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.