Chapter Eighteen : Ambush At The University or Getting Schooled Pt 1

So exactly how did I find myself in a library of all places a place I was actually looking forward to exploring on Emerald lit up by green magical faerie fire spell and in the middle of a firefight with a full Red Menace strike team while not entirely a mystery was again a reminder of why I am going to have to start being more assertive in the future. Well on the positive side everyone was present and accounted for and doing their best against the Red Menace strike team. While at first I had believed we might have been able to move fast enough to head off Miracle Mike I was to find out that the Red Menace does not waste time. I guess with over five thousand Mythos wielding members and effective communication they are using their assets to their best advantage. Now while we have The Organization I have realized that my plan to annex the gangs of Emerald into a cohesive unit under the leadership of The Organization and by default Dragonfirre is going to have to happen sooner or later otherwise the sheer numbers and amount of hardware the Red Menace have at their disposal may enable them to wear us down by attrition if nothing else. Now of course how I had arrived at this firm conclusion was by the addition of Smiling Ed and his companions Lefty and Louie the Lip who were showing me that having additional firepower of own could come indeed come in handy. And sure I was still riding a high from finally managing to bring our Paladin Yussuf and my beloved Warlock Nialla together and helped foster love between them both physically as well as emotionally. For in the truth if I let myself lose sight of love and its importance to me and my faith in Aphrodite then I could find myself losing sight of why we are even here on Emerald in the first place.

When I had departed the Realm within the Stone everyone with the exception of Morgan had been present while my summoned servant hoard had brought along the meal I had prepared. I figured the best way to continue discussions on our goals was to take the time to plan our next move. For the most part we only had two objectives on the table the Magicians and Miracle Mike. While we also discussed the situation with the bounty placed on the head of my beloved Nialla and how it might sooner than later lead to issues with the Ves Order. It was decided that dealing with Miracle Mike in Providence. So alright the others did need a little reassurance that dealing with Miracle Mike was the smartest choice and Shiron did have his reservations which while I did as well according to Fluky Luke Providence was actually an Occupied Republic the closest to a zone where anything goes as any we were likely to find on Emerald. So while I figured that Red Menace might risk a presence I also had learned that all of the local gangs of any worth had safe houses in the zone and had come to a sort of understanding. Which in truth fit nicely with my plans to gather those gangs under the umbrella of The Organization and Dragonfirre and what a nice word and creation umbrella was and come to think of it I just might use that as the name overall name of our Organization in the end but we shall see. So with little fanfare we decided to take it easy in the slums of Apex Mills and while I did take the time to gather more information from Fluky mainly to confirm the names of the other local gangs and their reputed leaders I also gained information on the other operatives of The Organization that Fluky was aware of since so far I had counted twelve member of the Organization who might know what we all looked like and while I had up until now been taking pains to not have them learn much about us even to the extent of our names that would soon be changing. I already had arranged for fake ids for all of us and I had even arranged for Yussuf to be added to our list and while I liked the names since soon we would need to give the other gangs and the Red Menace names to fear otherwise they might start to think we were worth more dead than alive. So while Fluky informed me he did not entirely trust Miracle Mike and he had arranged for Smiling Ed to meet us at the safe house in Providence I realized we might once again be in for an exciting time yet another reason I wanted some time to relax. I mean really we were on the dawn of starting a new order and while I was getting quite excited as well as horny well alright I was always horny but as long as I had something to occupy my mind it did not really bother me that much. So that meant I had time to bring Yussuf and Nialla together and while I had even considered inviting the others as well I was still concerned about Morgan. I was about to bring up Morgan’s condition when suddenly from out of the Stone of Tongues appeared Swami Donnie and I will be honest it was only as he started to walk did I realize that it was Morgan. So alright he had surprised me but not that I was going to let anyone even him know that for while I know for a fact his physical disguise was almost perfect his acting technique needed a lot of work. Still if he ever needed to slip into a crowd I now had no doubt he would be able to do it and while I planned to conjure clothing tonight for our excursion to Providence I might as well included some additional double-sided clothing for him to