Chapter Forty One : The Return Of Dragonfirre or Passion Unleashed

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.