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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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