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Old 23-10-2012, 06:51 PM #1
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Post The Mystical Realms Sagas - Season Thirteen - Revenge of the Hadreth

Prologue


Note contains spoilers from previous seasons and tales

This follows on from The Mystical Realms Sagas Season Twelve – Super Symmetry


…oo00O00oo…


Many people wonder what would happen if they had made different decisions to the ones they have made, or others have made. If only a certain drunk driver had been prevented from driving in a car that killed a loved one. If only someone had not left a lottery syndicate just when the remaining ones won several million.

We can drive ourselves mad with thoughts like this.

There is a branch of physics that started with trying to link various fundamental forces to come up with string theory which lead to M theory, or Membrane theory. The idea is that our universe is just one among many. Some picture them as membranes rippling possibly minute fractions of a millimetre away from each other; sometimes the analogy is like foam, where each bubble is another universe. These universes can vary so some say, and that the rules of physics, and the values of various fundamental constants could vary from universe to universe so that some may not support life and some, like ours do.



Such an idea can be comforting to some, in that it deals with another item that came out of physics, the Cosmological Anthropic Principal, which states that the universe is in harmony with mankind and is uniquely designed for life. Although this was devised by atheists, many did not like it as it implied that if there was design, there must be a designer. Critics called this argument, “fine tuning”, and the concept of multiple universes was comforting as the critics could claim there are other universe with different laws and values of constants and we exist only because our universe randomly has the right laws and values.

The idea of multiple universes can be disturbing, as it could imply, as some do that every time you make a decision, there is another you, in another universe that made a different decision. In which case, who is the real you?

What is known is that in our universe, humanity chose the route of science and rationality, leading to a technological revolution, and the world we have today.

On the Mystical Realms, a universe that was somehow formed from the human collective unconsciousness, the races there followed the path of magic to improve the lives of some. The main users of magic were elves, drow, leprechauns pixies and fairies.. A flirtation with technology was limited and short lived and then they returned to living in a semi feudal system, similar to medieval times, where the trolls were dominant, as they enforced law and order amongst the other many races. Although large creatures, these trolls were not brutish thugs like the bug-bears or even some orcs, they had a code of honour.

On that world, created again by the collective human unconsciousness were entities known as major spirits of vice, necessity and virtues. Those qualities which took on human form. Some of these entities travelled to our world in antiquity and were mistaken for the gods of primitive religions. If they ever had children with humans, the offspring were considered minor spirits, and during the détente with the human authorities efforts were successfully made to reach these minor spirits and convert them to being fully human.

But then these two worlds were separated, and the two worlds went their separate ways, Earth continued with technology and rationalism, the Mystical Realms continued with their feudal society where magic was real and supreme, all under the wise rule of the trolls.

But multiple universe did not stop with the Earth and the Mystical Realms, for there turned out to be two other worlds, the very antithesis of what had been known before.

There was a world where humans chose to continue with feudalism and developed magic instead of technology. There was also a world where the trolls and other races followed not magic, but technology and science, just like us.

These two worlds were at war with one another and then they found our world and the world of the Mystical Realms.

The magic using humans completely destroyed the headquarters of a new organisation set up by the British to deal with entities from the Mystical Realms, and from there killed the members of the British government and seized control of the UK, demanding it cease to use technology. Such was the power of their magical ability; resistance was efficiently crushed and expunged before it could get started.

Likewise the technological trolls seized the main hub of power on the Mystical Realms, Central City and from their asserted dominance over the Mystical Realms.

Those on the Mystical Realms were lucky for their conquerors only want to exploit them. The magic using humans wish to destroy all life from Earth, to serve as an example to the peasantry back on their home world, of what becomes of those who heretically flirt with technology instead of serving their magic using masters with unquestioning obedience.

With these two power blocks now in control of Earth and the Mystical Realms, it seemed another group had been waiting in the wings, using this as an ideal opportunity to further their own ends….
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Old 23-10-2012, 06:52 PM #2
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Episode I– Machinations and intrigues


Spoiler:


Faldon Port
The Mystical Realms



Three and a half years previously


Celeste arrived at the town square of Faldon as a wormhole closed in an uncharacteristic manner behind her. A deadly human weapon known as a hydrogen bomb that Brameana, the daughter of the Lord Low troll had tried to send to Earth was now trapped between two worlds and who knows how far from detonation.

There beside Shamus’ dead body stood Major Bolak and the Colonel.

Bolak looked at Celeste
“I couldn’t save him” Celeste said tearfully, “I tried but it was a magical death”
“Where’s Brameana and the hydrogen bomb” the Colonel asked

Celeste shook her head still in a state of shock and feeling very much out of it, “Their between worlds” she said weakly and started to feel feint, “That hydrogen thing” Celeste then forced out, “It had some clock that was counting down” and then she lost consciousness.

Samuel caught Celeste as she fell, “Bolak any of that healing potion” he asked
Bolak shook his head, “I’m afraid you will have to get her medical attention on Earth. But we have more important problems” replied, “If that device is between our two universes when it explodes, it could force them apart so neither you devices or our orbs will work”

Samuel grabbed at the artificial wormhole generator and powered it up, “Maybe we can find it and disarm the devise”
“I seriously doubt you would be able to find it colonel, let alone in time to do any good” Bolak responded, “Go to Earth, get Miss Cooper to immediately tell the Drow liaison and G2 to execute emergency magical return, they will know what it means”

Samuel shook his head in confusion

“Colonel” Bolak said insistently, “Don’t waste time! If our universes separate beyond a certain point, your people cannot live here nor ours on your world. The drow and the leprechauns need to return here. It has been something we have all suspected could happen one day and all have prepared for should we have to” then Bolak added, “I never thought I would ever live to see this happen”

“What about Celeste” Samuel asked as the artificial wormhole generator created its characteristically green swirling vortex
“She has a human soul” Bolak said, “That may or may not count against her here but it means she will definitely survive on your world”

The green vortex was now at full size.



“It was good working with you” Bolak said to the Colonel and saluted
“You too Bolak, but what about the bugbears and the Ghetto trolls” Samuel asked
“That’s our problem now” Bolak replied, “NOW GO!” he ordered

Samuel picked up Celeste and the artificial wormhole generator and passed through the green vortex.

Major Bolak watched as the green wormhole collapsed, “even if they did work with the trolls, those humans had some honour” he muttered to himself.

Bolak stared down at the lifeless body of Shamus McTuckle, he too had been an honourable leprechaun, even if for most of the time they were nominally on different sides.

Bolak looked around, now the demons had gone, and without Brameana he was not sure if the bugbears and the Ghetto trolls would try and fight on. Would that alliance hold without Brameana and that accursed Vabalavich of the Hadreth.

He could not stay long, whatever happened, the Ghetto trolls and the bugbears would soon be venturing into the square, plus there was the other matter of the army on the march from Central City to deal with this invasion.

In one sense it was a pity there were not any of the atomic bombs left that Vabalavich had stolen from their Russian allies on Earth. A strike by a few at Faldon, and then at the Far islands and the Ghetto Troll and Bugbear menace would be over.

But then there would be some in the Drow High Council who would oppose that, after all, what the Ghetto trolls did was nothing more than what the Drow would have done if they needed to dispatch a leader who was not up to the job.

“Goodbye comrade” Bolak muttered and then chanted a small incantation.

Instantly Shamus’ body erupted into flames, and soon it was ashes blowing in the wind. That way he would not have the indignity of his body being used by the Ghetto trolls or more probably the Bugbears should they choose to fight on. This was Major Bolak’s last gift to a fallen warrior.

Bolak then smiled as he realised something, thanks to what Vabalivich had done in the alternate timeline against the Drow High council, and as he had come back from that alternate timeline, he had all the proof he needed to finally move against the threat of the Hadreth.

The danger they their existence possessed and their treachery would finally be exposed and the council would be forced to act.

Bolak heard the sound of hoards returning to the town square. Instantly Bolak teleported away to safety.

Just then, the bug bears and the Ghetto trolls ventured back into the square, looking very confused as their leaders were now nowhere to be seen.

+ + +


The Drow High Council
The Mystical Realms



(One Week Later)


Major Bolak approached the council with confidence and resolution.

Drow High Council leader Golpin looked down at the Major, “Have you come to tell us how the battle for Faldon is going?” the leader asked

“No your excellency, that is not the purpose of my request to address the High council” Bolak replied with typical drow arrogance, “Although I can say that with the assistance we offered thanks to the recent, but departed influence of the humans, we have ensured that the foothold the Ghetto trolls and Bugbears have in that town is confined there.

“It is amazing that the bugbears and the Ghetto trolls continue to fight so after the deaths of their leaders” one of the other drow members interjected.

“Only because they still have a common objective of overthrowing the Troll high council, sacking Karam Tag Chou and taking Central City.” Major Bolak replied “If they were to do that, we will see that in time they will turn on each other”

“What matter is it to us if they were to so change the current arrangement” yet another drow councillor asked.

“As the humans say” Major Bolak went on, “Not one jot. However” he continued, “If we are seen to be supporting the same side as the trolls, we show we are just as reliable as our real enemies the elves. Then we can press for more of a say in how this world is run, something the elves for so many years have fought to have us excluded from”

Golpin coughed, “As you say you have not come here to tell us how the battle for Faldon is going, why have you come to address the council”

“You should all by now have seen the report of Seer Tremain and her extensive psychic probing of my memories of that other time line”

“Is this related to your killing of Vabalavich on Russian soil on Earth” Golpin asked

“It is related” Major Bolak answered

“And the purpose of this probe?” another member of the Drow High Council asked

“You will see evidence of what I had been saying all along” Major Bolak went on, “about the threat to the Drow High council from the rise of the Hadreth order”

“But they have been loyal warriors to us” Golpin protested, “Their expertise in intelligence gathering is second to none amongst the drow. You know how successful they have been in campaigns against the elves”

“But” Major Bolak growled, “You cannot ignore how in that alternate timeline they overthrew this very council and put all of you and your families to the sword. Their loyalty is a sham. They seek to replace this High council with their order. They see you as weak and indecisive, a total mockery to what they believe it is to be a drow”

“That is your opinion” Golpin replied

“Seer Tremain’s report proves I am right” Major Bolak countered, “I may have killed the initiator of that one rebellion in the alternate timeline, but they are still there waiting for the next Vabalavich to lead them in overthrowing the High Council. If you allow that to happen after the proof that Seer Tremain has given you, then you will have only yourselves to blame”

“What would you have us do” another member of the Drow High council asked.

“It is time to move against them” Major Bolak answered, “Declare them as traitors immediately, seize their properties, and execute their leaders. Make an example of them. Show to the other drow and to the elves that no one order is above the rule of the Drow High council. In short, wipe them out before they wipe you out!”

The members of the Drow High Council suddenly started talking and debating amongst themselves. Some were complaining that this was unprecedented, others that it might not be a good idea to anger such a powerful order.

Major Bolak seized on that last point.

“Council” Major Bolak replied, “Many years ago on Earth, there was an order of humans similar to the Hadreth. They were called the KightsTemplars and they became too powerful until one brave ruler took action and removed them as a threat. Council, the report of Seer Tremain shows they are more of a threat than those Knight Templars were to the human authorities of the time. We must act now or they will overthrow this council just like they did in the alternate timeline.”

Golpin stared blankly for a moment at Major Bolak

“Even your own son” Major Bolak addressed Golpin, “joined the resistance against the Hadreth”

Golpin sighed, he had seen the report of the Seer. She had been very thorough on Major Bolak and there was no question. In the alternate timeline, the Hadreth had acted against the council, but was that just because of the actions of Vabalvich, who was now dead, killed by Major Bolak before he could set that chain of events in motion.

“It is with deep sadness and regret” Golpin went on, “I am forced to concur with Major Bolak. I hereby declare that the Hadreth order is to be dissolved and all those in the leadership are to be arrested and tried for high treason.

“Excuse me” interrupted one of the councillors, “are there not some in the lower ranks of the Hadreth who may not have been corrupted by the leadership”

“NO” interjected Major Bolak, “They must be all rooted out and removed as a threat. You must consider them as if they are like certain weeds. You leave just one piece of root and the weeds return”

“Those of the lower ranks will be removed from any position and treated with suspicion” Golpin continued.

“That will not be enough” Major Bolak called out, “They will still be a threat and their offspring too”

“You would have us execute children” the councillor who had pleaded for the lower ranks asked.

“Like I said” Major Bolak went on, “They will be like weeds. In the alternate timeline the Hadreth put all of your children to death. Only Jaheel escaped. As they did to you in the alternate timeline, so you must do to them before they strike”

“OK” Golpin called out, “As you advise, all those of the Hadreth must be treated as a treacherous”

“I will only be too glad to lead this cleansing” Major Bolak smiled

“I bet you would” Golpin muttered before he addressed the council, “I have already appointed another loyal member of the high council to oversee the removal of the Hadreth threat”

“Who?” Major Bolak asked angrily

“Marshall Dacron” Golpin announced, “He has served the council loyally just as you have and he is not of the Hadreth, nor like you Major Bolak has he been seen as someone with, as the humans put it an axe to grind against the Hadreth”

“I hope for all our sakes” Major Bolak groweled, “You have chosen wisely”

+ + +


The Fortress of the Loyal Order of the Hadreth Drow
The Mystical Realms


(One Day Later)


The guardian stood at the entrance to the rooms where the young drow children of Hadreth members were looked after while their parents attended to other duties. Only he stood between them and the other drow who had come with orders to slay every last Hadreth drow.

A solitary drow soldier approached him with his sword drawn.

To the guardian’s surprise it was someone he did not expect to see, the last apprentice he had trained in the way of the Hadreth, Marshall Dacron.

“The others are coming” Marshall Dacron told his former mentor

“And you cannot stop them?” the guardian asked, “they are but mere infants, they could be of use to the High Council”

“I’m sorry the orders are quite specific” Marshall Dacron replied, “Total and utter destruction of the Hadreth order and all offspring”

“Vabalavich was the worst thing to happen to the drow and the Hadreth” the guardian retorted.

“Maybe” Marshall Darcon answered, “But for now the slaughter must be seen to have succeeded”

“And will you avenge this betrayal?” the guardian answered

“You speak of betrayal when we all know that Vabalavich in that alternate timeline did exactly what we believe must be done. Golpin has allowed a mere major to sway his judgement, but as you taught us, we are Hadreth, we lurk, we hide, we bide, we strike”

Suddenly Marshall Dacron swung his sword and sliced of the guardians head, “They are here” he shouted to the drow army, “Hadreth infants, kill everyone. I want to see you stick them on your swords and carry them out to show that nobody betrays the Drow High Council and lives”

The drow soldiers pushed passed into the nursery where they eagerly began their gruesome task.

Marshall Dacron looked down at the decapitated body of his master, “And get rid of that” he ordered another drow soldier.

Those that day when they spoke of how Marshall Dacron lead the campaign against the Hadreth Order had a steely anger about him. They all thought it was because the Hadreth had been about to perpetrate the greatest crime a drow can do, overthrow the Drow High Council. None realised that his true anger lay elsewhere…

+ + +


Deep inside a lava tube
Inter Dimensional World 02




The present Day


Major Bolak and Jaheel, son of Golpin, both drow, stood watching a swirling green vortex as it grew. This was the tell-tale sign of an incoming wormhole that had been generated artificially, instead of by a magical orb.



They were both poised to produce a lethal fireball spell at whatever was coming through the gate from wherever. The suspicion was that it might be from the world where trolls, elves orcs and other races never developed magic, but went down the route of technology.

The two drow had made sure that the human females they had brought along were deeper into the cave system where they should be safe. They were Doctor Charlene Henshaw a particle physicist who had worked with Major Bolak before and Sarah Willows, a mere detention cell receptionist from the British Entity Affairs Directorate.

They were now looking at a possible confrontation with the technological trolls who had captured their world.

+ + +



The Reflecting Pool
Washington DC




Twenty four hours previously


Vice Admiral Walter Quentin watched as a man in a dark coloured suit approached him, presumably he was the one coming for the appointed meeting. Given the nature of what they needed to discuss it seemed odd to have it in a public place, but the voice on the phone had been most insistent.

Walter went to speak to the man, but he ignored him and walked passed.

Obviously he was not the contact.

Walter’s Cell went off.

He looked at who was calling, but it said that the number was withheld.

Walter answered it. The voice just said “The wall” before hanging up.

Obviously they meant the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, so Walter headed over to the memorial. Ironically it was also one of the places he regularly visited when he was in DC, as he would often go and read the names of those he once served with who never made it back from Vietnam.

As Walter approached, there were the usual veterans and relatives who had come to stare, and weep silently at the wall, along with the occasional tourists who had come to gawp at the sight..

Nobody seemed to be there other than the usual visitors and nobody seemed out of place.

As he was there, Walter went to the part of the wall he always visited, see the names of his fallen comrades.

Below one of them was a post it note with the words, “lest we forget – We miss you Daddy”

People would often leave flowers, but a post it note? It seemed so poignant and disrespectful at the same time.

Walter removed the post it note and then noticed on the underside in the adhesive part, was a number written on it in pencil. Being in pencil and not in ink, meant that this number was hidden if you just left it and read the inscription and passed it bye.

Walter took out his cell and dialled the number.

After three rings it picked up and Walter said hello into it. After about ten seconds an electronic sounding voice came over the phone, “The red Ford on Henry Bacon Drive North West” and then the phone hung up.

Walter headed out for the road along the path through the trees to where the car was waiting. For a car it did not look that remarkable, probably why it was picked as the standard black sedan would attract unwelcome attention. By not being an archetypical government agency type car, it was well hidden in plain sight.

The back door was opened from inside, again a nice touch, as a chauffeur would attract too much attention.

Walter got in to the car and closed the door. A man in his fifties in a black suit was his travelling companion

Immediately the engine started and the car drove off into the DC traffic.
“You do not need to know my name” the man in the suit told Walter, “You do not need to know at this juncture”

“Oh really”, Walter remarked, “you guys are more paranoid than we were in the NSA”

“We have every reason to be Vice Admiral” the man in the suit replied, “especially given what has been happening in the United Kingdom recently”
“You mean that terrorist coup against the British government” Walter replied, “I heard that another British ship defected and surrendered to the US the other day” he added
“But no submarines” the man replied

“I’m retired” Walter insisted, “I’m not sure what I can do now”
“You are the nearest we have to a senior member who had dealings with the old IDEC” the man in the suit replied, “We have access to artificial wormhole technology”

“That won’t do you much good” Walter answered back, “You try and open a wormhole to the Mystical Realms and all you will get is a lethal blast of radiation from that hydrogen bomb that detonated between our worlds”

“That’s not the plan Vice Admiral” the man in the suit countered, “It’s not being equipped to go to IDW01”

“What are you talking about?” Walter asked, “IDW02”

“Not that world either Vice Admiral” the man in the suit answered, “You see we have had a pipeline to the British Entity Affairs Directorate for some time, and it has been especially useful since the loss of the Sky guard system”

“Sky guard’s down?” Walter said in surprise

“According to our sources it was taken out” the man in the suit went on, “by creatures from a totally different parallel universe. One in which trolls and elves developed into a technological society rather than the ones who use magic on IDW01”

“But the reports out of England” Walter protested, “indicate that those who have overthrown the British government are definitely human”

“That is correct” the man in the suit replied, “Before we lost our pipeline to the British they reported that there was another set of players”

“Who?” Walter pressed.

“Humans from yet another world, who developed magic” the man in the suit replied.

“How many damn worlds are there?” Walter swore

“Unknown Vice Admiral”, the man in the suit answered, “We are briefed to assess what the threat is and institute counter measures”

The man in the suit then paused, which seemed to Walter ominous, and then added, “Even if that means a co-ordinated nuclear strike on the British Isles”

+ + +


Deep inside a lava tube
Inter Dimensional World 02




Major Bolak and Jaheel stood their ground as the green vortex grew to full size.



“YOU!” Major Bolak exclaimed as he saw the first figure emerge

“And it’s good to see you too Major” the figure replied to Major Bolak as he exited the wormhole.

