a lot and I realized and I am sure the information we had gained had shocked and surprised many. I was also sure of another thing Dragonfirre I expected to have a little more respect for my abilities. I will admit in the past I knew that Slick Rick had been holding on to the hope that we could somehow save Hyboria but it now seemed we had failed before we had even begun. While I am sure Slick Rick would be welcome among the Fey of my Mothers Summer Court I knew the final realization of our world being devastated was one that would not sit well with him. I realized of course that once the Dreaming God was slain we would be free to work on restoring our world and while it might take ages it would be a task I would be willing to devote a few human lifetime to helping Slick Rick achieve. As for myself I had already long ago consigned myself to building a new life on Emerald and for the other it was hard to say. I could tell that Lucky Ron had not yet given up hope and for that I was glad for he was still trying to bring order the chaotic wasteland Hyboria had become. The anger of Mickey the Torch had not yet been cooled and it truly brought pleasure to my heart to realize his anger would soon be directed against the Ugly Thing. Vadania shy and so far useless I truly hoped once she had the chance to prove herself in battle would do the memory of Athena proud and step up to be a proud member of Dragonfirre. My beloved Dirty Anna on the other hand had already figured out what was going on and I could tell from the sadness in her eyes that she was more worried about what she was becoming and how the others were handling all that had been confirmed since she knew I was her foundation and after all we had recently confirmed I had not been surprised or phased in the slightest. Of course I had always had an advantage the others never had I had been prepared since my birth for this mission by someone who was familiar with cataclysms and had learned how to survive them. Everything that I continued to learn every new level of skill and power I attained were key components that I realized I would need to call upon and with the help of all of Dragonfirre I would by the love of Aphrodite see the dream that was Hyboria live again.

Chapter Thirty : Tales of Misery And Woe or Avatars And Servitors

2010-05-26T23:30:00.000-05:00

So could I say that it’s true that I my beauty could best be described as supernatural. Well if I did it would not be considered an understatement. Now while the power of my brain is nearly as impressive as my ability to deduce and discern information is on an order far beyond the ability of many to even begin to try and comprehend. That being said let me say that this infernal reality where I now call home with its Avatars and Servitors all seemingly intent to end the lives of all of Dragonfirre not to mention myself have shown me that they never rest. The Dreaming God and his minions of the Emerald reality have finally drawn the blood of Dragonfirre. So while with the aid of all of Dragonfirre and even the Organization we were of course able to prevail against Star Vampires, Elder Things, an Avatar and even a Servitor of the same Mythos although it was not without a price. The price was that of my oldest friend known to some as Morgan others as Alexis and finally as the Associate. I will not pass the blame of the loss of a Fey Changing a companion who I had once hoped to have the time with which to reconcile our differences had been lost to us and the fault was mine and mine alone. For on that day when we had faced odds that I had felt well within the ability of my joined companions and friends to overcome it had somehow ended in tragedy. It was my own ego that prevented me from taking the precautions that would have enabled my Associate to live and thus this is my tale of misery and woe and to a lesson that for the love of Aphrodite I wished I had never had to learn.

