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

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.