“You may stand down Jaheel” Major Bolak said to the other drow, “This human is Brigadier General Samuel Peters I have worked with before. He can be trusted”

Just then two pixies came out of the swirling vortex followed by another man of about the Brigadier General’s age, except he was balding and was carrying some kind of device



“So this is what it is like to step onto another world” the balding man remarked as he switched of the device. The green vortex dissipated rapidly

“Major Bolak” Samuel went on, “let me introduce to you Vice Admiral Walter Quentin, former head of the National Security Agency in the US. He was the one that helped appoint my former boss, the late Kathryn Cooper”

“Miss Cooper is dead” Major Bolak replied in faked shocked surprise.

“She was murdered on the orders of a former British industrialist” Walter told the drow, “Who also used to work for the British counter intelligence service MI5”

“That is indeed a great tragedy” Major Bolak replied, “We heard how she was even handed with both elf and drow during the Magnus Timor crisis. She understood that we were more reliable.”, then after a pause and with a smug expression, “I understand it was an elf that time who betrayed us”

“Yes it was” Samuel replied reluctantly

“And a leprechaun as well if recollect my discussions on South Georgia with Shamus McTuckle” Major Bolak went on.

“You made your point” Walter interrupted, “We have more important things to discuss than what happened years back”
“Like what?” Major Bolak snapped back

“The humans who use magic are planning initiate a nuclear war” Samuel interrupted.

“What do they mean by nuclear war?” Jaheel asked
“I know exactly what they mean Jaheel” Major Bolak said to the other drow, “It means our mission to neutralise their magic is an imperative”

“Well you seem to be ahead of us” Walter commented, “The pixies here suggested we approach the drow after we caught them transporting the Brigadier General here to a secure lock up to collect this” he added showing the drow the device he was carrying

“An artificial wormhole generator” Major Bolak replied

“We thought it had been long forgotten” one of the pixies protested, “And we needed it to save your world”

“That is why we didn’t lock you up and court martial the Brigadier General” Walter snapped back.

“I would have asked” Samuel cut in, “but since the IDEC was canned those of us who worked there seemed to be pretty much persona non grata around Capitol Hill”
“And a number of people are now reviewing that policy” Walter replied

“This is all very well” Major Bolak interrupted, “But we are on a mission already to deal with those magic using humans, as you call them. The Drow High Council seems to be, in its infinite wisdom has been as you humans put it, doing a deal with what you call the technological trolls”

“What kind of deal?” Samuel asked with venom

“Simply put, Brigadier General” Major Bolak smiled, “We deal with the magic using humans so they are no longer a threat to the technological trolls, and they leave our world”

“Leaving the drow in charge” Samuel countered

“Oh my” Major Bolak protested, “I am hurt at your unfounded suspicion, you have been speaking to too many elves. In fact Brigadier General, back in this cavern are two of your colleagues, including Doctor Henshaw, she can verify that the Clan Chief of the Manjura has been rescued by myself and as soon as the technological trolls have left, we will ensure his return to rule at Central City”

“What does it matter if they deal with those humans who have overthrown the British government” Walter interjected, “They get rid of a threat for us as well”

“Because Walter” Samuel growled, “Those technological trolls attacked a bio-weapons facility in England to steal some kind of bio weapon that can be used against us”

+ + +


A wilderness cave
The Walong Mountains
The Mystical Realms



Meetal felt uneasy about the silence that descended their quiet cave as he sat at the table between the two trolls, Madron The former Lord Low Troll and his estranged son, Padow, once called the Prince Low Troll, now Clan Chief of the Manjura.

It seemed clear that his former master, the Lord Low Troll wanted to make up for lost time with his son, but the distance between them made the atmosphere heavy and impossible. But Meetal was only a lowly kobold and this was not his place to intervene between father and son.

The clan chief of the Manjura glared across the table at his father, ignoring the presence of Meetal almost.

Almost, because this younger troll had muttered under his breath that if he had had his way, Meetal would be put on trial for what this troll thought were evil crimes.

This troll was so full of hate but so ignorant about how things were back when his master had to rule over races that were almost at each other’s throats!

“I’ll clean the dishes” Meetal offered.

The Clan Chief of the Manjura glared at Meetal and then pushed his half empty plate towards him.

His plate and his master’s plate were empty, no matter what the son did not want could be put on the heap to make feed for the next crop in their mini oasis in the desert.

“So you do not trust drow” Madron spoke up

“Of course not” the Clan Chief of the Manjura snapped back, “They are the arch enemies of our elven allies”

“You never did learn the real reasons why the elves and the drow fell out did you my son” Madron sighed

“I wish you would not call me that” the Clan Chief of the Manjura retaliated, “You have no right because you were no real father to me. You cared more about some troll from the accursed Ghetto tribe than my mother that you refused to marry”

Meetal waited for his master to make a blistering counter attack, but it never came, instead his master just looked down at the table in a sad and forlorn manner.

The Clan Chief of the Manjura was totally wrong, Meetal knew that his master cared about his son, but the politics at the time were complex and labyrinthine. The Clan Chief of the Manjura’s mother was from the Delethon clan, as it was a union to cement an alliance between the two clans.

An alliance shattered when a former Clan Chief of the Delethon betrayed the Clan Chief of the Manjura to human drug dealers who had been sabotaging efforts to end the civil war

His master had been clear, certain elements within the other clans would tolerate him having a child by a concubine of another clan, but a full marriage would have engendered unhelpful plotting. His mast had told him, that he did not want to antagonise those in the Delethon clan by openly giving in to the other clans so had to put on the persona of vanity.

Well it was something like that and Meetal did not really want to pry further, and it was not his place to do so.

Meetal picked up the plates and vanished into the night to clean them as best he could before the suns finally set for the night.

The Clan Chief of the Manjura continued to glower at his father. He could not believe that he was having to follow instruction from a drow. He should be leading the resistance against those troll imposters including that one that looked like him and called himself the Lord High Troll, not cowering away like a Halfling child in a cave far away in a remote wilderness that the other races steered clear of.

“I don’t suppose any apology would ever be enough for you?” Madron asked
“As if you had to ask” The Clan Chief of the Manjura sneered
“I do admire what you did to help keep order” Madron offered

“And without the brutality, cruelty and corruption of your rule” The Clan Chief of the Manjura replied

“I wish it had been so with my time” Madron said quietly, “I think in some ways that civil war was a good thing even if it did mean the death of my twin brother”

“How can you say that?” The Clan Chief of the Manjura said with angry incredulity

“Because the fault lines amongst the clan were finally exposed and I never had to continue to hold them together to ensure the other races did not take advantage” Madron answered, “Once the war had come, all that had burned itself out, you could then reform and reunite the convocation in a way that you did not have to deal with the internecine fighting amongst the troll clans that I had to contend with. If you had been around when I was Lord Low Troll, you would have had to have done exactly the same as I did”

“I was around father” the Clan Chief of the Manjura retorted, “You called me the Prince Low Troll and wanted to groom me to continue your cruelty and savagery, why do you think I went on the patrols dealing with those who would interfere with the world of humans? To get away from you..”

With that the Clan Chief of the Manjura stood up and headed for his assigned bedroom in the cave dwelling.

Madron put his head in his hands and breathed heavily, doing his best not to let the tears flow down his face

+ + +


A Meadow
Location Unknown




Janine Sedlacek seemed to have walked for ages through the large meadow where the pixies had dumped her at the behest of the Brigadier General. She wondered where her former boss at the Entity Affairs Directorate, Drake Matthews had been sent to. Like her she expected he would not be too happy to have been sent away from the action.

Why do Americans insist on being the hero?

Where ever she was it was isolated and remote.

If only the pixies had given her footwear! Janine had had to pick her way through the meadow avoiding branches, stones and other things concealed in the undergrowth.

Again she wondered how her boss was doing.

Were they separated for a specific reason? They were well away from the action, should that not have been enough?

In a few hours the sun would be down.

One Sun, not two! she observed. It was obvious she was on Earth, because the world of the Mystical Realms orbited a binary star system, but where?

Janine called out, again but nobody answered.

Maybe Drake was having better luck!

+ + +


An undisclosed location
Washington DC




Samuel looked around Kathryn Coopers old office, it showed signs of age as it had been a lifetime since he was last here.

“They never did reuse this place after the IDEC was shut down” Walter commented as he came into the room, “All the other agencies had their own offices and there was some kind of foul up about letting it to the private sector. Something about issues concerning high security issues”

“I remember this room” Major Bolak piped up as he walked in with Jaheel the other drow.

“So are they bringing back the IDEC” Samuel asked
“Don’t get your hopes up” Walter replied, “This is the only place secure enough to host our guests here from IDW01 while they figure out how to combat the magic used by those invaders that have captured the United Kingdom.

“Mr Quentin” Jaheel spoke up, “May I ask why you have brought us to this part of the world, when the affected area is virtually on the other side of this world”

“If we gated directly into the land where the magic using humans are” Major Bolak started to reply before Walter could speak, “Then they would detect us there more easily”

“Something like that” Walter added, “Plus, those in charge of the purse strings want a tighter rein on things this time”

“Purse strings?” Jaheel asked Major Bolak quietly
“A human idiom” Major Bolak whispered, “It means those who pay for all this”

“It’s just like before when they closed the IDEC UK section down after the Magnus Timor incident” Samuel remarked

“Yeah something like that” Walter replied

Samuel sighed for a moment, “What’s happening about Miss Willows and Doctor Henshaw”

“I don’t know about Doctor Henshaw” Walter answered, “She may be helping out as from previous reports she turned out to be a capable field agent, although she is not an American citizen, as for Miss Willows, she was just a glorified receptionist, we’ve given her asylum while the UK is under the control of the humans from that other alternate Earth and my old friend Jack Maddox from the FBI is arranging her relocation in their witness relocation programme with the Federal Marshalls”

“This is all very well” Major Bolak interrupted, “But I understand that the Brigadier General indicated there was some urgency as these other humans are attempting to start what you call a nuclear war”

“Good point” Walter replied, “So far a number of British surface warships that were out at sea when the coup happened have surrendered to various governments around the world, including us”

“But no submarines” Samuel asked

“No” Walter replied, “And that’s what’s worrying”

“From what I picked up as a prisoner of this Lord Samail person who looks like me” Samuel went on, “back on their world the people who use magic are the elite who use it to keep the rest of the population under control. They have a hatred of technology as they believe its use leads to democratic ideals that would make it harder for them to supress the rest of their population. They hold that magic is the key to preserving their order and way of life”

“It is understandable why they went to war against the technological trolls” Major Bolak cut in, “they saw their use of technology as a threat, but if I may say so, quite a short sighted view. We drow would make use of both technology and magic to get the job done”

“I bet you would” Samuel muttered under his breath.

“What are submarines?” Jaheel asked

“Types of boat that travel underwater for long periods of time” Samuel answered back

“Jaheel” Major Bolak said in astonishment, “I am surprised you did not know. Even I knew of such human vessels, if I recall it was the intervention of drow of the Hadreth order, before they went into apostasy, who intervened on such an earlier craft to prevent what these humans would call a demon from triggering a nuclear war during what this world called the Cuban Missile Crisis

“Forgive me Major” Jaheel replied, “I did not read up on that bit of my history because of my hatred of the Hadreth. Why should I infect myself with their propaganda and lies?”

“I suspect you also neglected such studies because of your liaisons with a certain human” Major Bolak replied and then went on in a condescending tone, even for a drow “I hate them too Jaheel. That was why I studied all about them in every nauseating detail. As the son of our leader on the High Council, you have a surprisingly lot to learn”

“That’s bye the bye” Samuel interrupted, “I know your main assignment was to neutralise the magic of these other humans as part of a deal with these technological trolls, but it looks like we need to locate these British submarines and remove them from the equation”

“The Brigadier General is right” Walter cut back in, “If these magic using humans are going to use them to start World War II , we need to find them and neutralise them fast”

“The one problem Mr Quentin” Major Bolak replied, “If I recall, your submarines, especially the ones with the trident missile system are designed for stealth”

“You know about Trident?” Walter asked with a hint of concern in his voice.
Major Bolak smiled, “You forget I worked with the Russian Liaison”

+ + +


Central City
The Mystical Realms




Padow was finally packed and ready to go as soon as there was a transit to take him from his temporary home in what he regarded as a backward world to just outside the city gate where the extended wormhole would take him back to his world.

It stuck in his throat that the leader of the troll council had gone behind his back and did a deal with the local drow. How could he even be certain that the drow on this world had the guts to do what they said they could do? The drow on his world were weak, ineffectual and had been another disgusting bunch of human lovers, just like those despicable doppelgangers.

The best highlight of the initial invasion was how those magic using humans had been fooled by the one that had originally been sent with Callum the elf to seize deadly pathogens from the other humans, the ones that used technology like they did. Padow briefly smiled, not that it helped that doppelganger at all, as his death at the hands of the magic using humans was to prove. The magic using humans it seemed had the ability to detect a doppelganger that had shape-shifted. If only his orc scientists had developed that ability

A knock at the door shattered Padow’s thoughts

Padow looked up from the packaging expecting troll guards to help load his cases onto the transport.

It was his arch rival Captain Strang

“You” Padow spat out, “Have you come to gloat too?”

Strang frowned and shook his head in disgust, “The leader of the Troll council had no right to make deals without consulting anyone”

“What?” Padow said in disbelief, “I would have thought we would be one of your patrons on the council”

“Maybe you should have had him assassinated like you had Belgran murdered” Strang retaliated.

“I have no idea what you are talking about” Padow replied with feigned innocent, “If I remember the dwarf investigator said that was just a simple street robbery gone bad”

Strang narrowed his eyes at Padow, it was obvious to him that Padow had had a hand in the murder of one of his supporters on the troll high council, but the lazy dwarfs just wanted to close cases fast. But this was not the time to press this

“We cannot allow the leader of the High council get away with this” Strang said through gritted teeth
“We?” Padow asked
“Yes” Strang answered “This shabby deal with the drow must not be allowed to stand; I hear they want us to allow the humans to live”
“There is only one thing you do with vermin and pestilence” Padow found himself saying
“Eradicate them” Strang said in completion of the sentence.
“We need that bio-weapon” Padow muttered
“Yes” Strang agreed

Padow paused for a moment, “So you are suggesting you and I join forces?”
“I would prefer to say come to an arrangement to work for a common objective” Strang answered.

Padow narrowed his eyes at Strang, Could the actions of the leader of the troll high council really have turned two deadly rivals into allies?

No Way!


“Of course” Padow said slowly and deliberately, “Being the opportunist that you are Strang, you could very well have decided to join up with the leader of the High Council and press for my job”

“Except we both know” Strang went on, “He does not like me either”
“Why he was never a patron of yours” Padow replied
“And why you have not sought to have him murdered like I know you did with Belgran” Strang answered back.

Padow ignored this dig at him. “So, if I were to work with you” Padow asked slowly, “What would you want in return, to be Lord High Troll?”

Strang shook his head, “That would be too obvious” Strang replied, “There would always be one of your sneaky loyalists out to have me dead for taking your throne, all of course, without your knowledge or agreement”

“I have no idea who you might mean?” Padow retorted in a feigned hurt expression

“I’ll tell you what I want” Strang began, “If we can defeat the leader of the high council and overturn this shabby deal with the drow, I want the post of Regent High Troll.

“Regent High Troll has not been used for a hundred and fifty years” Padow said angrily
“Yes” Strang answered, “It was held by Yardel the third while the then Lord High Troll was away crushing the Halfling rebellion in Ashderun province. If memory serves me right he was regent for five years and ran the Manjura empire just as efficiently as the then Lord High Troll”

“But” Padow came back in, “If I remember my history he gladly gave back the power to the Lord High Troll on his return.”

“And lived to a ripe old age unlike the then Lord High Troll” Strang sneered

“So you want Regent High Troll Strang” Padow said after another pause, “Where would you have me sent away to?”

“Here” Strang replied, “As overlord to what the locals here call the Mystical Realms, exploiting the natural resources to rebuild our society back home after we exterminate every last human on both those human infested worlds. You could still have the title of Lord High Troll, that should impress the locals, after all it sounds similar to a previous ruler they used to have, except for some reason he was called the Lord Low Troll”

Padow thought for a moment, “How about you becoming governor of this world, you could then be free to execute the entire city should you be foolish enough to choose to”

“How about I make peace with the leader of the Troll High Council” Strang responded.

Padow frowned, this Strang was indeed an opportunist and a very good one. There would be no way to deal with the leader of the Troll High Council without Strang, and Strang knew it. There had to be another way, but for the moment he could not see it, and Strang was right, the deal with the Drow could not be allowed, especially if it prevented the very necessary extermination of the human menace.

+ + +


The Houses of Parliament
London, England




Sir Timmous of the Zacharan watched as the blue swirling vortex grew in the chamber of what was once called the House of Commons.

As soon as it was its maximum size, out stepped Quaylong, one of the best magic users in the employ of Lord Samail of the Petros lands. As soon as he stepped through the vortex it dissipated.

“My Lord Samail asks how it goes with the plan to institute this Mutual Assured Destruction you spoke of” Quaylong asked

“We have now identified one particular realm on this world most likely to retaliate to a nuclear strike” Sir Timous replied, “It is now a question of waiting for one of their underwater ships to reach the correct position before striking at them”

“Lord Samail was under the impression it would not take as long as it seems to be taking” Quaylong answered

Sir Timmous narrowed his eyes at Quaylong, the tone of what had been said seemed to imply that his patron was turning against him, or someone was poisoning his mind against him.

“It took time to work out where to send the underwater ships of this realm” Sir Timous insisted, “It seems that on this world; allegiances between the different realms are like the shifting sands we can find back home in some costal places”

“I understand Sir Timous” Quaylong replied, “I was just passing on the message from our liege. He is expecting an important visitor to Castle Lodinium, they could either prove a powerful ally or a serious enemy”

“Can I ask who this visitor is?” Sir Timous asked

“I believe it is Lady Sharlane of the Heana-Shores” Quaylong replied

“Her” Sir Timous said with disdain in his voice

“I share your beliefs about that lady my liege” Quaylong replied, “But she does have some hold over some of the other overlords, that is why he is anxious to have something to report”

“And the removal of the threat of this heretic world being used by our troll enemies would weigh heavy in his favour” Sir Timous murmured

“Exactly” Quaylong replied, “The other overlords may be growing inpatient that we have not finally exterminated the troll menace. If the troll technology and accompanying ideals are a threat to our natural order, how much more so would be such, as used by other humans”

“I understand that only too well Quaylong” Sir Timous answered back, “But things took slightly longer than I would wish, but you may tell Lord Samail and Lady Sharlane we will be on track to start a conflict on this world that will show the peasantry why technology is to be shunned in favour of superior magic”

“I will tell him that as soon as I return” Quaylong answered

“You are not returning immediately?” Sir Timous asked

“Not quite” Quaylong replied, “Our liege busies himself with the preparations for Lady Sharlane”

“Oh good” Sir Timous smiled, “If I may trouble you for help with a personal project. To avenge the death of Travis of the Delphi”

“Are you sure you would want to risk all for one wench” Quaylong questioned, “I know she was spirited away to somewhere else, most likely on this world, but will vengeance not be satisfied when she dies due to this mutual assured destruction you speak of”

“That is not sufficient, I want to throttle the very life out of her with my own hands for what she did” Sir Timous said with venom.

“I can help locate her” Quaylong offered, “but I must warn you that many a good knight has come to grief on missions of personal vendetta”

“Just find her and take me to her” Sir Timous growled.

+ + +


The Drow High Council
The Mystical Realms



Golpin came into the council chamber in accordance with the message he had been given about an emergency meeting concerning the invaders from the other world of trolls, but nobody was there!

“Hello” Golpin called out, but all he could hear were the flickering of the torches as they burned through the night.

Then Golpin heard a sound and turned around.

The word “You” was all he could say before a venomous dagger landed in his chest. Quickly he sunk to his knees and keeled over dead.

A shadowy figure came out into the council chamber and quickly walked over to the body of Golpin. He pulled up the right hand of the dead drow and with a sharp blade cut the finger off that had the ring of office.

The shadowy figure then dropped the blade by the body deliberately.