We were in the midst of facing off against monk cultists, Elder Things, Star Vampires and an Avatar of some dark power. Slick Rick was preparing himself to unleash the full fury at his command and the other members of Dragonfirre only needed to keep the Avatar of the Elephantine Entity busy until his preparations were complete. The Associate was performing admirably having already struck down three cultists with such efficiency and grace it was as if they were not even there. I had felt the presence of a new mind and I was thankful that it was Lucky Ron and with his arrival while I had not doubted before I was now even more assured that threat we faced would be soon contained. As he had arrived I was actually glad for the stability that his presence brought to my psyche as I informed him telepathically of the situation and the others of his arrival. Dirty Anna meanwhile had been busy tumbling around firing Eldritch Bolts both from her hands and from Death Dealer easily dispatching both Elder Things and Star Vampire and I could tell that she was still on fire which seemed to be increasing by the moment. I could see that even with the pain from the flames she was still able to maintain her concentration and continue her Eldritch Assault and for that I was glad as well as turned on. Lucky Ron had chose that moment to step in with the grace and style that I expected from him and engaged the Elder Thing but somehow he managed to hurl his sword into the ceiling. Mickey the Torch was still engaged with the Star Vampire that had tried to hinder me before I had tumbled away and I realized that the Elder Things had hides tough enough to withstand the power of ordinary bullets or weapons and more were appearing each moment. The Elephantine Entity chose that moment to strike Diamond Jim who had moved forward foolishly to cover the Associate and almost paid for it with his life. While Clean Eugene continued to hammer the Entity with blessed bolts of Hercules from his Compound Long Bow. Thanks to Smiling Ed and me we were all hasted and even had the blessing of Hercules upon us all thanks to Clean Eugene but I did not plan to see anyone die today. So I tumbled down from the stage I had been sharing with Clean Eugene to where Gizmo Dent and Mack Daddy could cover me and used my intellect to assess the situation and the location of all the minds in the room I expanded my Mindsight to fill the room and found the minds of an aberration which seemed to possess many minds in one which I was to learn was a Servitor. So I communicated to the three who I knew could perhaps hold off the Elder Entity, Mickey the Torch, Clean Eugene and Lucky Ron. They were all willing and I thought how awesome it was to have friends that were brave and while Lucky Ron had lost his katana I asked the Associate to leap to the ceiling and retrieve it for Lucky Ron which he was glad to do so that Lucky Ron could maintain his effectiveness. Clean Eugene had let me know that if I had a way to bring him into closer combat with the Elephantine Entity than he was all for it and his Great Club were ready. Mickey the Torch had also answered that he was ready but I had a feeling I might need his and the Associated help dealing with the Servitor and so I kept them in reserve. I then informed Diamond Jim and Clean Eugene to be ready and I conjured the powers of shadow and cast benign transposition which caused them to be enveloped in shadows as they switched place in time and space instantly. This placed Diamond Jim on the stage and Clean Eugene in the perfect position to introduce the Avatar of the Elephantine Entity to his Great Club but as I had expected his attack was mostly ineffective. Well I had know that already and as Slick Rick continued to prepare himself and I will admit the panther form which had been overshadowed by the essence of a great tiger and just grown two more limbs. I finished by calling upon my fey charms and attempted to charm the Elder Thing that was currently burning my beloved Dirty Anna and it was able to resist my magic well at least for the moment. I had informed the others of my intention to charm one of the Elder Things and perhaps negotiate them down and of the odd aberration I had sensed still within the suite that I informed everyone I was working on dealing with. I can still remember the stern but loving words of Lucky Ron “Well stop thinking about it and do something about it.”. It was good to have him back and we as a whole were still looking good only one member of the Organization even really wounded and besides Dirty Anna being on fire things still looked golden.

The next well thought part of my plan had of course been riding on my fey charms to enable me to befriend one of the Elder Things and convince them to stand down. The eight foot tall Elephantine Entity which perhaps had only looked larger when I had first seen it I could tell was not indeed twelve feet tall as Clean Eugene was while not really seeming to harm it was doing his duty and keeping its attention. I reached out with my fey gifts and the Elder Thing succumbed and from then on viewed me as one of its best friends. I telepathically informed the others that it was charmed and to not attack it while I tried to resolved the situation with the ever increasing number of Elder Things. For the record they had continued to appear and now numbered over six including the one I had charmed. I learned from my new found Elder Thing friend that it was not actually being controlled by the Avatar of the Elephantine entity as I had believed but actually by a creature it described as a Servitor which was actually still in the room and was responsible for the stream of new Elder Thing arrivals as well as the Star Vampires which previously as opposed to the Avatar. I impressed upon it to stand down and to move to a save location away from the suite but I was unable to negotiate a complete stand down of its friends. I of course pressed on to find out that in order for it to convince its other Elder Friend companions to depart the Servitor was controlling it had to be dealt with first. Which of course made sense for I knew the Elder Things once a great race had indeed fallen upon hard times and they basically would follow whoever they believed showed the greatest amount of power and since I felt that person was of course me I told it to hold on and I would take care of it? Showing me just what a good friend it had the potential to be it had even asked me if I wanted it to put out the fire on my beloved Dirty Anna and after I thanked it and letting it know that I would appreciate that indeed she was free of the flames. Slick Rick was almost ready and I saw him almost ready to pounce and so I mentally called to Mickey the Torch and the Associate as I informed the others the creature controlling and summoning the Elder Things and Star Vampires was still in the suite and I could use some help dealing with it. Lucky Ron had responded that they would keep