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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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