pack into his backpack. I telepathically let Shiron and Nialla know what was going on and Morgan seemed quite a different person and seemed to be becoming almost an entirely different person right before my very eyes. He had a new self assured and subdued demeanor that I found quite compelling. The others seemed to be adjusting quite well no doubt due to the fact that they had seen me perform much the same trick a few days ago when I retired Markessa De’Mornae only a few days ago. I noticed something else Morgan seemed to almost be one with the shadows within the room which made me wonder if he was in reality a Shadow Dancer. For while I walked the path of shadow with my magics Jared had spoken with me once about how one day he would become one with Plane of Shadow and join the Fellowship of Shadows an order that served the Queen of Air and Darkness. Perhaps I had been mistaken in the past when I had spoken to Morgan about knowing what it was like to fell darkness growing within for if I was correct he knew all too well. So as Buerick gave Shiron the Stone of Tongues and vanished within the Realm within the Stone which left Erik and Morgan who both decided to stay outside. Well that left me with plenty of time to wine and entertain while Nialla and Yussuf got to know each other a little better and I even took the time to slip Nialla my Hat of Mystery since I wanted to make sure until we were able to remove the amulet from her chest it would not stand out. Meanwhile I spent a quite a bit of time on preparing the official look for Dragonfirre I even drew a painting of our new symbol as well as a group portrait and then there we were Morgan as Alex the Blade, Nialla as Dirty Anna, Buerick as Slick Rick, Shiron as Lucky Ron, Erik as Mickey the Torch, Yussuf as Clean Eugene and myself as Beauty the Brain. In the end the paintings were perhaps my best work and they would help to set my mind on the course we needed to eventually pursue. Buerick had actually retired to the tree house and had been communing with the Lamp of Al-Hazred and he seemed to be learning of the flora and fauna of Emerald which I realized in truth would give him more forms in which to transform in the future and I had to admit for a moment I was entranced but I had Nialla and Yussuf to entertain and of course two thralls to watch over. So perhaps I should have been thinking about releasing Yussuf who in reality since I had given him his mental freedom well at least in the sense that I was not exerting my will over him at any given moment I felt just in case Nialla slipped up in the next ten days I would let my domination run its course just in case. I also took a little time to make sure that Jake Dulla my other thrall was adjusting well under the care of Null and I even had him stop by for the evening meal so that I could obtain more information on the structure of the Magicians since I knew we would have to deal with the lesser gangs first and then move our way up I wanted to be ready. The remainder of the day passed without incident and soon it was time to retire and I am sure Nialla noticed how anxious I had been to retire to our chambers and I had even sent a mystical male unseen lover upstairs to prepare our room. I had wanted Yussuf and Nialla to talk and I will admit it was cute watching the two of them exchange the official pleasantries and I had to admit Nialla needed this she needed someone good and pure in her life to help her combat the darkness raging within her and I was thankful for the help of Yussuf. Well alright I was also waiting to other parts of the Paladin and by the power of Hercules he even enhanced his already formidable gifts and while the night was primarily for Nialla how could I not partake of all the Paladin of Hercules had to offer I mean you only live once right. While we took a break around midnight one of my servant hoard came to wake me as it had been ordered and I rose and Yussuf watched as I painted the dove and dolphin tattoos on her back as well as on my legs before I rose and grabbed my feycraft mithral and my boots and told him them I would be back since I needed to check on Morgan and Erik. So yeah I did need to talk to Morgan and perhaps more since perhaps with his returned memory he might have also abandoned the silly idea of that seemed to have been impressed into him to protect me and not touch me. Yeah well I did not call him iron willed for nothing and while Erik would no doubt still be playing hard to get his charismatic flair and near pure physical perfection would be a thrill regardless of whether I was riding him or merely sitting on his back and drawing the mystical tattoo dove on his back. So while he seemed all business at least I got to hear his perfect dragon accent as he politely turned down my advances claiming the need to stay alert in the case of danger. So I had discussed with him my plans for Dragonfirre and the important part he would need to play as Mickey the Torch and the faith he showed in me to handle the affair was quite compelling. I had to give it to him I loved the way he played hard to get and literally made a women not the least bit slighted but honored that he was doing his duty to protect her and feel if he were to lower his guard then he might be putting all of us in danger. As I left his room to check on Morgan I let him know as I blew him a kiss “Erik I love the way you play hard to get it is always a pleasure see you in the morning.”