the Elephantine Entity contained and hurry up and deal with the creature and I realized as did he that if someone didn’t that if there was no limit to the number of creatures this Servitor could summon it was only a matter of time before we could be overrun. I had of course already came to that conclusion of course I mean really I did not take brain as part of my new Emerald identity for insightfulness or grace not that I felt I lacked in the areas but I believe you should play to your strengths. Meanwhile Mickey the Torch and responded immediately and called back to me he was on it and stormed the full length of the room as he pulled out a thermite grenade and leapt though the black curtain that was concealing the entrance as the room was enveloped in flames. I had mentally called to him and he let me know he was of course unharmed due to the flames of course to which it was completely immune and that we indeed faced an aberration which he claimed was hideous form of limbs, blood and energy. Upon hearing that I had asked my future Elder Thing thrall shall I call him Shan what by Gods were we facing. Now the next part was something that I actually had to wrap my mind around before I revealed the ramifications to my companions for it revealed something to me that was indeed quite dark and sadistic. Well alright I will admit I am one to talk about seeming dark and often emotionless and while that was mostly my nature and training now the one thing I am not would be sadistic. This creature or Servitor I was informed which had arrived a few moments ago and had started summoning and setting up the entire ongoing confrontation was somehow in reality an alternate version of ourselves that needed to destroy us in order to live again. As I had digested the information that had been revealed to me I was indeed saddened for it could only mean the Dreaming God was actually not only transdimensional but also transtemporal as well yeah I know words I had created on the spot for I came to realized that on one of our alternate timeline missions we had either failed and enslaved while someone else had managed to survive who we had yet to meet which seemed unlikely or this reality in which were currently residing was a nexus to alternate realities and the multiple minds within the Servitor were indeed us but of course not. Either way it meant that if multiple minds were being contained within the creature and held together by magic I knew it should have been within my power to disrupt it. Now whether that freed the other versions of ourselves that we would need to fight afterward which I doubted since I had already been informed that part of their deal to live again was to take our places after we were killed I silently prayed for the love of Aphrodite that their souls could find instead release and peace. I had needed a moment to shall we say bring my revelation down to a level which I felt Dragonfirre could understand as the Associate had responded to me in reality what might have been only seconds but to me had seemed longer since my brains capacity to contemplate and correlate information often made time seem to stand still that he was wounded and inquired it he skills would even be of help. I had responded that his help would be appreciated as I was not sure exactly the weaknesses of what we were about to face I reminded him he was useless against the Avatar of the Elephantine Entity and the Elder Things either way at least this way he stood a chance of being effective and I was going in there to back up Mickey the Torch in a moment and the choice in the end was of course his. Looking back did I realize that by my answer I had truly if he still had feeling for me, forced him to face the Servitor perhaps so. Sadly to my own regret I did not care for since my ego was still hurt that someone like him who had been my friend for years had spurned me and while I planned to I had at that moment forgiven him. I of course also believed in his abilities and skills for I had often in the past unleashed grenades in his vicinity or asked for entire buildings to be dropped right on his head without a moment’s hesitation and each time he had danced away from certain death every time with the nimbleness of a gazelle such was my hubris that I believed he could do it again. For as he had made the run across the room and thrown back the curtain and hurled a grenade into the room even before the explosion he had screamed both out loud and into my mind “By the Masters what is that thing!” and frozen to the spot terrified. I did not hesitate and moved forward to his side the closest we had been since the time he had rejected me and I will always regret not kissing him and looking back I will my rethinking my policy of not mixing pleasure with business and seek a compromise where I can find both. For as I had informed everyone else when Shan had informed me that attacking my friends was not personal only business and even as Lucky Ron had responded “Well this is personal business for us!” I had begun to question my own methods. So as I had pulled back the curtain and witnessed for myself what only became almost became horrifying but in reality was quite profound was a creature that floated in the air and seemed to composed of fire, lightning, blood, organs as well as various body parts that continued to undulate and ooze in anguish and amidst that aberration we the limbs and minds of my beloved Dirty Anna as well as all of the others including myself. I of course showed no emotion or at least betrayed none to the others as I unleashed my most powerful spell and attempted to disrupt it very magical core as I cast break enchantment. My spell I knew I had hurled true and as a Beguiler I am more skilled overcoming those that are resistant to magic but I realized my focus had not been sufficient to affect it. I was aware that I had although gained its attention and I called upon the shadows which were my ally to conceal me from sight and I vanished. I could have perhaps pushed myself and cast again but I had taken a moment to refocus my mind in preparation for what I knew would come next the Servitor would be mine. I was able to witness Slick Rick make his pounce as he transformed in mid-air from a panther into a huge dire wolf and as he knocked the Elephantine Entity to the ground ravaging it with tooth and claw the creature howled in pain. Dirty Anna had continued to blast away with Eldritch Fire with Death Dealer only fueling her bloodlust but I could tell she was being careful to not risk striking Clean Eugene or Slick Rick so I knew she was still herself. At the time things were indeed still looking up and I had felt it was only a matter of time before we put this whole mess to rest. I had even announced to the others to just hold on for a few seconds and I should have the Servitor dealt with such were my delusions of grandeur for while my statement was actually of course true the price for that delusion was high.