It was Marshall Dacron

“With Bolak’s dagger and Jaheel’s blade” Dacron whispered to the dead drow, “I will make sure your son and that Bolak will be seen as treacherous”

+ + +


A woodland
Location Unknown




Janine had pressed on and had left the meadow and found some woodland trail. The setting sun and the tree cover made things harder to see and more frightening, plus the ground was hard on her feet.

What were the pixies thinking of, dumping her in a wilderness. It may have seemed peaceful and safe to them several hours ago, but now?

She peered into the distance through the trees in vain to see if she could see the lights of some settlement, but her luck was still out.

At least the trail seemed to have been well used.

All Janine could do was press forward.

Suddenly she saw some kind of red dot appearing in front of her, but it was not like the vortices that came from entry into one of her late father’s artificial universes. This was very different.

Then to her horror out stepped the mysterious man with a foil, the one who had been there when her co-worker Kevin had been murdered.

“So wench” the man with the foil said angrily, “there is nobody here to save you now”

To Be continued
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Episode II– Conspiracies Commence


Spoiler:


There are just some days that whatever you try and do, it all goes wrong and nothing goes right. Those are the kind of days, where if you could, the only course of action would be to go to bed and go into a kind of lock down.

If you don’t do anything and hide from everyone, then things will not go wrong.

Sadly life is not like that. The opportunity to run and hide is denied us.

Sometimes if we try and hide trouble finds us.

This seems to have happened to Janine Sedlacek of the former Entity Affairs Directorate. On the instruction of Brigadier General Samuel Peters, she was whisked away by Cornish pixies from action against magic using humans who have ceased power in the UK, and dumped in a meadow.

Janine has been trying to find her way back to civilisation, only to be tracked down by the leader of the invasion force, who holds her responsible for the death of one of his mercenaries, who had been taken out by a former clean up squad…


+ + +


A woodland
Location Unknown




Two other men in similar clothing emerged from the strange red vortex, each with a crossbow aimed at her.

“Kneel wench” the man with the foil ordered, “You will show your unworthy position before I run you through with my blade”

Janine looked at the two other men beside the man with the foil; they were getting ready to shoot.

In terror Janine dropped to her knees as she was ordered.

The man with the foil walked up to her in a menacing way.

Suddenly he smashed his fist into the side of her head, knocking her to the ground. Before Janine could get up, she felt the cold hard boot of the man with the foil as he placed it on her head.

“You are lower than dirt wench” the man with the foil growled, “I am not sure if you are worthy of my blade” then the man with the foil yelled “There are plenty of trees here, do any of you have any rope”

“I have sire” Janine heard one of the other men answer above the sound of the strange vortex, “But isn’t Quaylong waiting our return at the Palace of Westminster?”

“Leave Quaylong to me, and make a noose and string it over one of these trees” the man with the foil ordered, “I want to use it to throttle the worthless life out of this vile wench by hanging her as an example to others. Then we can return to Westminster”

Janine listened in horror as she could only see a limited view of the man with the rope as he prepared the noose and threw the rope over a tree branch.

The man with the foil then pulled her up sharply by her upper arm.

Only now could Janine see the noose that she was to be hanged by.



“Nagal” the man with the foil ordered the other man, “give me your scarf so I bind her hands”

The other man removed the scarf and handed it over to the man with the foil. The man with the foil pulled Janine’s hand behind her back and tied the scarf around them tightly, and marched her to the noose.

Suddenly the red swirling vortex collapsed, and there was the sound of two supressed rifle shots.

Janine watched as the two men accompanying the man with the foil sank to the floor, dead. As they did their bodies started to smoulder and then burst into flames, just like she had seen a barbarian do when he had been gunned down at the abandoned factory where Kevin had been murdered.

It was then that Janine noticed the American from the old Inter Dimensional Entity Control, Brigadier General Samuel Peters. She also saw two drow accompanying him. The Brigadier General was carrying a sniper rifle.

The man with the foil drew his dagger and placed it at Janine’s throat, “What is the meaning of this outrage” he shouted out.

Suddenly the dagger flew from his hand and was caught by one of the drow.

“A mere dispel magic incantation” the other drow sneered.

“My next shot will be at your head Sir Timous” the Brigadier General told the man with the foil, “At this distance I can’t miss”

“You will pay for this” the man with the foil sapped back, “do you know who you are dealing with?”

“I know that you are a dirt bag just like your long dead counterpart on this world” the Brigadier General replied as he pointed the rifle at the man with the foil, “Now release her”

The man with the foil shoved Janine away from him; the drow who had spoken came across and untied her hands.

“I thought you guys were evil?” Janine found herself saying in confusion

“The drow grinned in what seemed like a sinister manner, “you have been listening to too many elves”

“Brigadier General” the drow then said to the Brigadier General, “We need to leave, that spell was a localised one, and the magic user who opened the dimension gate may soon be working out how to overturn our incantation”

“Of course he will” the man with the foil growled, “Quaylong is one of the best magic users on our world”

“But still no match for the drow” the drow who had spoken sneered back.

The Brigadier General handed some handcuffs to the other drow who came up to the man with the foil and handcuffed his hands behind his back.

“You will pay dearly for this insolence” the man with the foil protested.

“We need to get back to DC” The Brigadier General told the two drow.
“What about Miss Selacek” the drow who had spoken asked.
“She’s a civilian now” the Brigadier General replied.

“Please, you can’t leave me in the open like those pixies did” Janine pleaded.

“Can we not take her with us to DC” the drow asked, who until now had not spoken.

“Let me see” the Brigadier General asked, “The daughter of that Scum bag Sir Sidney Gerald, who once worked for him and was once convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, I doubt US immigration will allow that”

“I find your immigration laws” the first drow replied, “harsher than reputation we were given by those slanderous elves”

“Sorry” The Brigadier General insisted, “But the Vice Admiral insisted, this is a US operation, they don’t even want Doctor Henshore as part of the team now”

“Because of short sighted elements on your Capitol Hill” the first drow countered, “but were it not for Miss Sadlecak here acting as bait we would never have captured this Sir Timmous character”
“I don’t make the rules” The Brigadier General sighed

The man with the foil laughed, “That wench is so wretched even her own kind want shot of her.” He sneered, “Why don’t you make use of that noose we provided and rid this world of her once and for all”

“Quiet you” The Brigadier General countered.

“What are you waiting for heretic” the man with the foil snapped back, “Use your heretical death stick and kill me, just like you murdered my men”

“Oh no” the Brigadier General replied, “You are too valuable”

“You won’t get a word out of me” the man with the foil sneered back, “I would die first”

“We won’t need to” the first drow countered, “I am a master of the art of the dark space. One way or another, you will reveal what we need to know” the first Drow then turned back to the Brigadier General, “Are you sure we cannot take Miss Sedlacek with us”

“It’s not up to me or Walter” the Brigadier General replied.

“We can’t leave her here” the drow insisted, “Those looking for our friend here will come back here, and home in on her. I suspect they used a divination spell to locate her, if we have her with us, we can use our magics to lay a trap for this Quaylong should he try”

“We’ll take her to Dublin” the Brigadier general replied, “There are some refugee pixies there that may be able to put up some magical defence”

“Pixies!” the man with the foil retorted, “Quaylong will easily annihilate that scum”

“I am afraid he is right” the first drow replied, “Whether those imbeciles on Capitol Hill like it or not, it would be best if she were with us. If you cannot explain it to them, I will”

With that the two drow started to chant, and then the woodland vanished from Janine’s view.

+ + +


The Houses of Parliament
London, England




Quaylong the magic user stumbled backwards before he could steady himself and then he sat down on one of the benches in the chamber of the House of Commons.



“That is not possible” Quaylong muttered, “I have never known another magic user who could collapse one of my dimension door spells”

Another man, who was wearing a leather cloak, entered the chamber he noticed that Quaylong was sitting down and looking drained and so approached him. Quaylong looked up and saw him coming.



“What brings you here Jamaal?” Quaylong asked, “I thought you had returned to your work on our world as an assassin”

“Our real employer Lord Samail asked me to come” Jamaal answered, “Even though he trusts Sir Timous to get the job done of bringing destruction to this heretical world, he was concerned that his thirst for avenging the blood of Travis might cause issue”

“You are here to dispatch him should that be the case?” Quaylong asked
“Should it prove necessary” Jamaal answered.

“It may be too late” Quaylong said as he stared at the benches opposite, “He insisted on going after that wench who was there when Travis was slain. I found her and he insisted on going to retrieve her. I kept the dimension door open as long as I could”

“But it proved beyond your endurance” Jamaal interjected

“No!” Quaylong shook his head, “Someone used magic to collapse it. I fear that Sir Timous has been captured”

“That would not be good” Jamaal voiced, “They could find out our plan to destroy this world”

“The humans on this world were probably aware of that anyway” Quaylong answered back, “Especially as the prisoners including that double of our employer were spirited away by the pixies”

“Then they would be after details” Jamaal suggested. Then after a few seconds paused, “There is of course another possibility”

“What?” Quaylong asked

“Another overlord?” Jamaal asked, “You know that Lady Sharlane of the Heana-Shores is visiting our employer. If Lord Samail is capable of destroying this heretic world and so deny it to our troll enemies, his influence will increase and the other overlords may not like that. If it were not for the fact that Lord Samail hired me first, I probably would be having him as one of my targets”

Quaylong shook his head, “I know of the other magic users employed by the other overlords. I am even aware of Lady Sharlane of the Heana-Shores own magical ability. None of them could collapse a dimension door the way it was done, plus we would know if they crossed to this world”

“Then we must establish who” Jamaal insisted

Quaylong closed his eyes and gave a small chant.

Then he opened his eyes and to Jamaal they seemed like brightest crimson. Then the colour faded and Quaylong began to cough violently and then struggling for breath for a few seconds before he recovered.

“I cannot believe this” Quaylong spluttered
“What?” Jamaal asked

“The one who collapsed the dimension door” Quaylong whispered, “was not human”

“Not human?” Jamaal queried, “But the non-human races do not use magic, they use technology”

Quaylong looked up at Jamaal, “Then Lord Samail has not told you of that other world”

“What other world?” Jamaal asked

“It is one where trolls, elves and orcs exist” Quaylong began, “But these one use magic”

“Magic using trolls” Jamaal asked further.

Quaylong shook his head, “The race I felt was like elf, but not like elf”

“What do you mean” Jamaal asked, “elf, but not like elf, that does not make sense”

“It would if they were a kinsman race” Quaylong answered, “I believe on the world of our enemies they are referred to as drow”

“But the drow are weak and cowardly” Jamaal said with contempt, “They even tried to get the trolls to make peace with us”

“I know” Quaylong agreed, “But this felt like a drow”

+ + +


A wilderness cave
The Walong Mountains
The Mystical Realms



Meetal found his master Madron, once formally known as the Lord Low Troll, standing outside of the cave staring into the night sky. He was obviously still upset by his son’s continuing hostility, in spite of his best overtures.

“It getting late sire” Meetal ventured quietly
“I know” Madron replied, “But what do I have to get up early for, apart from feeding our livestock who are usually still sleeping when we tend them”
“You are upset with how the Clan Chief of the Manjura treats you?” Meetal asked

“Maybe I brought it on myself?” Madron ventured, “I put politics above my own daughter Brameana and she succumbed to hatred and corruption which killed her. I did the same to Padow and he cannot stand to be in the same cave as me let alone the same dinner table”

“But master” Meetal insisted, “You had to do what you had to do. You said it yourself to your son, He did not have to deal with the internecine fighting amongst the troll clans that we had to contend with”

Madron sighed, “I know my old friend, but I keep wondering if I should have found some other way. Maybe even my twin brother Midah might have been alive”

“You know that is not true” Meetal insisted, “I hid in the shadows for you running errands and getting evidences on those who plotted against you and your Manjura clan. I know what it was like, there was no other way”

“You are so right my old friend” Madron conceded, “Also it was wrong of my son to accuse you of what humans would call war crimes”

For a moment there was silence between the elderly troll and his faithful kobold companion, then Meetal broke the silence, “Could the Clan Chief of the Manjura really put me on trial for my life?”

Madron shook his head, “Not with our deal with the Drow High Council, they have promised to oppose any prosecutions provided we stay here in the Walong Mountains and do not attempt to exert any influence beyond our gardens and vineyards. I for one am happy with this exile. I no longer have to worry about plotters and following tedious protocols to keep the various races from killing each other.”

“I don’t want to go back to the Central City either sire” Meetal sighed, “The kobolds there now do not understand the ways of covert honour. Plus that human female who went with Major Bolak to rescue your son told us it is still ruled over by what the humans called techno-trolls from another world”

Madron looked down at the ground and shook his head again, “When we discovered that our world had been formed from the human collective unconscious and that in theory it could still affect our world, we all thought there were just our two worlds. Then with the humans creating devices that could enter our world, that link seemed to be effectively broken and we could all go our separate ways. I never dreamed that somehow this could all have been as the humans put it, mirrored”

Meetal looked confused, “Mirrored?”

“If I understand what that female human by the name of Doctor Henshaw told me” Madron went on, “They believe there was some kind of balance in what she called the cosmos, I believe she called super symmetry, A world of humans with technology and our multi-racial world which embraced magic, countered by a world where our races use the technology and humans embraced magic. Thus those two other worlds are as mirror images of our world and that of our human allies”

“I wonder how they are getting on” Meetal mused

Madron was silent for a moment.

“I bid you good night” Meetal then said before returning to the cave.

Madron stared into the night and then wondered, “Yes, I wonder how things are going too”

Madron pulled from his pocket a small orb that he had hidden from the drow who over saw his and Meetal’s exile. It was one of the few magic items he had left after they had confiscated a number of items. Not that he ever used them; they were just items that had been taken with him when he got out of Central City before the start of the civil war in which his twin brother had been executed by some believing it was him.

Madron said an incantation and then peered into it.

Suddenly he saw something unexpected, and then the orb started to heat up, so much that Madron was forced to drop it.

Quickly he recited the incantation to close it down. The orb returned to its blue green colour, but Madron was not sure if it was too late. It seemed that someone out there had spotted his attempt to scry, someone who was supposed to have been long dead, for real.

+ + +


The Drow High Council chambers
The Mystical Realms



Marshall Dacron felt drained as he reeled from defending against the probe of the scryng device that had locked on to him. He had tried to carry out the spell that would have shattered the scrying device, and thus killing it’s operator but the person using it was too quick and more skilled in the use of magic items than the average low grade magic using elf or troll.

But this user was a troll, and Dacron knew exactly who he was as the other members of the Drow High council knew of this troll. This was the supposedly dead Lord Low Troll.

But why was he scrying him, and what had he learned?

From what he had been told by the fools on the Drow High Council, was that this elderly troll had been instrumental in reversing the efforts of his wayward daughter, the renegade Hadreth drow Vabalavich and some very powerful entities from outside both the world of humans and the Mystical Realms. He had even indirectly helped in the overthrowing of the Hadreth Order that Dacron secretly belonged to. It was for that reason when they learned that the Lord Low Troll was still alive and they honoured the deal brokered before time had been rolled back. He was not to face prosecution and be allowed to live out his days in the wilderness of the Waylong Mountains, in return he was to give up all aspirations of resuming his position of Lord Low Troll.

Something this troll for some strange reason was happy to do so.

The Drow High council had even extended this protection to his former kobold servant, whose name escaped Dacron. Kobolds were nothing, if not sword fodder for many low level adventurer and of little consequence

Maybe it was time for this elderly troll to come to his end of days, prematurely

Dacron thought for a moment, should he hire a doppelganger assassin?

No!

This was a job for a drow, one of the Hadreth order, and he knew who.

+ + +


Central City
The Mystical Realms




The drow officer came into Padow’s office in the Central City’s Hall of Justice and was surprised to find the troll still at work at his computer.

“I thought the agreement with the Troll High council meant you were leaving our world” the drow queried.

Padow looked up at the drow and glowered at him, it stuck in his throat that the leader of the Troll Council on his world had sullied himself by making deals with one of the races on this backward world, behind his back. It also stuck in his throat that when he thought he might be leaving this awful world his arch rival Strang had effectively blackmailed him into staying put in this desert city, while his rival returned as Regent High Troll, in order to deal with the leader of the troll council, and reinstate the bioweapon to eradicate humans from every world they populated.

“I will be staying behind” Padow said through gritted teeth, “While my deputy is regent in my place back home”

“I thought even the leader of your own troll council agreed you were all to pull out of our world” the drow pressed.

“And subcontract the ruling of this world to the drow” Padow replied

“Yes that was part of the deal” the drow agreed, “But you leader said” the drow went on before Padow angrily cut him off

“THAT TROLL IS NOT OUR RULER” Padow shouted, “I am” Padow then continued, “He is just the leader of the troll council”

“None the less” the drow pressed, “he is the one who made the deal and got you to agree to it”

Padow sighed, nothing more would have pleased him than to return home were it not for that grubby pact he had had to make with Captain Strang. “Well you can see all our troops have returned to our home world to deal with the human menace” Padow growled, “I am here alone as a figurehead for those back home, to prove I am no coward running away from the difficult issue of running the Manjura Empires latest asset, our only success since the humans invaded our world”

“I will need to consult Marshall Dacron about this” the drow said with irritation.

“Do what you will” Padow growled, “I will not interfere in how your race chooses to be stewards of this latest part of the Manjura Empire. Is that not the spirit of the agreement our leader of the Troll council brokered with your Marshall Dracon?”

“Agreed” the drow replied, “I will consult Marshall Dracon” he added before turning around and leaving Padow’s office.

“I just hope you fulfil your part of this Strang” Padow muttered to himself.

+ + +


The Houses of Parliament
London, England




“Have you recovered sufficiently?” Jamaal asked Quaylong

Quaylong dropped his head slightly, “I am not sure” he replied, “When another magic user disrupts a spell you are doing it can take it out of you in ways a non-magic user cannot understand”

“Well that cannot be helped” Jamaal insisted, “We need to locate Sir Timous before they can locate the vessel that will be firing on that place Sir Timous selected”

Quaylong lifted his head up to look at the assassin, “You mean that realm we assessed would retaliate and thus trigger this Mutual Assured Destruction?”

“Indeed” Jamaal answered back, “The vessel that goes beneath the waves must not be stopped from initiating this as Sir Timous has promised Lord Samail”

“I will try a location spell similar to the one that I used to find that wench” Quaylong offered, “assuming it is not blocked”

“By a weakling drow?” Jamaal said with disgust.

“I know it sounds strange Jamaal” Quaylong protested, “But it felt more like a drow than an elf who collapsed my dimension door spell, and a powerful one at that. Maybe the drow on that other world have powerful magic”

“Maybe you are losing your edge” Jamaal growled

“I am not losing anything!” Quaylong growled back, and then began to chant

After a few seconds he stopped and shook his head, “The drow is blocking me, I cannot locate him on this world”

“The wench?” Jamaal then asked

Quaylong shook his head slightly and started to chant again. After a few seconds he gave up. “They must have two drow” Quaylong told Jamaal, “she is protected too”
Jamaal thought for a moment, “Maybe we need to try another approach” Jamaal said to Quaylong
“Like what?” Quaylong asked
“Remember the attack on the base of the heretics” Jamaal asked.
Quaylong nodded.
“Was there not more than one wench in the party that ran to that other world?” Jamaal asked, “The naked one and the one with the very white hair”
“I remember those two, Jamaal, but we have no way of knowing if they are on this world or that other world” Quaylong protested, “even if they are they may not be where Sir Timous is being held and they may not know”

“Maybe so” Jamaal replied, “But it is all we have”

+ + +


The Drow High Council chambers
The Mystical Realms



Marshal Dacron stood before the emergency meeting of the Drow High Council. It had been called due to the assassination of Golpin the leader of the Drow High Council.

“We all know how a number of moon cycles ago our world was invaded” Marshal Dacron began, “Trolls from another dimension, who use technology just like the humans do, invaded our world”

“But what has this to do with the murder of Leader Golpin?” a female Drow member of the council asked.

“It is long, convoluted and sordid” Dacron replied, “Let me piece it together for you” he added.

There was a hush in the chamber, so Dacron continued to address the Drow High Council. “It seems” he went on, “That those invaders have been at war with another race of humans. Humans almost our equal in magical ability. Now you may ask what this has to do with Golpins murder, since we have managed to hide from the looting and exploitation of these invaders.”