. I used my Hat of Mystery to give the illusion of being naked and in truth in my feycraft mithral shirt I always felt that way anyway due to the way it hugged my every seductive curve. As I knocked and telepathically called to Morgan that it was me and opened the door he did what I hoped he would not do and turned his head away. I told him I had stopped by before I turned in for the night to check on him and see if he wanted to really spend the night alone. He had responded with what was becoming his typical response “I would but for the binding.” He did change his tune a little a little which gave me hope and told me “Perhaps one day you will grow strong enough to break the binding placed by you Mentor Mother and that is a day I would look to fondly.” So while I was angry that what I wanted was about to be withheld from me yet again a tear came to my eye as I had responded to Morgan “While the day has already come when I can bend others to my will my power has not yet grown to the point where I would tangle with my Mothers magic I assure you the day will come I swear by Aphrodite.” I therefore had turned my mind back to business and found out that while Morgan was comfortable with his name being Alex the Blade he much preferred to be known as The Associate. Basically he wished to be known as a mysterious figure used to strike fear into the hearts of our enemies I let him know I would work it out and turned and while I wanted to literally attack him I knew if he had turned me away I might not be responsible for what might happen and that was not the way of Aphrodite. So I returned to the Realm within the Stone and my final task for the night before I joined the bliss waiting for me named Nialla and Yussuf was the creation of a mystical shadow magic clothiers closet in order to create the attire I would need for the others as well as Morgan and his new guise as The Associate.

So one might be wondering what came next well it was decided come morning after one more morning quickie with Nialla and Yussuf and I know what you might be thinking but hey I am part fey which is my excuse we arrived back on Emerald to coordinate a plan to travel to The Organizations safe house in Providence where we were to meet with Smiling Ed. Fluky Luke had arranged for three cars which we could use if we had wished to drive to Providence. I had conferred with Buerick and asked where he preferred to be and he said it did not matter to him and so I said I felt in reality it might be best for him to shadow the car which Fluky could drive while he carried the Stone of Tongues while the rest of us waited within the Realm within the Stone. So while we had discussed other options in reality having one car as a backup in case we needed a vehicle made the most since and of course Fluky knew where he was going and we could cover him from the air. I will admit in afterthought I will in the future pay more attention to the warnings of Fluky Luke in the future for while he let us know he did not trust Miracle Mike I was reserving judgment until I had spoken with Smiling Ed. So it came to pass after Buerick had circled the safe house and deemed it safe he landed. But I should make note of something that in afterthought I would prefer not to even mention that Morgan had implied about before we had entered the Realm within the Stone when we had left the slums of Apex Mills. I had tried to play it off when he had told Shiron to destroy his body were he to fall beyond recovery in a battle. Morgan had followed up once we were within the Realm within the Stone he had decided to show the others what on our world Hyboria would have earned our companions a death sentence at the hands of the Fellowship of Shadows. Being a member of the noble court I had been made aware of the existence the Fellowship and only due to my Mothers influence did I ever find out that my love Jared Black had been a member and I had been sworn to secrecy. So to allow the others to realize the existence of the Changling race perhaps the most powerful weapon of which the Queen of Air and Darkness had at her disposal was to say the very least shocking. I will admit I did not flip out well actually I did a little by my training did not betray me and I am sure none of the others realized that he had done anything wrong and thankfully everyone who beheld his pale gray skin, blank white eyes and his hint of a nose and mouth seemed to take his appearance thank Dionysus in stride. So when we exited the Stone of Tongues and Morgan had assumed the form of a moderately attractive young woman the other no doubt only thought the change might have been illusionary but I knew that the woman underneath the ninja outfit would possess all of the tools that a woman needed to both give and receive pleasure and the thought I will admit angered me just a little since Morgan had decided to show me yet again what pleasures were being denied me. So by now Buerick had landed and found a safe place for us to disembark from the Realm within the Stone where not only Smiling Ed but Louie the Lip and Lefty were waiting for us in the safe house. As far as safe houses went this one was not so bad a white two story spacious building and of course a big step up