The Servitor I realized was indeed angry and sought a way to weaken us all as it had screamed a scream that had shaken my very immortal soul for it had sounded like me screaming as if my very soul was on fire. While it is true I will no longer die of old age the term is of course immortal not invulnerable but give me time I am working on it. I looked around and all of the Organization with only Swami Donnie had seemed to not only have had their souls shaken but were also held immobile in complete terror. I looked and saw that Dragonfirre as a whole had resisted the only exception had been the Associate was also frozen in terror. I looked the horrific Servitor directly in its mass and had spoken “It’s time to end this give my regards to the Dreaming God!.”. I had then began my ritual and cast not one but two break enchantment spell and on my second casting I was able to break it defenses but also the magic holding it together and then what I had not expected happened. I had called both Mack Daddy and Gizmo Dent to my side to support me and only Mack Daddy had been able to make it before being himself frozen which had left Mickey the Torch, the Associate and I to experience the full power of the resulting explosion that rocked the suite as the magics holding the Servitor together had been disrupted. I had hoped for the best that the bodies that were hurled out of the aberration as it died would finally be able to find peace in Hades what I had not expected or foreseen was the explosion of fire and lighting that had blasted me out of the doorway some twenty feet back. I was badly hurt and slightly protected by the draconic aura of Mickey the Torch how I loved every part of him but of course due to my acrobatic skill had landed on my feet. It was then that as I looked for the Associate and saw his headless body lying beside me that I realized the price I had paid for my desire to defeat the Servitor and lay claim to its Elder Thing servants and the knowledge they possessed. The life blood of the Associate lay before me and he had transformed to his almost real Changling form and his head was missing and I realized that somehow he must have instead of dancing away stepped right into the blast and paid dearly for it. Already I could barely feel his mind as it slipped away as I had pulled myself together and informed the others that the Associate was down and no doubt dead I am amazed by the poise I had been able to maintain. I could see that the ones who I had hoped would have been to help him first were occupied as Slick Rick was looking terrible and I truly understood the power of the Elephantine Avatar for the creature seemed to be striking and tearing him to bits. Slick Rick had even called out to Clean Eugene who must have seemed to the creature as no more than an insect for healing and instead I could see the fury of Hercules was upon him as he had swung away still failing to penetrate the hide of the Avatar. My darling Dirty Anna had broken from her bloodlust and came racing to our aid but she had exhausted herself making it that far and Scrounger leapt from the bag grabbing her mega potion that I had not even realized she still possessed and tried to administer it the to the body of the Associate. Sadly he it was not strong enough and failed to rejuvenate him its invaluable contents wasted. I had beseeched Mickey the Torch to try and save the Associate and I realize I may never forgive him for what he did next and only his actions immediately afterward prevented me from unleashing all of my power against him. For he had rose turned and said he would take care of it and then breathed fire on the Associates body almost reducing it to no more than ash and then he sprinted off to the side of Slick Rick and I could see his hands glowing as he released the power of his healing touch into him and I am sure saved his life. He had chosen to abide by the wishes of the Associate regarding if he ever fell in battle to destroy his body and had chosen to not risk trying to heal him in order to ensure that the Guardian of Forest’s Heart known on Emerald as Slick Rick did not fall in battle against the Avatar. He had protected Dirty Anna, Scrounger and myself as we had all been within the area and Dirty Anna had called out “Why did you do that?” and he had responded coldly “I was only fulfilling his wishes.”. I did not want to continue but we were still in battle and I had fulfilled my part of the bargain with Shan the Elder Thing who had been trying to but failing to resist my control as my companions had continued to attack his friends. So I had informed Shan that as I said I would that its Servitor master who had summoned them here had been defeated at my hand and it was time to convince his companions to stand down and withdraw to a neutral corner and my companions in return would cease attacking them since I had just completed my part of the business transaction it was time for it to acquiesce. Shan came through and Lucky Ron who I was able notice had started to smoke ceased to burn and my companions let them withdraw to the neutral corner I had indicated. I had also informed Shan that once this was over it that its friends were free to go but that I wanted to continue our conversation before it left. Shan had informed me that it wanted to leave with its friends and I assured it that it was in no danger and we would talk again after we dealt with the Elephantine Entity since it had told me it could not leave anyway until Eggland released the wards on the exit. It was out of range to reach Eggland telepathically and therefore I did not make the connection that there was more to Eggland than met the eye but the connection would be revealed in due time.