Dacron paused before continuing, “I have uncovered a treacherous plot by two drow who have decided to betray all of the races on this world by becoming collaborators with this occupying force. These two drow have agreed to fight for the occupiers in their war for their own sordid gain by going up against the enemy of these invaders. Golpin found out about this betrayal and was murdered to try and silence him”

“Why would they do this” one of the other councillors asked.

“Indeed why?” Dacron answered back, “Maybe they just wish to collaborate with these invaders or worse still, maybe they are in league with the elves to make others think we are in league with the occupiers for opportunistic reasons. We all know how treacherous our elven enemies are?”

“But the elf High council was destroyed when these other world trolls first attacked Central City” the same female councillor protested.

“Only the visible Elf high council, not the shadow Elf High council that we suspect makes policy” Dacron countered and then paused. “It matters not why, but the shear fact they have betrayed us and murdered our leader to try and cover this treachery up”

Dacron paused again before continuing, “Before he was murdered Golpin was of the mind to seek out these magic using humans to form an alliance with them. To force these other world trolls off of our worlds, and then to take the war back to them, to show to them, and others you do not invade our world lightly. There was also the other matter of finally showing to the trolls and the assembly of other races, which we are excluded from, that when it comes to getting the job done of defending our world and imposing true order, the drow are the natural race for this honour, not the trolls and definitely not the elves”

“Who are these traitors?” another drow councillor asked.

Dacron shook his head in mock sorrow, “It pains me to say this but the two drow who have betrayed us all are Jaheel, Golpin’s own son, who has been led astray by none other than Major Bolak. The one who had an entire order of loyal drow wiped out, on what we now suspect was false evidence to bolster his own hatred of that order, for reasons best known to him. My greatest regret is I took part in his treacherous genocide on orders given by this council”

“You make a very serious charge” an elderly member of the Drow High council spoke up, “What proof have you got”

“We found at the scene two weapons involved in the assassination”, Dacron replied, “Jaheel’s blade along with Bolak’s dagger. It seems that Major Bolak must have insisted that Jaheel take part in the dispatching of his father along with himself.”

“How do we know that they were not just planted” the elderly drow retorted.

Dacron smiled to himself, the fools on the Drow High council were falling for this completely, “I invite you to do a psychometric reading of the weapons of assassination”

That would nail it. As nobody ever suspected that Dacron was Hadreth, they would be unaware of his ability of planting a false psychometric reading on an object

There was a noise whilst the members of the Drow High council discussed what Dacron had told them, after a while an elderly drow spoke up. “What you say disturbs us greatly if true. Whatever the motive of these renegade drow, an alliance with the invaders enemies would have been a possible way to rid our world of this occupation. We will reconvene here again at Suns up to deal with our response”

“I urge you not to delay” Dacron insisted, “They may be just two drow, but what two drow, one who had worked with humans and knows their weaknesses and the son of our murdered leader who will have intimate knowledge of this council”

“We will deal with this at Suns up” the elderly drrow insisted in a forceful manner.

The chamber then began to empty until it was finally Dacron on his own.

A young female drow servant entered the council chamber, she was completely naked as was custom for bonded drow in servitude to the Drow High Council. The reasoning was that it ensured that they had fewer places to hide weapons of assassination and it also emphasised their low status. A drow had to earn the right to cover the shame of their nakedness or be born to that privilege. It was believed that a certain Halfling clan who the drow had once dealt with had adopted this custom and adapted it to deal with elements of their society who did not conform.

To Dacron, this would be normal with standard drow females, but with this particular drow female, it was an outrage, an emotion he hid very well. This drow female was one of the few left that had escaped the purges of the drow who had a heritage of coming from Hadreth order stock.

“Quitox” Dacron said to the servant drow before she could speak
Quitox immediately kneeled before Dacron in utter submission, “I am here to serve you Marshal Dacron, even to sharing my body for your sexual and other pleasures”

“You can drop the act Quitox” Dacron said bluntly, “I can tell we are alone, and I know of your Hadreth heritage”

Quitox looked up in terror, “Please Marshal Dacron, I will serve you in whatever way I can, I will even bear you your offspring.”

Dacron put his hand out to command her silence, “I do not require you as a concubine”

“Then how shall I serve you Marshal Dacron” Quitox asked, confused by this rebuff, “what do you want with me sire”

Dacron removed a leather glove and placed his hand on Quitox’s head. Within seconds, Quitox knew she was not alone as a member of the Hadreth order.

“What do you wish for me to do to serve our order?” Quitox asked

“You as a Hadreth female have certain abilities I need to deal with a troublesome loose end” Dacron replied.
“Which one?” Quitox asked

“I need you to administer a lethal dark space, so it cannot be traced back to me” Dacron explained in a quiet but firm voice, “I want a certain troll to be found to have died in his sleep. You can do that, I know you can.”

“I have never taken life before Marshal” Quitox said with alarm, “I am not certain I will be able to do what you wish”

Dacron smiled, “It always is hard the first time you kill. Maybe I can arrange for you to kill off a fellow servant, anyone you fancy”

Dacron then walked around the young naked drow female and looked at her back at the whip marks. Most drow servants had them, it kept them in order

“You could even kill the one who whipped your fair back” Dacron told Quitox

“It would be a pleasure” Quitox replied quietly as she remembered the pain and humiliation of being held down and punished for being the last drow servant to assemble in the hall of servants”

“Spoken like a true Hadreth” Dacron whispered, “Now, we need to avoid suspicion, I require you to come to my quarters. As far as the others are concerned you have found favour in my eyes and I wish to have you for sexual reasons. That way I may be able designate you as a concubine and thereby justify clothing you in a manner befitting a drow of the Hadreth”

“It would be an honour to be your concubine Marshal” Quitox replied, “If need be it would be an honour to bear your offspring, and I would gladly be naked in your presence if it pleased you”.

Dacron shook his head at this offer, “You also have a lot to learn about what it means to be Hadreth” Dacron then stopped and smiled, “But then pleasing others is a good way to disarm them and distract them from your true intent”

+ + +


An undisclosed location
Washington DC
United States of America




Sir Timous sat strapped to a chair in a darkened room. The only light was from above, right down onto him.

He heard a door open from behind and someone walking up behind him.

“Do your worst” Sir Timous shouted defiantly, “I told you already; you will not get a thing out of me”
“Do you think I would stoop to such an inefficient technique such as torture” Major Bolak replied

“I thought that was what a dark space was” Sir Timous answered back.

“Oh no!” Major Bolak replied, “A dark space is definitely not a torture technique, well not in the classical sense”

“Whatever it is, it won’t work” Sir Timous spat back.

“Really” Major Bolak answered back

Suddenly the chair vanished and Sir Timous was thrown forward onto the floor of this darkened room. Then he noticed that it was some kind of plane that seemed to go on forever in any direction he looked.



“We know you plan to initiate a nuclear war on this world by getting certain submarines to perform a first strike in order to elicit a response” Major Bolak said to Sir Timous as he walked around him.

Sir Timous looked up at Major Bolak, “Whatever trickery this is you will never get anything out of me”

“You have never encountered a drow dark space before have you” Major Bolak spoke back to Sir Timous

Sir Timous just looked at him with contempt.

“To over simplify this, I am in your mind” Major Bolak continued, “When we brought you to the US, that needle prick you may have felt on arrival has actually put you in a deep sleep. Your body is sleeping in a secured bed. I am lying in a bed elsewhere in the building. You will not be able to resist.

Sir Timous slowly tried to get to his feet.

“I think not” Major Bolak said and held out his right hand.

Sir Timous found himself forced back down to this eternal plane of darkness while Major Bolak approached him.

He tried to crawl away, but he could barely move. Then he remembered his amulet against magic and looked for it. He found it and held it up to ward off this drow approaching him.

“That won’t work here, it is just a memory of that trinket” Major Bolak sneered, “In fact the real one was removed from your body so I could perform this dark space.

Major Bolak reached Sir Timous and it seemed to Sir Timous that the drow’s arm extended and stretched as the drow’s hand connected with his face.

Sir Timous tried with every bit of mental discipline he could to block this drow, but this was magic he had never come up against. He wondered if even Quaylong could defeat it.

Then images of the invasion of the realm of The Yoo-Kay appeared in mid-air. Sir Timous tried to think of memories from his childhood, and for an instance they too appeared in mid-air.

“It will only be worse if you resist” Major Bolak said with contempt in his voice. This motivated Sir Timous to try even harder.

Then a searing pain went right through him as the drow increased the ferocity of this infernal probe.

Then images appeared of a map of the world of the heretics, specifically of the realm where they had sent the undersea vessels to attack.

Then there was the image of the undersea boat that was to initiate the Mutual Assured Destruction he had promised Lord Samail

Suddenly there was an intense pain that went through Sir Timous, and then it was over.

He was dead.

+


Major Bolak awoke quickly from the sleep he had used to enter the Drow dark space, and sat up on the bed. To say he was angry, was an understatement. He had felt the astral chord of this human break, killing him both in the dark space, and most likely killing his body.

Jaheel entered the room, he had been running, and it was obvious he was checking in on Major Bolak.

“It’s about Sir Timous” Jaheel breathlessly got out.

“He’s dead, I know” Major Bolak uttered with venom, “What did these stupid humans do”

“We didn’t do anything” another voice came from the doorway. It was that of Vice Admiral Walter Quentin, “I wondered if this interrogation technique of yours had got out of hand when this Sir Timous guy spontaneously combusted.”

Major Bolak glowered at the balding man in the suit, “I am a master of the dark space” Major Bolak growled, “I know when to push in there and how to make sure I do not kill my subject. Someone else did this, or maybe someone did not do a good enough job on the outside on keeping his body alive”

“Nothing to do with us” Walter snapped back, “We have the most highly trained and thoroughly vetted medics, even Jaheel here saw what we were doing”

“That is true” Jaheel chimed in, “They did not do anything underhand, and I felt no malice from anyone there”

Major Bolak looked up at Walter, “Unless he had some kind of medical condition you all missed, he was killed by someone else, and someone with the ability to penetrate a drow dark space”

Jaheel thought for a moment, “Could it have been the other magic using humans, we know not of their full capabilities”

“I don’t know” Major Bolak replied, “if they did then we have grossly underestimated their powers”

“Why kill one of their own?” Walter asked
“To stop him from talking” Jaheel suggested

”But” Walter pressed, “If they have the ability why not rescue him”
“Maybe this way is easier” Major Bolak answered

After a pause, Walter asked, “Did you get anything?”

“Only that their target is North Korea” Major Bolak replied, “I was trying to get the name of the submarine when he died”

“Sweet” Walter said with annoyance, “The one regime we have no diplomatic relations with and the one most likely to retaliate”
“It seems” Major Bolak said slowly, “These magic using humans have chosen well”
“Can you find this one vessel with your technology” Jaheel asked.
“I don’t know” Walter replied, “The point of these submarines was that they were built for stealth, I have no idea if we can find them in time”

+ + +



Deep inside a lava tube
Inter Dimensional World 02




Marshal Dacron and Quitox arrived in the cavern from where they had been hiding out briefly on Earth.

“And that my dear” Dacron said to Quitox as he closed the blue vortex “is how you kill in a dark space. I will let you practice first on the one who marked your lovely back”

Quitox looked up at Dacron in awe, he had taken her to another world, and then taken her into the dark space of another drow and managed to kill a subject there without the other drow seeing them. So she was still to all appearances a normal naked female slave drow, he may not have given her the clothes he had promised, but what did that matter he was almost like a father figure to her, someone she wanted to please.

“Master” Quitox asked, “If it will serves the Hadreth I will continue to shun any clothing and remain your drow serving wench, but in order to maintain our cover I wondered”

“If you should have sex with me here?” Dacron interrupted Quitox.

“It would be a good cover for our trip to the world of the technological humans” Quitox suggested, “I would even allow myself to become impregnated with your child”

Dacron shook his head, “You are hero worshipping me” he told Quitox, “That can be a fatal mistake. If I wanted to have sex with you or any other drow serving wench, there are plenty of places at the high council to perform that act and nobody would question it. After all one of your functions is to keep councillors happy, and if that requires sex, willing or not, so be it. I have not yet clothed you because it takes time for the seamstress to make something befitting your new status as my new personal assistant and for the oafs in charge of the slave drows to process the request”

“Thank you sire” Quitox replied, “but if you wish me to”

“Not now” Dacron interrupted, “maybe when we return to my chambers, for appearances sake, as for bearing a child, I need you to perform this lethal dark space before that. A drow pregnancy can play havoc with psychic ability. Dacron then held out a small blue orb and chanted an incantation. Soon a blue swirling vortex appeared in mid-air, and the two drow entered into it and were gone.

+ + +


The Troll City of Power
The Manjura Empire




“And where is the Lord High Troll” the Troll Council leader demanded from Captain Strang as he found him sitting in Padow’s office

“He is overseeing how our Drow allies back on that backward world of trolls ensure that we have new recruits for our war with the humans and their resources”

“That was not the deal” the Troll Council Leader replied angrily, “His place is here, as a figurehead while our drow allies take care of things on that world”
“He feels he needs to oversee the arrangements you made, so has appointed me his regent to look after business back here” Strang said with as little emotion as he could manage, “I am the only one he can trust to run things properly from this end, and that includes reinstating the bioweapon programme.”

“There is no need for that with our drow allies promising to neutralise the human’s magic” the Troll Council leader insisted

“He begs to differ” Strang went on, “and I agree with him, we need to have a backup if things don’t work out with our drow allies”

“You cannot do this” the troll council leader insisted, “The council will not allow it”

“Good luck with that councillor” Strang retorted, “You know I still have allies left on the council” then under his breath so the council leader did not hear, “assuming that miserable excuse for a Lord Low Troll has not had them assassinated”

+ + + +


Residential area of the marine base at Quantico
Virginia, United States of America



Sarah Willows nervously peered through the spyhole in the front door of the place she was billeted in response to the doorbell.

Sarah had been granted asylum by the US government, since the Britain had fallen to the forces of the magic using humans, but it felt like she was not trusted by them. She was certain that the armed guards she had spotted patrolling near the apartment they had given her were there to make sure they kept tabs on her. Maybe it was because she had worked for the Entity Affairs Directorate, which had ended up taking over where the former Inter Dimensional Entity Control organisation had left off after it had been shut down by congress.

It was Doctor Charlene Henshaw, the other Brit that the US had offered asylum to

Slowly Sarah hid behind the door as she opened it a small amount

“Hi?, may I come in?” Charlene asked

“Ok” Sarah nervously replied and opened the door fully with herself still behind it so Charlene could come in.

Charlene walked into the apartment and into the lounge area. It was only when Charlene was in the apartment and Sarah had closed the door and come into the lounge, that she saw that Sarah was completely naked, she also saw that Sarah looked quite pale.

“Where are your clothes?” Charlene asked, “This isn’t the EAD”
“I thought it would be less trouble if I stripped off like I had to at the EAD” Sarah replied, again with a nervousness in her voice, “How can I help you Doctor Henshaw?” Sarah asked, again in a manner that Charlene could only perceive as one of terror.
Charlene was confused, to say something obviously did not seem right with Sarah would be an understatement “I dropped by because I thought we could go meet some of my old colleagues from the old days” she said in a questioning manner
“But I thought we were not supposed to leave the base” Sarah replied with fear in her voice.
“Who told you that?” Charlene asked.
“It was some guy in a dark suit when I first got here” Sarah answered, “He told me I was to remain here, he was very nasty about it” at that point emotion got the better of her and her voice cracked as she told Charlene, “he made me feel like dirt” At this point Sarah broke down.

Charlene came up and hugged Sarah. “Tell me the truth, did he tell you to strip off and go naked” Charlene demanded to know.

Sarah shook her head, “No Doctor Henshaw, but the way he spoke to me, I just thought if they didn’t trust me than maybe I ought to go naked so they could see I wasn’t an HIDE47”

“Well nobody has told me not to go anywhere” Charlene remarked, “Or take my clothes off”.

“Well that’s maybe because some see you as a hero” Sarah protested, “You fought the Magnus Timor, you helped defeat Brameana that troll’s daughter. I have soldiers regularly going past this place and checking up on me, it’s like being a prison, I have no idea what I will do to get groceries, I haven’t eaten since yesterday as there was no food in this apartment”

Charlene released Sarah and stepped back, “Sarah put some clothes on” Charlene insisted.
“Please, I daren’t, I don’t want to get into any more trouble” Sarah pleaded, “Anyway I’m used to going naked in front of others because I could never wear those paper smocks we had at the EAD”

“Maybe you going naked is why those soldiers patrol pass this apartment” Charlene went on
“Honestly Doctor Henshaw” Sarah said nervously, “I don’t mind if they see me naked, I will even let them take pictures of me naked, or even..” Sarah could not finish that sentence, but Charlene could tell that Sarah was so terrified she would even offer to sleep with these yanks if they asked

“I just want them to see I’m not threat” Sarah squeaked out

“Well I do mind Sarah” Charlene countered, “I’m not having you starve yourself and being intimidated into giving these people a peep show, or giving them sexual favours just because of some guy in a suit. Now put some clothes on, we are going out to a rather good restaurant I know to feed you up. But first of all I’m taking you to the base commander to get this sorted out, then we are going to stock this place up”

“Maybe I should see him before I put anything on?” Sarah suggested, “So he can see I’m not a”

“NO!” Charlene interrupted, “You are not stepping outside this apartment without any clothes on”

“Maybe I could just wear a coat with nothing on underneath, so if they question me, I could” Sarah began, but Charlene cut her off.

“That would imply I would have to do the same, and I am not doing it and neither are you” Charlene told Sarah firmly, “Get dressed!”

BANG


A sudden explosion ripped through the lounge and both women were thrown to the floor

As Charlene lay dazed on the floor something seemed familiar about what was happening, and then she saw it, a strange red vortex opening up in the room.



Suddenly two men in leather and wearing cloaks emerged from the vortex. One was carrying a crossbow the other a staff. Both the two men approached a cowering Sarah on the floor.

“Naked just like a serving wench should be” one of the men said as he pointed his cross bow at Sarah.

“Well this serving wench” the other figure said to the first, “if you are right will be our key to rescuing Sir Timous”

Charlene saw Sarah looking up at the two invaders in terror. Sarah then glanced back to Charlene.

“So there is another one here” the first man said as he looked at where Sarah was looking, “And guess who it is”

The second man turned around and looked at Charlene, “I see, she could prove most useful to our liege as well”


To Be continued
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Old 23-12-2012, 04:22 PM #4
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Thought this said " The Mystical Realms Sagas - Season Thirteen - Revenge of the Hard On "
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Old 18-02-2013, 02:32 PM #5
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Episode III– Inevitabilities and Ultimatums


Spoiler:


There is a story called the Keeper of the Spring told here where someone doing a vital job is not recognised for his importance in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes people can be thought less important than they are and can be often be dismissed and over looked.

This seems to be the case with Sarah Willows the former detention block receptionist at the Entity Affairs Directorate, Whilst the high profile Janine Sedlacek has been protected by drow magics, Sarah was just placed in quarters at a military based and told to remain there, virtually under house arrest. This has proved a costly oversight, as during a visit from doctor Charlene Henshaw, the only one to check on her welfare, the assassin Jamaal and magic user Quaylong from the invading magic human world have come for her and have captured Charlene as well. The magic using humans have done this as part of their plan to rescue their leader Sir Timous of the Zacharan, unaware he has been murdered by drow from the forbidden Hadreth Order…


+ + + +


Residential area of the marine base at Quantico
Virginia, United States of America



Brigadier General Samuel Peters glowered at Vice Admiral Walter Quentin as they stood outside the apartment that had been allotted to Sarah Willows, formally of the British Entity Affairs Directorate.

Just then Pete Smith emerged from the house with his current boss, Iain Davy the head of the forensic laboratory at Metro PD.

“Well?” Samuel asked Pete

“No sign of a trace from an artificial generator” Pete replied, “The residual trace I did pick up was that of a natural one or a variant of, if that makes sense”

Samuel pressed further for detailed information on a precise measurement and Pete quoted a number.