for the slums of Apex Mills. I was actually happy to be reacquainted with Smiling Ed as I remembered the words of the Moonbeast Commander who had told us that if we stayed close to Smiling Ed we stood a better chance for success in our goal to topple Cthulhu. I did take the time to question Smiling about the Professor Miracle Mike since it seemed that he had been a former instructor of Smiling Ed’s and while Fluky Luke still maintained that he did not trust him Smiling Ed felt confident that all would go well. I also had questions about the sexy weapons that the Red Menace team had been using against us. So alright I have fallen in love with the whole firearm thing and I will admit I love them way more than my short bow. I mean I am always carrying three pistols and to be honest I was looking for an upgrade. I of course inquired about them and Smiling Ed had informed me that to buy they ran about eight thousand dollars each ($8,000) and other ways to obtain them could perhaps be arranged. I told him to do me a favor and look into it and I also let him know that I was sure with our luck we would run into another Red Menace team soon enough and I just needed to be quicker on getting my hands on a few. So yeah I was once again thinking about all of those sexy weapons that had blown up due to Morgan’s haste but I tried to put it behind me and not make a big deal out of it since it was really not going to do me any good to cry over spilt milk. I also realized since we would be heading to Combine College we would need new disguised. As we all continued to discuss both how we would arrive at the college and the nature of our disguises I also asked for confirmation on something from Fluky Luke. I was concerned about the description that was being distributed by the Red Menace and I was able to confirm that while they only had pictures of Shiron in disguise of course and Morgan in full ninja garb as well as of course the full front page spread of a disguised flying Nialla what they did have was a concern. They had locked down that there were between six to eight of us and that two of us were women which made me realize that either I or Morgan and in truth I was glad that Morgan had taken his own initiative on his female guise since we might need to change our apparent genders from time to time to throw off anyone tracking us. So with the ease of a mistress of disguise I altered everyone’s appearance to match college students with cloths I had created the night before and to be honest while I had been letting Erik work on his own disguises for the most part the absolutely ridiculous disguise he been wearing basically said look at me I am a Hyborian of great power and please throw this lever and turn me into a few doses of space mead please had to go. So with disguises all set we left the safe house leaving Fluky Luke behind to mind the safe house and headed for the train station. After a quick ride on a standard train and a transfer to an elevated train with only one stop where no one disembarked we arrived at the Combine U stop which let out to an entire district the composed of the College and surrounding buildings and we had arrived.

To begin to describe the errors which lead to the next chain of events which I of course will take the blame almost seems a waste. For in reality I am the only genius among my companions and why I continue to listen to Shiron who seems to enjoy walking us into battle without preparation and ignoring the wisdom of Morgan who told us something was wrong and almost led to the death of a few of my companions I swear for the love of Aphrodite I shall not do so blindly again. To be honest the writing was on the wall when we had entered the university grounds we found that Professor Miracle Mike was teaching a class a restricted graduate student library building. There was a strange man outside the building and no one else seemed to be approaching the building. I had spoken to Shiron that I felt I should excuse myself for a moment to cast a few spell before we entered but he was unwilling to wait for me and told me that if I chose to step aside the would continue on. Sadly if the group had taken my advice we would not have be subsequently fooled by the Red Menace doorman or walked right into another illusionary trap but I get ahead of myself. For my detect thought spell, detect invisibility and arcane sight spells would have been up and I would have noticed the minds of our waiting ambush as well as information about the artifact that was being housed inside but instead we walked right in blind. So in other words when the two men who were acting in the role of attendants sent us up to meet Miracle Mike and as we walked further into the ambush we noticed a vast assortment of books as well as what looked like items strewn here and there that looked like they could have been from Hyboria. When we began our discussion with Miracle Mike he seemed at first to act as if we were students and began carrying on about extra credit and options of taking his class pass or fail and missing the drop date. He even continued to explain how we might earn extra credit. Shiron was doing the talking since I felt it was only a matter of time before we revealed to him the real reason for our visit but what really stood out in the room according to Yussuf was not only the