What happened next once we only had the Avatar of the Elephantine Entity to deal with was only a matter of time and after a few well placed displacement spells on Slick Rick and Clean Eugene which also gave me plenty of time to restore myself back to full health with my Wand of Curing the Avatar was down. Dirty Anna had even managed to lose Death Dealer as hit must not have been able to contain the power of her eldritch power. I had of course tried to telepathically convince it to stand down and surrender but I realized to late that my ego once again got in the way for upon realization that it’s master had been defeated it went into a rage intent on destroying us or actually me since I had of course let it know I had defeated its master. Alright was it my fault that the crazy creature wanted revenge and perhaps had failed to realize that it’s former Elder Thing allies fell in line with the big dog in the house and I had already proven who was the big dog even as the big cat on the scene Slick Rick now that we had it surrounded mauled it to pieces. Perhaps I could have shown it mercy for perhaps its ego had not allowed it to so easily surrender but I was angered by the death of the Associate and I felt mercy was too good for the likes of such a vile creature. So as the Avatar had finally been put down like the mangy vile abomination it was I was indeed surprised to find that it was none other than Eggland. I did not know how the Servitor had performed the switch which was a mystery to be solved with the aid of my Shan and its other Elder Thing companions.

We were left with the clean up and the aftermath of our battle had left me quite hungry as well as horny and I really wanted nothing more than to drown myself in pleasure and drunken abandon but as Lucky Ron I am sure would have reminded me if I had asked we still had work to do. So I had pressed on into the suite that held our alternate bodies and I will admit it was kind of morbid but also kind of neurotic in an odd sexual way. I had of course cast arcane sight and I was impressed to notice that each of our bodies seemed to possess items that each of us might very well be able to use. I could at least take heart that my other self evil or no still had good taste. For while I had wished more had survived on my copy I was only able to salvage a few still useful magical items. So in the end I came away with minor items that I actually wanted which included a Ring of Sustenance, an Amulet of the Mage, a Healing Belt, an Eternal Wand of True Strike and even a three extra Blessed Bandages. The Ring of Sustenance oddly was already bonded to me which was a clue to the mystery but still not proof one way or the other on if our doppelgangers were dimensional or temporal. Sadly there were no items among the bodies with which were powerful enough to restore the Associate and while I was still searching I could see the others contemplating what to do with their bodies. I could tell by the stern look on the face of Clean Eugene what he had planned for our doppelgangers was the fire and I could tell he was eager for Mickey the Torch to get started but I of course felt the need to abide by convention just in case and placed a gold coin in the mouth of each of the bodies for Charon the boatman who might very well ferry their souls to Hades. I looked around and I saw Mickey the Torch paying close detail to the body of the Associate’s doppelganger and I could see he was collecting mundane items from the body. I had a lot still on my mind while we were for the moment it seemed out of the frying pan we seemed never to be able to get away from the fire but such I have come to guess is the fate of Dragonfirre.