“Well I’m glad to be read in at last” Iain spoke up, “Do we get to investigate this one or will you be challenging jurisdiction again” he pointedly asked Walter.

“We’ll let you know Mr Davy” Walter responded.

“That’s just typical” Samuel muttered under his breath,
“Excuse me!” Walter retorted, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Once you have what you want from my people” Samuel went on “you just discard them when it suits you. We said that Miss Willows and Doctor Henshaw needed the same kind of protection as you have given that murdering daughter of that dirt bag, but you said no. Now once Pete tells you the attack was from a dimension door spell and not an artificial wormhole, you get rid of him too”
“This isn’t about them is it? This is about the way the closure of the IDEC was carried out isn’t it!” Walter countered, “Well that issue was not my decision, and you know that, in fact I went out of my way to take some of your people with me to the NSA. As for Miss Willows she was never one of your people and neither is Mr Smith now”
“Doctor Henshaw was” Samuel snapped back, “And I considered Miss Willows to be one of mine for helping to rescue the Clan Chief of the Manjura”

“Is this a private party or can anyone join in?” Iain interrupted.

Walter turned back to Iain, “Like I said we will let you know” he said in an irritated fashion.

“I only ask” Iain went on, “Because as you point out Vice Admiral, Pete and his wife are my people now and I need to know if they are under threat along with other members of my team who witnessed that wormhole to that artificial universe a while back”

“I don’t think so sir” Pete cut in, “As the Brigadier General says it was a dimension door rather than a worm hole, in the context that we used them. Dimension doors are used by magic using entities or one shot use artefacts”

“Why do you say that and what’s the difference between a wormhole and a dimension door?” Iain asked

“Actually sir” Pete explained, “A dimension door is closer to what people think of as wormholes than the wormholes we used, in that both ends of it remain in this universe. The devices we used were actually gateways between universes. There is only one case we know of where a”

Iain interrupted Pete, “So why not you and Sue-Lim” Iain pressed
“There’s only one group we know of who are using magic in this universe” Pete replied
“Those who seized power over Britain” Ian replied.
“Which means they were either targeting Miss Willows, Doctor Henshaw or both” Walter spoke up, “Neither Mr or Mrs Smith would have been on their radar”

“So Miss Willows and or Doctor Henshaw were hung out to dry because you did not offer them the same protection as that Sedlacek woman” Samuel interjected.

“Sam, from what you said of the motives of these magic using humans” Walter responded, “Doctor Henshaw and Miss Willows did not figure high on their agenda, Miss Sedlacek did, that was why you were able to capture one”

“You have a magic using human?” Iain asked

“We had one” Samuel replied

“Someone got to him and killed him before we could get more useful intel” Walter explained, “So Mr Davy, since your people are not considered in harm’s way, we will let you know”

“Just like you considered Sarah and Charlene” Samuel muttered

Walter chose to ignore this remark, “Anyway, I think we are done here given we have more pressing matters”

And what would they be” Iain asked.

“Need to know” Walter snapped back, “And you don’t need to know”

+ + +


The Drow High Council chambers
The Mystical Realms



The drow council started to assemble as Marshal Dacron waited impatiently for them to make the decision he wanted.

Quitox waited patiently at the back of the council chamber, still naked as was custom with bonded drow in servitude. The clothing of a personal assistant had still not arrived, but what did it matter. As a Hadreth drow she would gladly shun clothes if it would help restore their order to its rightful place. Her back still stung from the whipping she received for being late back for her serving duties. A whipping administered by the Chief Drow of the Serving Maidens, even though Dacron had tried to intervene.

The elderly drow who had given the previous adjournment stepped forward.

“So” Marshall Dacron opened with, “The Suns are climbing in the sky”

“Yes they are” the elderly drow replied, “During the night I have liaised with those who have the ability to perform clairvoyance”

“Really?” Dacron asked, This was a stupid and dangerous oversight, he thought, but managed not to show his surprise

“Yes Marshall Dacron” the elderly drow went on, “It seems that all but one of the invaders has left our world”

“Then that would be news worth rejoicing if it were true” Dacron replied, “But who is the invader that remains”

“We believe it is the leader” the elderly drow answered, “The one who calls himself the Lord High Troll and the exact double of that troll that leads the Manjura clan on our world”

“Then this is not a total pull out if he is still in command” Dacron replied with feigned consternation. This was an unexpected turn up, why was the Lord High Troll from the world of the techno trolls still here? Dacron would have to use this news to his advantage, but he had to be careful, because this troll knew he was of the Hadreth and there was already a group of other Hadreth drow in the city giving the pretence to the techno trolls of an alliance.

“This must be a ruse” Dacron continued, “There must be more to this conspiracy than Major Bolak and Jaheel, are you sure that the one who performed this clairvoyance for you is trust worthy?”
“I have never had issue with them before” the elderly drow replied

This was not going well, Dacron had to think fast

“Councillor” Dacron continued, “You are aware of the Major’s psychic abilities are you not?”

“That was why he was one of those chosen to be our envoys we sent to that country called Russia in the world of humans” the elderly drow replied

“Exactly” Dacron answered back, “How do we know he has not used his abilities to hide the occupying forces in Central City from the clairvoyance ability of the one you employed”

“To what purpose?” another drow councillor asked.

“To prevent anyone using psychic countermeasures or to hide their numbers” Dacron suggested

“That does seem rather a strain on credulity” the elderly drow retorted, “A psychic attack would be a point attack on an individual, and as you know, trolls on this world are immune. I see no reason why these invading trolls would be any different”

“But if these invaders, are withdrawing from our world councillor” Dacron went on, “Why would they leave one of their own behind, their leader in fact? Is it not a coincidence that your inability to find the other invaders coincide with the murder of the Council Leader Golpin by someone has known psychic skills? Would it be better if you yourself councillor, travelled covertly to Central City to find out the situation for yourself, rather than relying on a clairvoyant who may or may not be giving you a true indication of the situation.”

”I could get the other Hadreth in the city to arrange an accident for this troublesome councillor and further blame Major Bolak” Dacron thought to himself.

You would get rid of me so eagerly Marshall Dacron” the elderly drow said accusingly, “What would you propose to do in my absence?”

Marshal Dacron shook his head, “No councillor I would not for one moment consider anything so dishonourable. You know that. I am totally loyal to the Drow High Council, as my service here testifies. I merely observe that we have been dealing with that traitor Major Bolak who has certain skills. Trying to formulate a resistance to this invasion from our hidden domain is not optimal. If your groundless concern is what I would do in your absence, then I would volunteer to accompany you to Central City, and you can take whatever body guard you like if you continue to doubt my loyalty”

The elderly drow eyed Dacron with what seemed to him to be suspicion, did he suspect his involvement with the Hadreth order? It was hard to say, but this one elderly drow councillor could endanger Dacrons plans to avenge the massacre and destruction of his order. He had to be dealt with and the blame passed to Major Bolak and Jaheel.

“Maybe” said one of the female drow, “An incognito reconnaissance to the Central City could be in order, if only to gauge the forces which are left and the state, if any of the resistance. We could then assist in the removal of these invaders and thus as the Marshal has said already, show the assembly of other races how we should have the honour of maintaining law and order over the troll elf alliance, or at least in co-operation with the trolls”

“That would be an excellent idea councillor” Marshal Dacron responded, “and I as I have just said I would be willing to accompany any who wish to embark on this mission”

Again the elderly drow eyed Marshall Dacron, “I am old and my adventuring days behind me” he growled.

“Nonsense” Marshall Dacron interrupted, “You are good for many a venture Councillor, do not put yourself down so”

“I would be willing to assist you councillor” the female drow offered, “I am skilled in the arts of restoring strength and vigour”

”I bet you are Cholan” Dacron thought to himself, knowing some of this councillor’s salacious reputation that she had tried to cover up

At this a number of the other members of the drow High council started to voice words of persuasion that the elderly drow should voyage to Central City. It was all going Dacron’s way. Once there, his loyal Hadreth drow, ensconced there would make short work of them and make sure the blame was on Major Bolak and Jaheel.

“Then it is settled” Cholan, the female drow called out, “We will leave at Suns up tomorrow”

“I look forward to the trip” Dacron smiled, “But one small personal favour I ask”

“What?” The elderly drow asked dismissively

Dacron gestured at Quittox standing at the back, “This female bonded drow has found favour in my eyes, I would like to take her to be my personal assistant and a possible concubine, but the chief of the serving maidens has told me only a resolution of the Drow High council can authorise her release to my service.”

The elderly drow gave a small smile, “So, have you tried her out then?”

“I have not had sexual relations with her if that is what you mean” Dacron said in a matter of fact manner, “I am sure that none on the council would object to such relations with a drow in bonded servitude, but that is reserved for members of the drow high council unless it is a specially allotted duty which it is not. I would not presume to go against the Chief Drow of the Serving Maidens, as he allots what duties they are assigned to, and to my knowledge he has not allotted her that duty”

“But I thought pleasuring members of the Drow High council was one of their standard duties” the elderly drow sneered

“As you would be the first to point out councillor” I am not technically a member of the Drow High Council” Dacron replied, “I appear as I am the appointed military attaché and tactician. I ensure your orders are carried out, just as I did when Major Bolak got you to exterminate the drow of the Hadreth Order”

“I see no issue here over this trivial request” Cholan spoke up, “It is not as if we have a dearth of bonded drow serving maidens available to the council, There are many drow who are close to bonded servitude, where we can source a supply if need be, I would not object to the Marshall appointing one of them as his personal assistant and. Concubine. Tell me Marshall, this is entirely up to you, but will you clothe her or leave her naked as she is currently?”

“I will ensure the dignity of the office of my personal assistant”, Dacron said defiantly, “To that end I requested the services of a seamstress to make suitable clothes for my prospective personal assistant, should you grant my request. My apologies to the council for being presumptive but I wanted her to be able to be clothed so she could take up her post as soon as possible”

“You are right” the elderly drow responded, paused and then continued,” You were being presumptive”

“Do you object to me having her as a personal assistant then?” Marshal Dacron asked, “Do you covert her yourself to demand sexual favours from her?”

The elderly drow snorted, “I could have any of the bonded serving drow I like, should I so desire, why should I limit myself to a particular one? I meant you should have waited before hiring a seamstress and tying up her time, if it were all for naught.”

“So you do have an issue with me having her as my personal assistant and concubine?” Dacron Challenged.

“Indeed Kay-Vlar” Cholan interrupted, “Tell us what the issue is, as I pointed out this is a trivial request. Maybe the Marshall was presumptive, but if he were a full member of the Drow High council, he would have been free to appoint her without consulting anyone. It is only archaic protocol that requires that he ask”

Cholan turned to the other councillors, “Anyone else feel aggrieved that the Marshall has anticipated a decision on a minor and trivial matter?”

The other drow council members murmured and collectively shook their heads. As Quittox looked on it seemed that they were perplexed that elderly drow was choosing this issue to challenge Marshall Dacron, who was for all appearances a drow loyal to the Drow High Council. Did he know of his connection to the now banned Hadreth Order?

“So?” Cholan asked Kay-Vlar, the elderly drow, “Can you tell us what the issue is? If it that he should have consulted first, I feel no disrespect intended only that he must have been frustrated with our obsolete and ancient protocols. I consider the position of Military Attaché to the Drow High Council as one of us, even if they are appointed”

The elderly drow glowered at Cholan, a female drow challenging his authority he felt was his by right of his age. As he looked at the other councillors, it seemed clear that on this issue he would be alone if he chose to pursue it.

Kay-Vlar sniffed and then said dismissively, “She is a bonded serving drow, she is of no consequence, do with her as you wish. Like the other councillor said this is a trivial matter in the grand plan of things compared to the situation of those who have invaded our world”

“Then my personal assistant Quittox and I” Dacron cut back in, “will accompany you to Central City at Suns up. But first, my personal assistant and I will be attending an appointment with the seamstress for a fitting”

At this, the councillors started to leave the hall, leaving just Dacron and Quittox.

Quittox looked up at the Marshall, “I will serve you in all I can, and bear you offspring if that be your desire”

“Maybe later” Dacron replied, “But first let us not keep the seamstress waiting, much as a naked drow may be pleasing to some eyes, and you are that with your perfect body, I believe the addition of a dress, will make you as the humans put it, stunning. Plus now that you can be with me through the hours of the night, we have that particular loose end to deal with.”

+ + +


The Castle Lodinium
(The alternate human world)




The imposing figure of Lady Sharlane of the Heana-Shores marched into the central hall where Lord Samail had hurried to meet her after she had entered the castle. This was another warlord like himself, albeit a female one, with nobles and surfs under her. She was clothed in silver like material that matched her white hair, but exposed her breasts.

This mode of dress was unusual to one in her position, as women of noble birth were covered up completely to show their status. This was why Lord Samail insisted those daughters of the nobles he held captive in his castle, forcing them to work as servant girls, were all naked. This was to humiliate them and make the nobles know their place. As for Lady Sharlane, some had said she dressed the way she did was to either intimidate and unsettle men or to invoke jealousy in other women, by flaunting, as those of a cruder class would say, her finest assets. The only problem with that motive for how the Lady Sharlane dressed was that there were naked slave girls in most palaces and castles, so those in the sphere of influence she met would be used to such sights. One reason why Lady Sharlane did not cover up completely like the other noble women, Lord Samail had heard, was that in order to do magic, the Lady Sharlane needed to bare her breasts.

Whatever the reason for this attire, it was of no consequence and Lord Samail gave it no heed. What was of consequence was that due her rumoured magical abilities, the Lady Sharlane had a little more influence over other warlords than was comfortable for Lord Samail. This was one woman, who could if she chose, influence a sufficient number of the other warlords to remove him from his power base.

“I hear you have gained a foot hold in yet another world with orbs of gating Lord Samail” Lady Sharlane said in an accusing manner, “Isn’t one world at a time enough? I would have thought it was better to obliterate our enemies before going after more”

“I believe with the appropriate magics I can keep on top of things Lady Sharlane” Lord Samail retorted, “There is nothing you or the others need concern yourself with”

“I am not convinced Lord Samail. Lady Sharlane retaliated “Yet again you dabble in matters concerning high magic without the requisite skills to control it. How very reckless of you”

“I employ the best magic users to do my bidding” Lord Samail responded, “And before you ask, I have complete confidence in their loyalty as they know what is at stake should the peasantry get ideas from those who use technology and shun magic”.

“But you opened up another front” Lady Sharlane insisted

“No I didn’t” Lord Samail replied, “The trolls did. They found this other world in order to develop a weapon to use against us”

Lord Samail saw the colour briefly drain from Lady Sharlane’s face as she heard this news.

“What kind of weapon could they have that our magic could not defeat” Lady Sharlane asked in a slow and deliberate manner that hinted incredulity.

“I believe it is some kind of pestilence that cure disease spells will not be effective against” Lord Samail replied, “It was our troll enemies that found this world of heretic humans that use technology and it was they who travelled to it first”

“And are these heretics collaborators with our troll enemies?” Lady Sharlane asked

“I am not sure” Lord Samail replied, “But that hardly matters. The very presence of a world of technological humans is grave not only because our troll enemies have been raiding them for supplies for this weapon, but also the very idea of humans using technology instead of magic could inspire rebellion amongst our subjects. I understand yours and the other’s concerns that I may be over stretching our forces by sending a group to this heretical world, but our troll enemies have given us little choice. We have to make sure they cannot continue to use this heretical world and we have to show the populace the folly of anything other than our rule and order”

The lady Sharlane paused for a moment. “And how do you propose to deny this world to our enemy and show the minions the folly of technology?” she asked

“One of my loyal nobles, Sir Timous of the Zacharan has come up with a plan to destroy this heretical world” Lord Samail answered.

“How can he do that?” Lady Sharlane retorted with contempt, “You have not managed to destroy our enemies the trolls, how can one minor noble destroy a world”

Lord Samail glowered at Lady Sharlane, “He will get them to destroy themselves with their own weapons”

“I do not understand?” Lady Sharlane replied

Lord Samail chuckled, “Lady Sharlane, you may know how to do a few magic tricks, but you still have a lot to learn when dealing with other worlds”

“Enlighten me” Lady Sharlane said icily

“The world of the heretics is even more fractious than our own world or that of our troll enemies” Lord Samail said with a smile, “They have even developed, using their technology, weapons that could eradicate every living thing from their world several times over. These opposing factions on that heretic world all have them pointed at each other. They call it Mutual assured Destruction”

Lady Sharlane shook her head briefly, “I can see a merit in their tactics. Holding such a weapon would make others less likely to attack for fear of retaliation. They force a stalemate”

“Unless someone uses one” Lord Samail replied

“So that is his plan?” Lady Sharlane asked, and then asked, “I would like to speak with this Sir Timous. Can that be arranged”

Lord Samail sighed, “I am unable to”

“Why?” asked Lady Sharlane.

“It is possible that the humans have been working with drow who somehow can use magic” Lord Samail answered

“How?” Lady Sharlane asked with contempt, “Drow are weak and pathetic, a pale imitation of their elf cousins, and they do not use magic”

“Not from that other world our enemies have invaded” Lord Samail replied.
“What other world?” Lady Sharlane asked.

Lord Samail smiled. This other warlord, with all her fancy magic was not aware of yet another world he had visited. “There is another world” Lord Samail went on, “which the world of our primary enemies, the trolls and the elves have invaded in hope of defeating us, but this world is populated by creatures such as they, but creatures with the ability to work magic like us. The drow I speak of may come from that world”

Lady Sharlane shook her head, “I was not informed of this world. If they use magic maybe we could forge an alliance?” she asked.

Lord Samail shook his head, “I fear not, because they are allies with the heretics. This gets us back to why we cannot speak with my servant Sir Timous, while he was arranging affairs on that heretic world for its destruction, he was captured by these drow, who have blocked our location spells”

“How can you know if they are blocked if you cannot use magic yourself” Lady Sharlane asked.

“I trust my main magic user who is Quaylong” Lord Samail replied, “And you know of his reputation”

“Yes” Lady Sharlane whispered quietly.

“However” Lord Samail went on, “We have captured two wenches from that heretic world, who must know where he is being held, and I am arranging for their torture and interrogation”

Lady Sharlane shook her head again, “torture is so crude and ineffective Lord Samail, that was why I studied the magic arts, so I could wrench information from reluctant minds in a more reliable manner”

“Then maybe you would like to conduct the interrogation yourself?” Lord Samail offered, “in fact one of the subjects will be of definite interest to you”

“Why?” Lady Sharlane asked.

+ + +


A wilderness cave
The Walong Mountains
The Mystical Realms



Meetal found his master Madron, formally the Lord Low Troll rooting around in a part of the cave where he once held important magical artefacts. This was before a number of them were removed by the drow supervising their exile from Central City. Meetal also noticed that his master was wearing some kind of amulet that he did not recognise.



Madron shook his head and turned around and fingered the amulet, “I thought I had more than this one” Madron said to himself

“Sire?” Meetal asked

Madron turned around and looked at Meetal, his faithful kobold servant from when he ruled the Mystical Realms. “Yes, what is it?” Madron asked in an abrupt manner

“Sorry sire” Meetal replied, “You are obviously busy, I will leave you in peace”. Meetal then turned to leave.

“I’m sorry Meetal, old friend” Madron called out, “I did not mean to snap, well not at you”

Meetal turned around to face Madron. “I understand sire” Meetal replied, “It cannot be easy having your son here when he hates us so much, you more than I”

“It is not my son that has put me on edge, old friend” Madron sighed, “I made a disturbing discovery when I tried to scry on how things are back in Central City.”

“I heard many disturbing things from the humans that stayed with us about what those invaders are doing there” Meetal told his master, “Maybe you should not scry on that city. We cannot go there as you say, and what could we do when we are there. We are hardly likely to inspire a popular uprising that would succeed against their weapons. Your son however”

“It was not Central City that the orb showed me” Madron interrupted, “It showed me to the chambers of the Drow High Council”

Meetal looked puzzled, “Why would it do that?”

“There is an infiltration at Central City” Madron answered, “And before you ask, it is not from those who invaded our world”

Meetal frowned, “Then who?”