sniveling evil Professor Miracle Mike but the mysterious bubbling pool of mercury that he described as a suck and devour you soul kind of evil. Which fascinated Nialla and myself of course and while I could only tell at cursory glance that it was not doubt an artifact Nialla on the other had was able to gleam that it was not doubt an intelligent evil scrying of Hyboria. While I inquired to the Miracle Mike about it he claimed that it on occasion told him things that he wanted to know and Nialla told me more like what it wanted him to know. At which time Shiron asked me if I could find out more with my magic and I telepathically no which was why I had wanted to make the stop before we had walked in here. Well what came next was the springing of the trap and a fully fledged ambush by a full Red Menace team of twenty plus operatives. The Professor guided us downstairs where I was going to us the chance to slip away and cast a few spells but before I could manage a single spell he opened a book that seemed to be written in arcane script and let us know in quite unpleasant terms that he was leaving and we were going to hell. At which point he vanished and the walls and windows all sealed and the room was plunged into magical darkness. Well I guess the evil Professor Miracle Mike was giving us our first school lesson and I realized at that moment that if we made a single mistake then we might very well end up the ones being schooled. So the jig as they say was up and we were surrounded by a fully prepared Red Menace Strike team. Yussuf when we had descended the stairs from the room holding the evil scrying mercury artifact had stayed a few steps behind was above the darkness but in truth it did not matter for they were able to see us and began firing pistols both mundane, sexy, ultra and even super sexy. In truth all I could think of as I informed the others I would dispel the darkness and telepathically asked Buerick to be ready to back me up if I failed was that I wanted some of those weapons. Things began to happen quickly for within only a few seconds I had dispelled the darkness to reveal twenty three Red Menace operatives two of which wore crowns and seemed to be protected by a shield of some sort. Nialla had tried to go on the offense but some new invocation of hers failed as she tried to use her gun to channel a eldritch blast which backfired in her face and almost been shot down by the Red Menace. I had been lit up by a faerie fire spell which meant invisibility and displacement were out of order until I dispelled the effect. Meanwhile the others were either in hand to hand or facing the onslaught of bullets and fiery beams of light. I really wanted to go on the offensive myself but I realized what might soon happen if I did Nialla and Buerick might be struck down. So I called to the Realm of Faerie and summoned three unicorns to aid me and to heal Nialla before she could fall and just in time for no sooner had I completed the summoning Buerick fell before the constant spray of bullets. I had to commend Eric for with the aid of his draconic aura which not only regenerated those who had been badly injured as well as protecting us from the fiery effects of the weapons while the others with the exception of Morgan who seemed to be literally dancing basically seemed unharmed. Which was for the most part how I was holding up since I had considerable fey resistance to mundane weapons. Nialla protected by my unicorns managed to make it to Buerick and Scrounger was able to use the scroll of healing to bring Buerick back into the fight. Buerick before he fell had been unleashing the mystical elemental fury of flame in dazzling strikes but still the crowned Red Menace operatives shields held. Erik had even pulled out a law rocket from his backpack of holding and blasted the two crowned Red Menace and while they had seemed wounded and a hole was literally opened within the wall still they stood. I had telepathically informed every to remain within ten feet of Buerick at all costs since I had already informed him that I could get us out if need be but he had elected to remain which had show me in truth just how brave Buerick really was for if it had been up to me I would have fled or retreated enhanced the group magically and returned ready to put the Red Menace strike team down hard. Meanwhile Shiron and Yussuf were fighting like true warriors born and I had no doubt that soon Shiron would be revealing to the Red Menace why he was worthy of the name Kensai while Yussuf stood his ground like a pillar and kept the crowned Red Menace from moving in on us lest they risk his wraith. As it was I had just reached my limit when Buerick risen and my unicorns once again made sure that Nialla remained standing as she had struck down three mundane Red Menace operatives and our Organization team were batting one sexy Red Menace operative for their side due to the magical skill and dead aim of Smiling Ed. I had decided it was time that the Red Menace felt one of the most feared magical powers of the Beguilers the mass whelm spell which if they were as weak in mind as I believed they would be then soon they would be losing ten more of their operatives and after that ten more until this little school lesson of Miracle Mike had run its course and I informed the Red Menace that class was dismissed.