As I had stood looking down upon the remains of my old friend and his doppelganger I was struck with the irony of our situation and the cost I had paid because of my ambition and greed. I realized I should have called upon my fey ties and summoned the noble Unicorns who if they had been present could have saved my friend the Associate. In truth I had asked Swami Donnie to try and keep the situation and what was going on during the entire affair in his vision and it had been my belief that he would have warned me if anything I was about to do could have backfired. I have even gone over everything in my mind and none of the Elder Things had even believed what I had done was even possible and the Avatar itself was shocked and enraged as well. Therefore I could only conclude that Dragonfirre and I were doing much better this time around be that temporally or dimensionally speaking not that it really mattered but it was still a fact worth noting. So was the explosion that had taken the life of my dear Associate something that I could have deduced as a possibility I truly thought not but I still felt horrible as I had lost a friend and I had deep down believed we would be friends if not lovers to the end. That was the tragedy for after all that had transpired to change all of us it had been a question of conflict between Mickey the Torch and the Associate of which I always felt myself in the middle and had been unable to resolve that may have contributed to his death. Of course I realized that the battle had been won and if Mickey the Torch had delayed to heal the Associate who he had vowed to never heal it might have cost instead the life of Slick Rick and the fulcrum we needed in the battle might have been torn asunder. I am sure I would have still found a way to prevail but the loss of life on our end of the equation I feel would have been much higher. The truth is I had manipulated the Associate into that room and used his own honor code or perhaps even his feelings I may never know to compel him to my side and while I had believed him more than capable and resourceful enough to aid me he had voiced his concern on my plan. In the past before he had rejected me I might have heeded his advice but he would have had to earn back my trust. Sadly in the battle he had performed admirably both on the field of battle slaying ghost and hooded servants even coming to the aid of other members of Dragonfirre when Lucky Ron had misplaced his Katana to reminding everyone that Diamond Jim was on deaths door. I do not doubt that after we had been victorious I might have even let him show me just how much he wanted back into my good graces and I would have eagerly taken advantage of every morphing Fey Changling sexual trick he knew and even a few I had invented in my own mind. Perhaps it had been the distractions for not only was I still coming to terms with my own Sidhelien nature and my Mindsight but I had also been concerned about bringing order to the chaos that I felt was getting of hand within Dragonfirre. It’s not like I wanted to suddenly impose a mandate on anyone’s individual freedom but I had came to the realization that we needed to be all on the same page in regards to succeeding in our mission to defeat the Dreaming God. I will admit I might still believe that I could complete the entire mission without any of them and they were perhaps only holding me back but there was a chance no matter how small that I might be overestimating my own ability. Regardless I had to look logically at the odds which were no longer just some abstract reality in my own mind but now a physical reality for all to see. No what Dragonfirre needed was to lay all the cards on the table so that we could find a way to bring all of individual strengths together and in the end be stronger for it. While the Associate to my regret would no longer be a part of that meeting and while I had considered a raise dead scroll as an option I knew that would have failed for he had lost his head and his only other option would have been reincarnation. Reincarnation to me was a concept that was more a curse or punishment than a gift and the only way for it to be a true restoration of all you once were was with the greatest of magics either a miracle or a wish otherwise you took your chances you could just as easily come back as a disgusting Gnome or even a pathetic Goblin. The Associate in past had discussed the matter years ago and my feeling against the concept had only grown stronger in passing years and even the Associate had told me of extravagant terms he would have required before even considering it. Believe it or not he had told me he would want to be consulted and informed of how he had died before making the decision to return. He had gone on to explain how if his honor could be preserved he would be willing to endure the whole affair until a means was found to restore him back to his normal form. While in the past he was always nimble I had even then began to realize he possessed an iron will for I know I might be considered vain but know I could not endure being trapped in some strange body with only the hope that I might one day be restored. Well if we had been on Hyboria perhaps we might have been able to find the means to speak with his spirit or even find or barter for a miracle or wish which I would have done without hesitation but here on Emerald I had no such options. Perhaps in the future as our quest continued I could restore him and for the love of Aphrodite I could pray for that day but that day was in the future and did not help the situation. So I was left with dealing with the Shan Elder Thing and either preparing myself to disrupt the magical warding on the door or find a way to take it over either way we were getting out of there one way or another. There was another strange aftereffect of the Ring of Sustenance I now wore for not only was I no longer hungry or thirsty but I no longer hungered for sexual release and for the first time in what felt like decades I felt sexually sated. It helped bring clarity of thought that I often only found after an orgy or with a really talented lover and I felt at peace. I felt ready to face my companions within Dragonfirre and confront head on the obstacles that stood in our way to defeating the Dreaming God and restoring the dream of Hyboria before we let our own differences and philosophies lead us to our own destruction and I felt confident. I will miss my dear friend the Associate but his death had taught me a valuable lesson united Dragonfirre must stand or divided we would without a doubt fall and by I swear by my love of Aphrodite and all that was Hyboria I will not let his sacrifice be forgotten.