“The drow of the Hadreth Order” Madron said to Meetal, “One of them saw me as I scried. I was only just able to close the orb down before he could take counter measures”

Meetal shook his head in horror; “Sire, if that is true” Meetal went on, “Then this is serious news, especially after what you said of their leader Vabalavich in what the humans called the other time line”

“I remember what they did” Madron growled, “They corrupted my daughter and as far as I am concerned they were responsible for her death”

“But I thought that was that Celeste, the daughter of the Spirit of Death” Meetal asked with puzzlement in his voice..

Madron sighed and shook his head, “Brameana was lost to me before that. She was so filled with hatred and hate that Celeste was left with little option as she fought for her life against my daughter’s blind rage. From my scrying of the events that lead to my daughter’s death, I saw that Celeste had been struck on the head by my daughter and probably was not fully aware of what she was doing, when her survival instinct kicked in. It was the Hadreth that led my daughter to that point. I cannot hold the death of my daughter against Celeste”

Madron held up the amulet he was wearing, “The presence of Hadreth drow, who suspect that I know of them, is why I have this. It is of elven design and supposedly protects one from a dark-space attack of the drow. I am not sure if it has ever been put to the test. I thought I had more than just this one, so you and Padow could be protected”

“So like the coward you are, you thought you would wear it yourself” came a sneering voice, it was the Clan Chief of the Manjura.



“That is unfair” Meetal protested, “It is your father who the Hadreth are aware of, not you or I”

The Clan Chief of the Manjura shook his head in a contemptuous manner, “Meetal, your slavish and blind devotion to my father is just as nauseating as the crimes you helped him to commit during his reign of tyranny”

“Enough!” Madron’s voice boomed out, “We have more important things to concern ourselves with than how things were done in my time. If the Hadreth drow are on the rise again, that does not bode well for anyone”

“The Hadreth on the rise?” The Clan Chief of the Manjura retorted, “Maybe you haven’t heard, hiding from justice in your cave in the desert, but that drow order was wiped out, thanks to Major Bolak”

“I beg to differ” Madron answered back,
“And if they were wiped out, as you say Clan Chief of the Manjura” Meetal chipped in, “why would it matter to you if my master wore the amulet? The Drow High Council know we are here and are happy for us to live out our days here.”

The Clan Chief of the Manjura went to pull what would have been his short sword to dispatch the impudent kobold, but then remembered he no longer had it. It was a trophy of that despicable troll that looked like him and had the same Delethon name.

Meetal inwardly gulped at how close to death he came at the hand of his master’s son, but still stood his ground. “You came here after my master helped arrange your rescue from execution and you call my master a liar” Meetal went on, rage building inside of him over the abuse that they had been enduring from this ungrateful troll.

“That is enough my old friend” Madron interrupted.
“But sire” Meetal pleaded
“No my old friend” Madron said firmly, “My son is not aware of how deceptive and devious that order is. When you deal only with elves as he did, you are not aware of how the drow operate”

The Clan Chief of the Manjura glowered at his despicable father and the despicable lackey who had once caused so much terror during his reign as Lord Low Troll. “We dealt with the elves because they understood more about honour than most drow.”

“And yet it was a drow who rescued you?” Madron asked

“He was different” The Clan Chief of the Manjura objected, “He worked with the humans, and was probably trying to placate them. I remember when we went up against the Magnus Timor, there was a drow trying to ingratiate himself with the humans”

“And was it not an elf that threw in his lot with the Magnus Timor?” Madron asked, “While the drow saw him for what he was”

The Clan Chief of the Manjura just glowered at his father, he could not think of a reply.

Madron thought for a moment, “Were there drow at Central City?”

“I believe so” growled The Clan Chief of the Manjura, “From my cell I had heard that some deal had been done with those who invaded our world. That shows you how much honour drow have”

Madron shook his head, “I have not even told Meetal this, but when I was Lord Low Troll, just before the civil war, it was a drow who tipped me off to the plan by the Spirit of Lust to institute the civil war. Many drow were throwing their lot in with her. I do not know if the Hadreth were involved back then, but some drow usually resent outsiders, such as major spirits of vice meddling in their affairs and giving them orders. I was surprised at the number of drow who followed her back then”

“An alliance with dishonourable trolls who have invaded to act as their agents is hardly meddling” The Clan Chief of the Manjura objected

“Padow” Madron responded, “You led our world as part of a council with elves as advisors who are classed as the ancient enemy of the drow”

“Because on the whole they had more honour” the Clan Chief of the Manjura interrupted, “I should know as I fought against that drow who pretended to be an elven lawyer. I believe his name was Yagel Penswift.”

“Drow have an honour code too” Madron spat back, “That drow who tipped me off was Golpin, I believe after the civil war he became leader of their high council. He thought the drow had lost their way by going along with the Spirit of Lust. As to Yagel, I believe he may have been Hadreth, but not in their higher levels, why else was it that he was given such an assignment. I could never work out at the time why he was defending council for the Spirit of True Love when I had her put on trial for breach of our sacred law, but when she supposedly committed suicide before the verdict I suspected that was his work”

“You knew he was a drow all along?” The Clan Chief of the Manjura asked with astonishment.

Even Meetal was astonished at this revelation

“I never said anything at the time as it did not serve my purpose to expose him” Madron replied, “He was so incompetent, and if I had said anything, I dare say a new proper and better elven lawyer would have been found. And after the death of the Spirit of True Love, some would have accused me of complicity, which was just not the case” Madron then paused and then continued, “But as the humans say, that was then and this is now. Under Golpin, I do not believe that the drow high council would sanction a co-operation pact with invaders. Their isolationist tendency does not lend itself to that, the Hadreth on the other hand are opportunists, they will do whatever it takes to further their agenda, whatever that is. They are closer to what you believe drow to be Padow. From what you say, the drow at Central City must be of the Hadreth Order”

“Sire” Meetal interrupted, “If the Hadreth drow have returned and are colluding with the invaders at Central City, what can we do?”

“We must alert the Drow High Council of this threat” Madron replied, “Otherwise the Hadreth will once again do what they did in the alternate timeline and mount a coup against the council, if it is not too late”

“But we cannot leave here?” Meetal protested, “That was the condition laid down by the Drow High Council”

“It was a condition laid down only on me” Madron told Meetal, “I read the agreement carefully and insisted that you were not included. I told them your role during my rule was relatively minor. I told them that you were merely one of a number of individuals who thought they were doing the right thing by informing me as the one tasked with maintaining the peace between the races of threats to that peace. I also assured them that your loyalty to me would keep you here, and to my knowledge you had no ambitions for power”

“What would I do with power?” Meetal asked in confusion, “I was just happy to serve you sire in keeping law and order”

“I know by old friend” Madron replied and then he looked at the floor, feeling ashamed, “You have been free to leave all this time, but I never told you so because I did not want you to go”

“I do not want to leave sire” Meetal insisted, “It is quiet here, and the other kobolds do not understand the old ways”

Madron stood up straight, “There is no way around this, we need to warn the Drow High Council if it is not too late, and you son, accompanied by my faithful former servant Meetal must go on this mission.”

“So” The Clan Chief of the Manjura growled, “I would do the dangerous part whilst you foist this lackey of yours on to me and stay safe in your little hideaway in the desert.”

“This place is not safe either Padow” Madron snapped back, “One of the Hadreth knows I was scrying on him and will most likely know of this place. If they do not try some distance attack, they will try and mount some kind of effort to silence me. If you two are here, they will silence you too. I must remain here, so that if the worst happens and the Hadreth take me out, you may have a chance to get the word out. It is vital Padow that the Hadreth do not succeed. I saw what they did in that other timeline. They care nothing for our sacred law about not interfering in the world of the humans. In that other timeline they enslaved them and threw their lot in with some powerful entities who tried to wipe out the entire population of the world of humans”

For a moment the Clan Chief of the Manjura was silent as he glowered at his estranged father and former tyrant.

“But sire” Meetal asked, “How would I be of assistance? I am not a warrior like your son”

Madron squatted down to Meetal’s level, the first time he had ever done so in Meetal’s memory, and spoke softly to him. “Meetal my old friend, you are braver than you realise. Remember how I told you in that alternate timeline you went to the world of the humans and tracked down that human called Mr Vee. You even managed to kill a Hadreth drow. You have skills to allow you to move unseen by others without magic. Padow will be your master now for this quest. As I said, if the Hadreth come for me, I do not want you here.”

Madron stood up and approached his son, “Padow” Madron growled, “I realise we are leagues apart, but you must trust me on this, the drow do have an honour code of sorts, but the Hadreth drow are more dangerous and treacherous than you can imagine. I need you to help thwart them, I need you to get my former servant to safety. As for whatever crimes you think he did, it was all at my behest. Meetal was only trying to be a loyal servant of law and order and to maintain the sacred law, just as you once swore to uphold our sacred law”

The Clan chief of the Manjura looked at the ground and shook his head. He then looked up. “From what I briefly heard from the humans, the Hadreth drow under that evil drow Vabalavich were without honour. I will do this, not for you father, but for the humans that we once had the alliance with as they were honourable. As for this kobold of yours, can you guarantee he won’t stab me in the back and run off”

“I resent that” Meetal chipped in

“Meetal in that other timeline proved his honour and worth” Madron growled, “I would not entrust him to you, my only son if that were not so. Do not slur his honour; he has more honour than some of the Manjura trolls I had to work with”

“I will be leaving within the hour” The Clan chief of the Manjura told his father.

“The sooner you are away, the better the chance of this mission” Madron replied

+ + +


The Castle Lodinium
(The alternate human world)




Lord Samail gave orders for the guard open the cell door to the dungeon while Lady Sharlane waited impatiently.

“Before you go in” Lord Samail said to Lady Sharlane, “I must warn you that you will be in for a surprise that may drive you to insanity. I myself was subject to the same surprise but was of strong mind to resist such a calamity”

Lady Sharlane gave a contemptuous laugh, “You always exaggerate Samail”

“Do not say I did not warn you” Lord Samail rebuked her.

Lady Sharlane walked past Lord Samail into the cell and suddenly stopped.

“I told you, you would be surprised” Lord Samail whispered to Lady Sharlane, “Before you ask, she is not a double walker, or what they call a doppelganger. She is very much human”

Lady Sharlane looked at the two naked female prisoners chained to the wall, with their heads bowed. Both of them had black eyes from initial interrogation and blood streaming down their faces. One of the prisoners was the spitting image of Lady Sharlane.

“I came across my own double from amongst the heretics” Lord Samail continued, “But he escaped thanks to entities from that magic using troll world”.

“And your plans for these wretches?” Lardy Sharlane asked.

“As soon as we get them to talk to tell us where Sir Timous is being held, they will be executed” Lord Samail answered, “however we could spare you the one who is your double, and hand her over to you to do what you wish?”

Lady Sharlane walked over to the female prisoner who did not look like her and grabbed the prisoner’s jaw. The female prisoner flinched in pain. Lady Charlane chanted several words that were not understood by Lord Samail, but were obviously magical.

“Her name” Lady Sharlane said with a cruel voice, “is Sarah Willows, she is a wench of low status and knows nothing of where your servant is. You can dispatch her now if you wish.”

Lady Sharlane moved over to the one who looked like her. This prisoner slowly lifted her head and then spat at Lady Sharlane.

Instantly Lady Sharlane lifted her right hand, and the spittle stopped in mid-air. “You need to learn some manners” Lady Sharlane snarled at the prisoner.

Suddenly there were mini lightening bolds as they danced over the female prisoner that looked like her. The female prisoner screamed in agony as the lightening flew from Lady Sharlane’s right hand.

Lady Sharlane stopped the spell and approached this female prisoner, “Just because you look like me, does not mean you will get any mercy from me you heretic”, she told the female prisoner before clasping her jaw.

As Lady Sharlane tried to probe this prisoner, she found it tougher than the other prisoner, because unlike the first prisoner, this one’s spirit had not been broken. This one had obviously been a warrior of high rank on her world and had obviously learned how to have a focused mind.

“Resisting me will only make this more unpleasant” Lady Sharlane snarled at the female prisoner who looked like her.

The female prisoner screamed in agony as Lady Sharlane, once again sent another mini lightning bolt through her, and then Lady Sharlane stepped back.

“Her name is even similar to my name and my title” Lady Sharlane said contemptuously, “It is Charlene Henshaw. She even claims to have a title similar to that of a healer without being a healer, a title they call doctor. She is of higher status than the other prisoner”

“Does she know?” Lord Samail asked.

“No!” Lady Sharlane replied, “She is just as ignorant of the whereabouts of Sir Timous as the other prisoner. You may have them both dispatched.” Lady Sharlane then turned around and faced Lord Samail, “You could of course offer my double to the heretics in exchange for your servant. It is unlikely they will trade anything for the other prisoner, as she is so menial. I could dispatch that one for you right now if you want”

“Be my guest” Lord Samail replied, “It will save me the job myself”

At that Lady Sharlane hurled a massive lightning bolt at the prisoner called Sarah Willows. Sarah screamed in agony and, as Lady Sharlane smiled at the pain she was inflicting while she ripped the life from this wretch. After what seemed like an eternity, the prisoner was finally dead.

Charlene raised her head from where she was chained to the wall, “You b*****ds” she swore.

Instantly another bolt flew at her from this Lady Sharlane who looked like her and she writhed in agony.

“You may have more spirit than the other wretch” Lady Sharlane sneered, “but you will learn manners, and you will learn only to speak when we permit it”

“The dead wench” Lord Samail spoke to the guards, “After we have left, take her down and cast her body into the lime pit. As for the other one, teach her some manners.”

“Then can we have her sire?” one of the guards asked. It was obvious to Charlene that they were asking permission to rape her.

Lord Samail turned to Lady Sharlane, “Should we allow this request?” he asked Lady Charlane, “she is your double”

“You want me to sanction their base instincts?” Lady Sharlane asked, “If we wish to use her for trading for Sir Timous, would that not damage her value”

“Maybe you are right” Lord Samail replied, and then he turned to his guards, “She is not to be violated this time”

Lord Samail turned back to Lady Sharlane, “Maybe we were a bit hasty in despatching the other one, “We could have given her to my men”

Lady Sharlane looked at Lord Samail contemptuously, “That wretch was so pathetic and undeserving, and that death was too good for her, why do you think I dragged it out. Your guards will just have to find some other female prisoner to satisfy their lusts. Someone who is more worthy”

“Maybe that dead wench can be of some use” Lord Samail grinned, then he turned to the guards telling them, “The dead prisoner, I have plans for her body. I will send Quaylong down to inform you of them”

Lord Samail turned to Lady Sharlane, “If we are to make the heretics think we will trade, we need to prove we have their warrior and our resolve”
“I see your plan” Lady Sharlane remarked, “it may yet have merit”

Lady Sharlane then left the cell, followed by Lord Samail, and strode through the dungeon complex to the exit.

Lord Samail finally caught up with her. “Are you remotely interested in the fact that on the world of the heretics you have a double?”

Lady Sharlane thought for a moment, and then shook her head, “No” she told Lord Samail, “That wench is not me, she is someone else. I am Lady Sharlane of the Henna Shores, not this pathetic heretic with a face like mine”

The Walong Mountains
The Mystical Realms



Meetal gazed back towards the place that had been his home for a number of seasons as the Clan Chief of the Manjura strode on ahead.

A tear formed in his eye as he remembered the good times there. To some kobolds it may have been boring and quiet, but at least it was away from the intrigue and danger that he had had to contend with when he helped his master keep order during his reign as the Lord Low Troll.

The part that upset Meetal the most was his master’s belief that he may not survive the attack he suspected would come from the rising menace of the Hadreth Drow. Now Meetal was on route to the domain of the drow.

“If you must be forced onto me you vermin” the Clan Chief of the Manjura called out, “the least you could do is keep up”

Meetal wrenched his gaze from the place where their cave was and then ran with his heavy back pack to catch up with his master’s ungrateful son. Meetal was still unsure if his master’s son would dispatch him, since the Clan Chief of the Manjura hated Meetal, almost as much as he hated his own father.

+ + +


An undisclosed location
Washington DC




“Any luck” Walter asked Major Bolak and Jaheel

Jaheel shook his head, “I have tried to scan the major’s memories to see if there was more to identify this under sea vessel. We could not find any more, however”

“However what” Walter interrupted Jaheel.

“It was not a magic using human on that dark space” Major Bolak replied.
“We believe it may have been another drow” Jaheel cut in, “I felt such a presence when I first entered the Majors memories of the dark space interrogation, although it seemed strange as it seemed like one with little experience of dark space activity. It was there for a moment and then it was gone as if they realised they might be detected and were hiding rapidly”

“Another drow” Walter questioned, “Why would your own people want to see our world ravaged by a nuclear war”

“I have no idea” Major Bolak said in a venomous tone, “Someone interfered with my interrogation and killed your prisoner. Have you had any luck tracing this submarine with your own technology?”

Walter shook his head, “Those trident submarines were designed for stealth, even the captains of the British surface ships that defected have no idea where they could be. We have mobilised one of our fleets near South Korea to look for them, for all the good they can do, but there are no guarantees we can find it in time before it has a chance to fire it’s missiles. We don’t even know how many could be in on this attempt to provoke the North Koreans”

“Have we informed the North Korean government of the situation” Samuel asked Walter, “If they do succeed in firing on North Korea we have to get them to not retaliate”

Walter shrugged his shoulders, “I’m not sure how the State Department is handling this, especially given the lack of diplomatic relations we have had with them over the years”

“Maybe we could try the Russians?” Samuel suggested, “The Major used to be a military attaché for them, they might have more influence”

“I could try” Major Bolak cut in, “But I would not think I would be of much use, given that last time I was there I terminated that Hadreth traitor Vabalavich I am not sure how I would be received”

“I’m not sure we have many options” Walter replied, “We have no way of knowing how close those British subs are to their target, and no way of stopping them without out having to destroy them, if we can”

“Even if these North Koreans you speak of could be persuaded not to retaliate” Jaheel cut in, “There will still be massive loss of life in that kingdom”

“What I do not understand” Major Bolak said slowly and deliberately, “is why my fellow drow would seek to prevent me from stopping these magic using humans from carrying out their plan, when we were both sent to assist you by the Drow High Council. It was the drow after all who prevented the demons in 1962 from trying to start another nuclear war during your Cuban missile crisis, and during the alternate timeline the drow under the Hadreth considered your world a place to exploit, not destroy”

“I have no idea too” Walter interrupted, “But if you say that whoever who killed this Sir Timous guy was another drow, that is an unwelcome development”

“Maybe” Samuel suggested, “This drow was from the world of the techno trolls. We know that they stole material to make a bio-weapon in their war with the magic using humans. Maybe they have heard of the magic using humans plan to get us to nuke each other, and are making sure it succeeds”

“Magic using humans and techno trolls working for the same end?” Walter asked, “I thought they were at war with each other”

Samuel sighed, “Bolak” he asked Major Bolak, “Is there some other way of locating this submarine? When I was serving in England, there were some people who claimed they could find water with bits of twig or metal rods”

“You mean the discredited process of dowsing” Major Bolak sneered

“Yeah, I know it doesn’t work with us humans as we don’t have magic! Samuel responded, “But I just wondered if you drow with what you claim is magic superior to the elves could do this for real”

“Brigadier General” Major Bolak replied with a hint of frustration, “We do have our limitations”

“So you can’t do it” Samuel snapped back.

“Maybe we could use another dark space” Jaheel interrupted
“On whom?” Major Bolak countered,
“One of the crew of those underwater vessels” Jaheel suggested
“Do you know how many submarines the British Royal Navy has?” Major Bolak asked Jaheel, “Do you know how many people crew these vessels?, We need to have the person present or some kind of connection, such as the one that Vabalavich used in the alternate timeline when he used Miss Mitchel to get to Celeste”

“How did they do it in 1962” Walter asked, “How did they find that sub back then”.

Major Bolak stopped, “I believe the Hadreth homed in on the specific demon who was trying to instigate the nuclear conflict. The magic those beings exuded was like a large flame, attracting moths.”

“And we don’t have a handy demon to act as a navigation beacon” Walter said as he shook his head.

“Maybe not” Samuel spoke up, “But in order to get these commanders to do the bidding of these magic using humans, could there be some form of enchantment? Just going to nuke North Korea on one set of orders seems farfetched.”

“Like some kind of illusion making the crew think they are at war?” Major Bolak suggested

“Anything like that” Samuel asked

“A detect magic spell?” Jaheel chimed in, “like the one we used to find the dimension door that Sir Timous was using”

“It sounds like a very long shot to me” Walter replied, “We still do not know if they will have been using magic to give orders to those subs”
“What else have we got Walter” Samuel remarked, “Bolak, Jaheel, make it happen”

“Brigadier General, in spite of Jaheel’s enthusiasm” Major Bolak replied, “I have to agree with the Vice Admiral, this is indeed a long shot, to try an locate a hypothetical illusion spell on the other side of this planet, submerged in open seas”

“We have to try” insisted Jaheel

“Go ahead” Major Bolak sneered, “I doubt you will find anything”

“Maybe we can help” squeaked a small voice.

They all turned around to see a small naked male figure wearing a green pointed hat



“With all due respect” Major Bolak scoffed, “What can pixies do that drow can’t”

“They can try” Samuel countered.

“Here’s the deal” Walter spoke to the pixie, “We have an unknown number of British nuclear submarines heading to North Korea to fire nuclear missiles at it in order to provoke a nuclear war”

“Will they believe they are at war?” asked the pixie

“Probably” Walter replied, “Or they could be under some kind of spell, we don’t know”

“I will go speak with the others” the pixie replied and then vanished

“How did he get in?” Walter then asked

The question went unanswered.
Suddenly Walter’s mobile phone sounded. Walter answered it.

Samuel watched as Walters face turned ashen.

Walter hung up.

“What is it Vice Admiral?” Major Bolak asked

“That was Quantico” Walter answered, “The body of Sarah Willows has appeared at the base she was abducted from, with a note pinned to a knife that was rammed through her chest.”

“And?” Samuel asked

“The note is demanding we return Sir Timous to those sons of b**ches who have taken the UK, or Doctor Henshaw will be killed like Miss Willows”

“How can you?” Jaheel asked, “Sir Timous is dead and turned to ash?”

to be continued
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Episode IV– Simulacrum and integritas


Spoiler:


Some deaths are pointless; no purpose is ever served, as if purpose could be served by death. Well perhaps it can, in the heroic death, killing for food or to end suffering. One such pointless death was on the Star Trek Next Generation story, Skin of Evil, when the character Tasha Yarr was killed off



This seems to be the case when the former member of the British Entity Affairs Directorate, Sarah Willows dead body has been returned to Quantico, after she was killed by the Lady Sharlane, an exact double for Doctor Charlene Henshaw, because she considered Sarah to be too low in status to be of use. The magic using humans are demanding the return of the captured Sir Timous in return for the life of Doctor Henshaw, unaware that he has been murdered by a secret member of the banned drow order, the Hadreth


+ + +


An undisclosed location
Washington DC




Janine Sedlacek sat at the table in the empty and deserted staff canteen staring into space, thinking of her former colleague Sarah. She had heard of the Brigadier General’s anger at how Sarah had been “hung out to dry” and how the Brigadier General regarded Janine, given what her father had done.

Janine thought it was best to stay out of the Brigadier General’s way, anyway, what use was she now?

A dark figure entered the canteen.

Janine looked up, it was Jaheel, one of the drow that had come to Earth to try and deal with the magic using humans.

“I did not realise you were here” Jaheel told her.

Janine looked up, with a tear in her eye, “I better go then” she replied to the drow.

“I did not mean for you to go” Jaheel responded, “I was meeting someone”

Another person entered the canteen from another door, a human female this time.

“What’s she doing here” the woman said with anger, it was former Corporal Tania McCaskey.

“We rescued here when that magic using human came after her” Jaheel explained to Tania.
“Do you not know who she is?” Tania asked Jaheel with incredulity.
Jaheel from what Janine could see looked confused, “She was a member of the organisation in the United Kingdom known as”

“She’s the daughter of Sir Sidney Gerald” Tania interrupted, “That b*tch should be in a prison cell for what she and her father did to me”

Janine looked up, it seemed there was nothing she could ever do or say to make right what her father had done when he had engineered Tania’s conviction before a Courts Marshall on trumped up charges. To add insult to injury her father then tried to make Tania confess to the crime on video as part of a deal to grant access to the Mystical Realms to the American government.

“I know that because of this Sir Sidney you were unjustly accused of a crime Tania” Jaheel replied to Tania, “But I did not know that Miss Sedlacek was the daughter of that particular man”

“She was his PA as well” Tania said accusingly

“And it was her who took down her father” came the voice of Major Bolak, the other drow, as he entered the canteen. “The real question Miss McCaskey is why you are here? I hope it is not to further entice Jaheel further into a relationship that is not expedient and fitting for a drow of his heritage”

“And why is that so wrong” Jaheel countered, “Tania has more honour than some of the drow females that my father tried to marry me off to”

“But she is not of the right heritage” Major Bolak insisted, “And although it matters not much to me who you sleep with”

“Excuse me” Tania interrupted,
Tania was ignored by Major Bolak as he continued, “It does however matter if that can be used by enemies of your father on the Drow High council”

“Who appointed you to act as his keeper” Tania countered

Major Bolak continued to ignore Tania, “There are those who believe that we must keep our bloodlines from being contaminated by other races, and there are some who believe your companion should be of good drow stock so drow houses can be united”

“Major” Jaheel replied, “I have always told my father that I had no interest in leading the Drow High Council or serving on it, so why should I not be with the woman I love”

“There are many and various reasons” Major Bolak countered, “But now is not the time to discuss them, I came to see”

Major Bolak stopped.

In the argument with Jaheel and the McCaskey female, they had not noticed Miss Sedlacek leaving the room.

+


Janine wandered down one of the corridors of what was once the American Inter Dimensional Entity Control building.

Unlike the former Entity Affairs Directorate in England, this place was above ground, and in its heyday apparently employees wore normal clothing, rather than paper smocks or nothing at all. They did not have the same paranoia about doppelganger infiltration that the Entity Affairs Directorate had.

Janine could not help thinking how the corporal had a point, what was the point in her being there?, Through her they had captured the leader of the magic using humans who had gained the foothold on Earth by capturing the United Kingdom, even though he had not survived the interrogation technique. So why giver her protection, when someone who had been a loyal and law abiding citizen all her life, who had never put a foot wrong, like Sarah Willows, had been abandoned, and as a result killed.

It was not fair.

+ + +


The Troll City of Power
The Manjura Empire




Strang was waiting in reception of the orc run research station when Mopal, one of the orcs, came out to meet him. Mopal had been Jankle’s deputy before he had been mysteriously killed. The official report stated he had been knifed by one of the magic using humans who had gated in to the facility. Strang suspected the work of Padow, The Lord High Troll, but he could not prove it.

“I hear you are now troll regent” Mopal opened with, “what brings you to our laboratory?”

“I am here to instruct you to resume work on the new bioweapon”

“Of course regent we would eagerly comply” Mopal responded, “but the leader of the troll council ordered it to be shelved.”

“As troll regent” Strang replied, “while the Lord High Troll is away off world, I have the equivalent authority to him, and if I understand our constitution, that outranks the leader of the troll council”

“Does not the troll council have the power to overrule a Lord High Troll?” Mopal inquired suspiciously
Strang smiled, “Only on a unanimous vote” he said with a grin, “And I have already spoken to those on the council who support me and have not met with unfortunate accidents, lone muggers or some human attack. That troll council leader will not be able to interfere.”

“Very well Regent” Mopal answered back, “but the council leader said that a deal had been done with the drow on some other world where our kind use magic. A place they call the Mystical Realms. We pull out of their world and they take down the magic using humans who have been attacking us”

Strang snorted contemptuously, “I never trust anyone who uses magic, and neither does our Lord High Troll. In fact” Strang went on, “It was the Lord High Troll who appointed me to act as regent here while he stayed behind to see if those drow can keep their end of the deal. How do we know that these magic using drow will not switch sides? I heard while I was there, that the trolls on that other world had once formed an allegiance with the technological humans we recovered the virus from. They could easily make a deal with the magic using humans as well. That is why we need a backup plan.”

“Very well regent” Mopal replied, “We still have some prisoners I believe from that human world we obtained the virus. They were scheduled to be executed tomorrow, they will make excellent test subjects to make sure the virus is lethal against their disgusting kind”

“Keep me informed of progress” Strang told him, and then handed him a card. “This are my personal communication details, I would rather we kept the trolls council out of the loop, given their weakness and how they effectively allowed our world to be invaded”


A wilderness cave
The Walong Mountains
The Mystical Realms



Madron sat at the entrance to the cave fingering the amulet that long dead elves had once fashioned for him



It was supposed to ward off a dark space attack by drow, the mortal enemies of elves. It had been fashioned when Madron ruled as Lord Low Troll and so needed protection, as even back then there had been an alliance between trolls and elves.

But when Madron ruled, it had been difficult times and he had had to resort to tyranny to keep the peace as long as he could, before civil war broke out across the Mystical Realms.

The suspicion he had harboured, was that maybe the amulet would not work, because the elves of long ago would have thought it would be better if he was replaced with a Lord Low Troll or troll emperor who would not be as strict in their eyes.

This was all he had, for as soon as he slept, Madron knew that the drow he had scried and was aware of his scrying, would come for him, either physically or most likely by use of the drow dark space. The drow that Madron had spied upon was of that feared and forbidden order of drow, the Hadreth, and they were consummate masters of assassination by dark space, as it left no trace. Not even the humans be believed with all their forensic sciences could ever prove how a Hadreth drow would be involved

The two suns had now set and three of the world’s four moons could now be seen, the fourth one would not appear in the night sky with the others for a week, so he calculated. He listened to quietness of the wilderness as the nocturnal animals took over from the daylight animals.

Madron just hoped his son the Clan chief of the Manjura as he insisted on calling himself, and his adopted son of Meetal the kobold were well on their way into the heart of drow territory to warn the Drow High council of the danger. Madron knew he could trust Meetal, as in the alternate timeline he had sent Meetal on a mission to an occupied Earth, but his son the Clan chief of the Manjura, he was not so sure. He was worried that his son might try instead to rally forces to go against the technological trolls who had captured Central City and used their technological terrors to subdue the rest of the Mystical Realms.

Madron noticed his eyes getting heavier.

He forced himself to get up.

Madron left his cave and wondered over to his small garden and the special house he had constructed to keep various domesticated flightless birds that were used for eggs, and occasional meat. He normally locked the birds in for the night, but this time he opened the door. If the birds wanted to they could escape to the rest of the garden, and live on, should something happen to him.

Madron knew his end was near. Again he fingered the amulet he had been told would protect him from a drow dark space attack when the elves fabricated it for him when he was the Lord Low Troll. The only problem was, who the elves hated more when he was in office, him for what he had to do to keep law and order or the drow, their sworn mortal enemies.

If he was to sleep that night, Madron felt it should be in the open, under the stars, that way, when they found his dead body, well at least Meetal would not have to somehow clean the cave out.

Madron walked a reasonable way beyond his garden to a small rock, he would often come to, and there sat down.

Madron looked up into the night sky at the three moons and thought of all those he had had to have executed, especially those who had been innocent, like the second youngest younglings of those troll clans when he had to stop the Clan Chief of the Najav from becoming emperor. A troll he knew to be weak and indecisive, which would have led to the civil war a lot earlier than it actually happened. Only Madron knew the truth about that dark period of his life now and he had even kept it secret from faithful Meetal.

“I had to” Madron called out to the night sky, “There was a greater good that needed to be served, a greater evil that needed to be vanquished. I HAD NO CHOICE!”

Then Madron recomposed himself as he gazed out into the wilderness. Those were darker times and he had to be darker to keep things together. Only Meetal and some drow understood that. Not his son. His son had it easier, after all a boil had been lanced by the civil war. It had been a bitter civil war that Madron had sat out whilst his twin brother paid the ultimate price, making everyone think he was dead.

Slowly Madron’s eyes grew heavier

And then it was over.

Madron was asleep.

+ + +


An undisclosed location
Washington DC




Walter Quentin looked up from the old desk up at Janine, “What can I do for you Miss Sedlacek?” he asked.

“That should have been me on the slab, not Sarah” Janine squeaked out, “I was the one they wanted”

“What makes you think that?” Walter asked
“They blamed me for the death of one of their number when our clean up squad attacked them in London” Janine replied, “Sir Timous blamed me personally”

“A mere human blaming others for their lack of adequacy” Major Bolak’s voice interrupted, from behind. “You are a hard person to track down Miss Sedlacek” Major Bolak continued.

“I didn’t feel like flavour of the month back there” Janine replied weakly.
“You must not let that corporal get inside your head” Bolak answered back

“But she’s right” Janine protested.

“NO” Bolak retorted sternly, “I knew of your father, even from Moscow. If he were of the drow, he would not have been out of place amongst the old Hadreth order. If you had not done his bidding, someone else would have. He also like the Hadreth, got careless, and trusted you, if I heard rightly; you played on that trust right up to the time you took him down”

“I did what had to be done because of what he did to my mother” Janine replied with guilt in her voice.

“A noble motive for patricide if ever I saw one” Major Bolak beamed.

“Is there something you wanted?” Walter interrupted, “We are kind of busy trying to track down that nuclear submarine before we end up in a nuclear war with North Korea and their allies”

“Well” Major Bolak replied, “You have nothing to worry about from Russia as I have spoken to them”

“I thought you were persona non grata on account of your assassination of Vabalavich” Walter answered back.

“Fortunately before he died Ambassador Tragal sorted that misunderstanding out with the Russians” Major Bolak replied, “The fact that I spared Moscow being obliterated in this revised time line may have had something to do with it. They assure me they will be putting whatever diplomatic pressure they have on the North Koreans not to retaliate should any of those British submarines fire upon that realm”

“Which is not much” Walter mused

“Unfortunately I have to concur with you Vice Admiral” Bolak replied with a note of resignation in his voice, “Meanwhile I need the services of Miss Sedlacek”

“What can I do?” Janine asked

“Well for a time you did manage to replicate a wormhole generator” Bolak replied, “And you helped maintain your father’s artificial universe prison. I have been in touch with the local constabulary to request the services of one Peter Smith”

“You have no authority to do that” Walter said as he stood up at his desk, “You are just a visitor here”

“Sent by Marshal Dacron of the Drow High Council to deal with these magic using humans if I recall” Bolak replied in his characteristic smarmy voice.
“Aren’t you supposed to be using magic to do that?” Walter asked

“We are” Bolak replied, “But back in the old days of the UK Inter Dimensional Entity Control when they had that policy of Incarcerate, Interrogate and Exterminate they used certain technologies to track the gateways to our world.”

“I thought Sky-Guard was taken out by the technological trolls” Walter interrupted

“Indeed it was” Major Bolak replied, “But there were more localised scanners as well. It was such technology that the late Timothy Zachary, an employee of that agency, used to calibrate the first artificial generator that you later came to rely on”

“I am aware of the history Bolak” Walter said with irritation, “But they had limited range”.

“It is better than nothing Vice Admiral, but returning to your point about using just magic, would it not be prudent to use a technological solution as well?” Bolak asked, “If those magic using humans are using some kind of magic orbs, similar to ours to get between this world and theirs, would it not be an idea to calibrate one of your devices so we can take this war back to them”

“From what Brigadier General Peters says those technological trolls tried to take them on and they’ve been losing a war” Walter protested

“But they do not have our drow magic” Major Bolak grinned, “And after we have dealt with those magic using humans, we will press with the technological trolls to leave this world in peace”

“But it’s been a while since I last worked with that technology” Janine interrupted
“I’m sure it will come back you” Major Bolak replied, “Since we no longer have the services of Doctor Henshaw, you will have to do”

“Are we not going to use it to try some kind of rescue?” Janine asked

Walter shook his head, “There will be no rescue. The joint chiefs have considered such a mission too risky. That’s why the Brigadier General is not here, he’s off to try and change their minds. He muttered about not leaving anyone behind and it being a marine thing, I don’t think he knows Capitol Hill like I do”

+ + +


The edge of the Waylong mountain range
The Mystical Realms



The troll Clan Chief of the Manjura and Meetal were just about keeping pace with one another, although it was becoming obvious that Meetal the kobold was beginning to find it hard to keep up, especially as night fall was upon them.

They still had about two or three day’s journey to make it to the edge of the drow enclaves. From what Meetal knew of them and this part of their world, they still seemed to be on track, although Meetal was still worried that the son of his master the former Lord Low Troll, would go against his father’s wishes and divert to the city of the Central Plane to take on the usurper who looked like him and claimed to be the Lord High Troll. Meetal also worried that this particular troll would kill him for what he perceived as crimes carried out during his master’s reign as Lord Low Troll

The lack of speech between the pair spoke volumes.

They were now at a stream that was on the edge of the wilderness. Its appearance of tranquillity just served to underline how desperate their situation was in a strange kind of way. It looked to Meetal so peaceful as the water made its way down the river at this point, but further downstream with other small streams it was a raging river with rocks and many waterfalls. Just like how the Hadreth drow operated according to his master, they would be the appearance something familiar and innocuous but further along, they would be an unstoppable force.

According to his master it had been the Hadreth in the other timeline who had assisted in the overthrow of the governing bodies not only on Meetal’s world, but also the world of the humans.

“We cannot go on much further” The Clan Chief of the Manjura announced, shattering Meetal’s thoughts, “We make camp here”

Meetal wanted to go on if he could, he was afraid to sleep, what if the drow that his master spoke of came after him in a dark space attack after finding out about their mission. Meetal suspected even his master might not be able to resist the attack of a drow master.

“What about the Hadreth?” Meetal found himself whimpering.

“What about them” The Clan Chief of the Manjura snarled at Meetal, It was obvious that the danger of a dark space attack had not entered his mind

“The Hadreth drow” Meetal whined,” They might use a dark space on us?”

“They would not dare” The Clan chief of the Manjura snarled back

Meetal thought best to bide his words, this troll was so full of hate for his father and for Meetal, that he was blind to the danger that Meetal was only too well aware of.

Meetal unpacked his back pack and took out a blanket, just as the troll did the same, placing them near some rocks just above the stream and as out of sight as possible.

The Clan Chief of the Manjura did not seem to bother with and end of day meal, Meetal was unsure why, but given the reaction to his concern about dark space, he thought it was best to go to bed hungry, wondering if he would die that night, either at the hand of the drow, or the Clan Chief of the Manjura himself.

+ + +


The Drow High Council chambers
The Mystical Realms



Dacron lay on the bed in his chamber next to his new personal assistant, Quittox, holding her hand. Both drow were fully clothed. Something that felt both strange and pleasant to Quittox.

They were about to enter a dark space again to deal with what Marshal Dacron said was a loose end.

“My lord” Quittox asked, “I though Councillor Kay-Vlar said trolls were immune to psychic attack?”
“That my dear is what they like to think” Dacron replied.

Suddenly Quittox found herself standing naked next to her master Dacron on a black plane, identical to the one she had been on when Dacron had dispatched some human that his arch nemesis Major Bolak had been trying to interrogate.

That time it was to embarrass a known enemy of the Hadreth and ensure the humans on that world were lined up for Dacron’s master plan. This time, they had to deal with someone that Dacron said was a potential threat and also instrumental in the demise of a Hadreth victory.

Dacron looked at Quittox’s naked figure on the dark space, shook his head and laughed. “You are not that used to clothing are you?”

“Sorry my lord” Quittox replied and then looked down, “A bonded drow female does not deserve clothing and carries out her servitude naked” she whispered.

“But you are no longer a bonded drow” Dacron smiled as he lifted up her head, “That is a part of your psyche you must eliminate, you are a proud Hadreth. Remember your heritage, remember how that was taken from you. Discard that feeling of servitude, embrace the anger that should be running through your veins. Remember those children who were slain because their parents were Hadreth, remember the fear you had that you might be discovered, use it to burn that psyche of a pathetic bonded drow to dust.”

Quittox gazed into Dacrons eyes. She of course knew they were not really his eyes but his projection into the dark space. They blazed like pools of fire, and then the emotions he mentioned hit her.

The total injustice of the slaughter of Hadreth, even down to the younglings. Years of faithful service forgotten because one member was deemed to be a threat when all he was doing was making the drow strong again after their side-lining by the elves and the trolls.

A searing pain went through her and she screamed.

Suddenly Quittox was back on the bed lying next to Marshal Dacron.

Slowly he opened his eyes.

“Sorry my liege” Quittox apologised

“No need to apologise” Marshall Dacron replied, “I should have dealt with this before we went onto the dark space. Let us try again”

Quittox closed her eyes and once again she was standing on the infinite dark plane with Marshall Dacron, but this time she was fully clothed, just as she was in real life.

+ + +


An undisclosed location
Washington DC




Brigadier General Samuel Peters brushed past Walters PA as he entered into his office.

Walter looked up at Samuel, “I see you got nowhere”
“That’s a damned understatement if ever I heard one” Samuel shouted back, “We don’t leave people behind!” Samuel continued, “those b****rds have decided to write Doctor Henshaw off as dead”.

“Sam, I sympathise” Walter replied, “I really do, but what can we do?”

“Send in a team” Samuel snapped back

“Let me remind you Sam” Walter answered back, “We don’t have a good track record of rescue missions, even when confined to ops on this world, let alone a completely different world none of us have ever been to.”

“I have” Samuel interrupted, “So has Miss Sedlacek, we have a fair idea of the layout of their Castle Lodinium”

“Assuming Doctor Henshaw is being held there” Walter cut back in, before continuing, “Need I also remind you Sam, we are in the middle of a war between these magic using humans who have taken Doctor Henshaw and those technological trolls who have taken a large number of people from a UK defence base and by your own intel captured IDW01”

Samuel continued to glower at Walter. “And we should be getting those people back as well” he muttered.

“Against a technological foe, almost equal to us in ability” Walter said with incredulity in his voice, “We have no idea if those people are still alive”.

“We have two drow and a number of pixies” Samuel insisted, “We have magical back up to mount one”

“We can’t spare them” Walter interrupted, “As the people on the Hill will have told you, we have a British nuclear submarine possibly on it’s way to start World War three with North Korea”

“We go in Walter” Samuel replied, “We capture that Lord Samail and we make them give up its location” Samuel pleaded.

“He may not know” Walter answered back, “That knowledge may have died with Sir Timous, and we only have Major Bolak’s word that it was some other party who must have killed him”

Samuel was silent for a few seconds, “Even though he is a drow, he has proven he can be trusted more than some elves or senators”

“Really?” Walter questioned, “Didn’t he leave you stranded on IDW02 while he captured a certain Mr Andrews to trade with the Lord Low Troll along with the late Mr Vee?”

+ + +



The Castle Lodinium
(The alternate human world)




“I wonder why the heretics are taking so long.” Lord Samail asked out loud as he sat at his banqueting table, waited upon by naked daughters of nobles he had under his control.

Lady Sharlane of the Henna Shores looked up from the other side of the table. “Maybe I overestimated the worth of our heretic prisoner” she replied, “They may consider Sir Timous of more value than her”

Lord Samail stared at one of the dishes on the table for a moment, “There is another reason I suppose. I suspect they do not wish to appear weak”
“I see your point Lord Samail” Lady Sarlane replied, “If you were to yield to heretics to retrieve even a son, you enemies here would consider you weak for giving in to them and use it as an excuse to move against you”

“And you would know who such war lords are my lady” Lord Samail challenged.

Lady Sharlane feigned surprise and shook her head, “I speak only of what if my Lord Samail” she replied, “I can think of no one would have you deposed”, she lied, “I would abandon my own flesh too if circumstance demanded it. Besides my lord, if your Sir Timous was foolish enough to be captured, is he really someone to have as your right hand man?”

“He has served me well in the past” Lord Samail retorted, “and has been very loyal”.

“And yet according to your own Quaylong he was captured going on a personal vendetta” Lady Sharlane replied back with an evil grin

“He told you that?” Lord Samail asked with surprise slightly evident in his voice.

“Even a magic user’s mind can be an open book, especially if they are male” Lady Sharlane answered back. “If I were you my Lord, if the heretics are foolish enough to have him returned, I would make an example of him for his recklessness”

Lord Samail glowered at Lady Sharlane, “Sir Timous was acting out of honour to a fallen comrade whose death was precipitated by a heretic female”

“This comrade you speak of was a mercenary” Lady Sharlane said in angry rebuke, “Sir Timous could not stand the fact that a woman got the better of him.”

Lord Samail thought for a moment, “When will you be reporting back to the other war lords?”

“Eager to get rid of me?” Lady Sharlane questioned

“They sent you here, I wondered when you would report back to them that I have all matters in hand over our war with the trolls”

Lady Sharlane shook her head, “I am not convinced you have Lord Samail, We were supposed to be fighting one adversary and yet the war opened a dangerous front onto a world of heretic technology using humans, and you now say there is another world of magic using trolls?”

“Elves” Lord Samail corrected Lady Sharlane, “In that place they call the Mystical Realms the trolls use elves as mercenaries, well they did until our enemies the technological trolls wiped them out when they took that world”

“You make my point Lord Samail” Lady Sharlane continued, “Our enemies have a source not only of a possible weapon against us, but possibly access to magic.”

“I doubt the trolls will try and use magic from that world” Lord Samail rebuffed, “They are so dependent on their filthy technology, just like the heretic humans we have come across. And both deserve the same fate. Annihilation”

Lady Sharlane looked pensive at Lord Samail. Lord Samail did not need to be a mind reader like Lady Sharlane obviously was.

“There is one difference Lord Samail that makes the human heretics even more dangerous” Lady Sharlane ventured

“How could they possibly be more dangerous than the trolls?” Lord Samail scoffed, “Compared to the trolls and the orcs, and even the elves, humans without magic are no match for them. That is the edge we have and why we most likely will win this war with the troll enemies”

“The heretics have also used magic” Lady Sharlane uttered.

“What do you mean?” Lord Samail asked, “I have interrogated trolls and elves myself before running them through with a sword, they despise magic, they prefer their technology because it is something they can understand because to them it is rational and does not upset their puny understanding of things”

“That may be the case for the trolls” Lady Sharlane replied, “But when I was in the mind of that abomination that looks like me, and in the pathetic one I killed, I saw memories of them using magic items. Sometimes carrying out what they call reverse engineering. That abomination even had memories of handing to some heretic youth a talisman and using a dimension door spell. It seems my Lord that these heretics unlike the trolls we are fighting, are more pragmatic and will use magic if it suits their purposes”

Lord Samail shook his head and looked down at the table, before looking back up at Lady Sharlane, “Probably the influence of that Mystical Realms place. Did I not say that the trolls from the Mystical Realms had been acting as allies with the heretics?”

“Yes you did” Lady Sharlane answered back, “I hope for all our sakes that Sir Timous’ plan to deal with the heretics comes to fruition. Did he say how he was getting these heretics to use those super weapons you spoke of against themselves?”

“He was not very clear on that detail” Lord Samail answered, “Maybe Quaylong or Jamaal may know what Sir Timous’s plan is”

“That would be a good start” Lady Sharlane agreed, “especially if the heretics would prefer to sacrifice their warrior for Sir Timous. Should I dispatch her my Lord. Her very existence is an affront to me.”

Lord Samail smiled, he suddenly guessed the reason for the antipathy Lady Sharlane had shown for her double walker, when he himself had only intrigue for his double walker, the heretic known as Brigadier General Samuel Peters. “Is that my Lady, because as she looks exactly like you it gives others an image of what you would look like in chains and in utter defeat?”

Lady Sharlane glowered at Lord Samail, He was right!

“No” Lord Samail then spoke up, “The heretics may very well decide to trade Sir Timous for her. I think I will hang onto her, just for the moment”

+ + +


A dark and infinite plane
Location Unknown




Marshall Dacron and Quittox approached the figure of the elderly troll.

“This should be an easy kill” Dacron reassured Quittox, “Imagine a large energy bolt forming from your hands, remember all those wasted lives, how your family were slaughtered because this troll meddled in things that were not his concern”

For a moment Quittox hesitated, she had been with her master Dacron when he killed that human in the Realm of Humans, the others called Earth, but she had never actually taken a life.

For a moment Quittox saw youngling drow as they were slaughtered for no reason, all of them crying in terror as the carnage was watched over by an approving Bolak. As before she felt a range and an anger burn in her again.

She found herself pointing both hands in the direction of the troll, who seemed oblivious to their presence

Suddenly a fire ball erupted from her hands and flew at the troll.

She then felt drained

Quittox watched in awe, fascination as the giant ball of fire flew at the troll, slowing as it approached him.

Then it seemed to stop, and then it started to return.

Quittox watched in terror as the ball of flame came towards her and Marshal Dacron.

She did not notice the hand on her shoulder as she stood fixated on the returning fire ball.

+ + +


The Walong Mountains
The Mystical Realms



Madron woke up

He had not expected to live through the night once he had fallen asleep

It was clear that the elven fabricators, even if they hated him for what he did as the Lord Low Troll, they were bound by codes of honour. An amulet against drow dark space attacks was requested, and that was what they delivered. For the elves to deliver otherwise would have been seen as deception, not in keeping with what the ethos the elves wanted to promote for themselves over their mortal enemies amongst the drow. They always maintained that they stood for some mythical moral high ground, and yet when it came to it, not one drow had threw their lot in with the Magnus Timor cult, something he heard that the elves never talked about, although the drow had no compunction in mentioning it whenever they could.

There was probably also some pride, as if he had been assassinated while in office by a drow dark space, whilst wearing it, then the drow would have made capital over it, claiming how weak and ineffectual the elves were against the superior drow magic.

Madron silently apologised to the probably long dead elves who had given him this amulet for doubting them. Even if loyalty to him as Lord Low Troll was not a factor, there had been other forces in play back then that led to the failure of the attack.

Madron thought back to the brief time he was aware of the dark space, it was definitely carried out by the drow he had scried, but who was the female drow that was with him, who had actually tried to carry out the death blow?

Madron remembered that the elf who passed it onto him had told him that should a drow try an attack, the force of the attack would be turned upon the drow doing it, with possible fatal consequences for the drow. Maybe that was why this drow had got a female to do his dirty work, if something went wrong, he had a sacrifice so he could try again. Typical of the drow, especially of the Hadreth order

Madron looked around at the night sky, he must have been asleep for what the humans called two or three hours.

He was not sure if the drow would try a dark space attack again that night, but now they knew he had a magic item on him when allegedly they should have all been surrendered. This Hadreth drow could organise some kind of visit in the real world.

Madron had another thought, what if occurred to this Hadreth drow to look for his son and his former servant as they journeyed to the drow home lands. What if an expeditionary team from the drow, coming to investigate stumbled upon Padow and Meetal.

But then if the drow who had done the dark space wanted to send an expeditionary force, would he not have to explain to the drow high council why?

Madron knew only one thing, when it came to the Hadreth, as the humans put it, all bets were off. The only hope lay with his son and Meetal making it to the Drow High Council to warn them of the rise of the Hadreth.

Madron would therefore have to find a way to distract this Hadreth drow from his Son’s mission, even if that meant drawing the drow after him. For a moment that sounded similar to something he had read in human literature, massive armies creating a diversion while two small creature crept in to perform some deed that would be lethal to the main enemy in the story.

Madron headed back to his cave, he had work to do, even if it were to mean sacrificing his own life.

+ + +


The Drow High Council chambers
The Mystical Realms



Quittox sat up on the bed looking shamefully at the floor, she half expected a beating from Marshal Dacron. Something she felt she deserved for messing up what Dacron had told her would be a simple kill.

Quitox started to undo her dress before Marshall Dacron took hold of her hand.

Quittox looked up at Dacron with eyes streaming down her face, but I do not deserve clothing my Lord, I failed you.

Dacron shook his head, no my dear, it is I who underestimated the former Lord Low Troll. He was devious back in his day when he was in power, I should have known he would be harder to kill than the average troll.

“But the dark space attack?”Quittox protested, “I failed somehow”.

“No! There was nothing wrong with your attack method” Dacron went on, “You chose fire, if you remember when you were with me and we were with that human that Major Bolak was trying to interrogate, I used lightening. Both styles are valid Quittox. You happened to be both unlucky and lucky”

Quttiox looked at Dacron with confusion

“Quittox” Dacron continued, “You were unlucky in that he must have been wearing a ring, talisman or amulet of some kind that protected him from a dark space attack, and you were lucky that I was there to bring you out before your own fire ball consumed you. A true master of the dark space such as I, can break it instantly should something like that happen.”

Dacron then looked embarrassed, “And a true master when he is, as the humans say on top of his game, should be able to tell if a target has protection like the Lord Low Troll has. I should have looked for that as soon as we found him. I won’t make that mistake next time”.

“Are we trying again?” Quottox asked.

Dacron shook his head, “We need to accompany those fools Kay-Vlar and Cholan from the Drow High Council on our mission to the Central City. Once they are dispatched with the blame passed onto Bolak and Jaheel, then we can link up with our Hadreth brethren there and deal with that troublesome troll once and for all”

+ + +


An undisclosed location
Washington DC




There was an uneasy atmosphere in the laboratory between Janine and Pete, it was after all her father who had set his wife Sue-Lim up as a traitor and then sent an unwitting Celeste to pass on a booby trapped scarf that made all who handled it loose hope and seek to use it to commit suicide. Sue-Lim almost succeeded had not Celeste intervened.

Pete picked up a scanner, “Who would have thought I would be handling one of these for all the good they will do” he said out loud, although not directed at Janine.

Janine did not know what to say, both of them knew that even at full strength a scanner only had a range of thirty metres in order to detect the signature generated when someone was gating to or from this world, by either magical or artificial means. As far as Pete was concerned this was just whistling in the wind, what they needed was a satellite system like they had with Sky-Guard, but that had been taken out by the technological trolls and it would be months before even one replacement satellite was ready.

Janine looked at the scanner she was working on, “Do we need to calibrate these to identify wormholes coming from worlds other than IDW01” Janine asked

“I thought you knew how these things worked?” Pete said contemptuously

“I know that it measures the trace of decay products caused by the mixing of neutrinos and gamma rays” Janine replied defensively, “but wormholes from IDW02 have a slightly different flavour of neutrino to those from IDW01”

“These were designed to just to detect wormholes Janine” Pete replied gruffly, “Not say where they came from. The deuterium saturated piezoelectric crystals don’t differentiate between flavours”

“But if you add tritium saturated crystals you can tell” Janine insisted

“We never heard about that one at the IDEC UK or US” Pete answered back, “It was never considered a possibility or until now needed, so how do you know about that apparent modification” he accused Janine.

For a moment Janine was silent, and then answered, “It was something my father got me to work on, to detect anyone else using an artificial universe, and then it was picked up by the EAD for a while. We only ever had three proto-types”

“It is a pity that place was taken out so” Major Bolak interrupted as he came in to the laboratory. “Maybe if we get hold of these Tritium crystals you speak of then we can augment the scanners even better than I had hoped.”

“Unlikely” Pete replied, “Even the deuterium saturated piezoelectric crystals are hard to come by. You have to get your normal crystals, drive off the water of crystallisation and then reform the crystals in the presence of heavy water. Tritium is rarer and more unstable”

“Maybe if we made a few short cuts with magic” Major Bolak suggested

“And they will let you draw resources away from hunting for that submarine?” Pete challenged

“Perhaps not” Major Bolak admitted, “They are not that happy we are even doing this project since they are focused on that submarine the magic using humans have commandeered. Still, the idea of a scanner that differentiates different origins of wormholes is intriguing”

“Like I said major” Janine nervously ventured, “There were only ever three prototypes made when my father was in charge, and as far as I am aware, when I…”

“Killed him” Major Bolak interrupted

Janine was silent for a moment, “Yeah, after I metered out to the b****rd what he deserved, the EAD took over his empire and I presume they took charge of the prototypes”

“And the EAD never made use of them?” Pete asked with incredulity

Janine shook her head, “We had Skyguard then, hand held scanners were rarely used, and when we did we used the old ones from your UK IEDC. I suspect the prototypes were destroyed when that Sir Timmus ordered the flooding of the EAD”

“No matter” Major Bolak replied, “It would have been nice to determine the origins of a wormhole, but these will suffice”

“For all the good they will do” Pete muttered

“Meaning?” Major Bolak asked

“With all due respect Major” Pete went on, “they have a limited range and in an urban environment that range is degraded by interference from electromagnetic compatibility issues and sometimes you can get interference from radioactive materials in modern buildings from things such as smoke detectors and medical scanners”


“I am well aware of their limitations” Major Bolak snapped back, “But what you all fail to realise, is that our enemies may be aware of our control centres like this. There have been a number of incidents, two in you UK and one here in DC where your centres were penetrated. It makes sense to make sure where we fight back against both the technological trolls and the magic using humans is as secure as we can make it against those adversaries.”

Pete put his work down, “If that is the case major, then this should already have been done. The old IDEC had detectors in it to detect incoming wormholes”

“And yet they failed to work one time and a doppelganger almost murdered the late Kathryn Cooper” Major Bolak responded,

Janine switched on the one she had been working on. “This one’s ready” she announced.

Major Bolak came up to have a look at the scanner. “Even though your colleague here is sceptical as to its value, I’m sure”

The Major Bolak stopped, “That’s giving a positive reading.

“You’ve botched it” Pete spat back at Janine, “Probably picking up the radioactive isotope in the smoke detectors in the corridor” Pete turned to the drow, “I told you, these things were never that great in an urban environment, let alone indoors. Used outdoors in rural areas maybe.”

“I know how to screen out smoke detectors” Janine said defensively before she could stop herself.

“How close is the wormhole” Major Bolak asked

“This is stupid” Pete protested and switched his on, “This will show that…”

Pete’s voice faded as his scanner also showed a positive result.

Major Bolak pulled out a two way radio he had been given and keyed it, “Code Red penetration by wormhole.” He yelled into the radio

“We need to find where they are landing” Bolak shouted to Pete and Janine as he held open the laboratory door.

Pete and Janine left carrying the hand scanners and checked in the corridor where the signal was strongest. It pointed in the direction of where the director’s office once was.

That was where Jaheel and a few pixies were trying to use a dowsing spell to locate the nuclear submarine that might be due to fire on North Korea.

“That figures” Major Bolak remarked, “They are homing in on magic”

By now the base alarm was sounding and Pete and Janine followed Major Bolak as he rushed to the director’s office.

What they could do, Janine had no idea.

+


Walter and Samuel were watching on as Jaheel and two pixies where trying to use a crystal pendulum to locate a British submarine on a map. The area the map covered was around the Korean peninsula. It was a vain hope, so the Brigadier General thought, that they might find the British submarine, en route to fire it’s deadly payload at the North Koreans. As far as he knew, the magic using humans who had set this off may have used magic to prevent such detection as Jaheel and the pixie were attempting.

The satellite tracking was not helping either, the weather was against them in the area, so cloud obscured most of the area, even to the infra-red satellites. Plus, the Trident Submarines were designed not to be found.

Just then the alarm sounded.

Samuel pulled out his side arm, that alarm could only mean one thing, base penetration.

The door burst open and Major Bolak rushed in followed by Janine and Pete with wormhole scanners.

“It coming into this this room” Pete yelled.

Suddenly there was a green dot floating in mid-air which turned into a swirling vortex.



As the vortex grew a number of armed soldiers arrived with weapons trained on the wormhole.

Then out stepped a drow with his arms raised.

“I understand the alarm you may feel” the drow called out, “but I am here to help you”

All Major Bolak could say was, “YOU!”

Brigadier General Samuel Peters looked at the drow, his face was well known to those of the alternate time line, and so he pointed his gun at this drow.

“Please” the drow pleaded, “I am unarmed and I come in peace to help you in this unjust war you have with the trolls”

“Really” Walter replied, “and who do we have the pleasure of addressing?”

“His name” Major Bolak growled

“Is Vabalavich” Samuel completed, “He is the drow that led the Hadreth drow to capture Earth in the alternate timeline”

To be continued
__________________
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Fame, Riches, Adventure, Glory - A Cyber Warrior craves not these things

In Memorium
Wendy (AKA Romantic Old Bird) 1951 - 2008

Last edited by Sticks; 31-07-2013 at 06:13 PM.
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