# Memoirs of a Lawyer turned Dungeoncrawler (Updated May 13, 2008)



## Altalazar (Oct 2, 2005)

(Thus begins a new story hour - as a new weekly campaign begins - thus begins the story of *Cordozo*)

Cordozo Character Background

     Law.  Law is what keeps society from crumbling.  Law is the mortar that holds the bricks of society in order.  Law is what makes civilization possible.  Law is what separates man from beast.  I used to believe that.  The emperor made me believe it.  It was my calling.  But no more.  
    I grew up believing in the law, dedicating my life to it.  I trained to be a barrister from the age of twelve, going into the family business.  I had a strong desire to see justice done and, more than that, an earnest desire to see the gears of society kept well greased and moving forward.  For commerce, more than crime, also requires well oiled gears of law to keep society moving.  
     As the years wore on, I honed my skills and perfected my craft, oblivious to the true nature of the machine I was becoming a part of.  That began to change when I noticed a change within myself.  It was subtle, at first, but nagging.  A buzzing in my ear that I took to be the background noise of the city.  But the buzz persisted even when I was well insulated from the mob.  That buzz eventually turned into discernable voices, familiar voices, voices of those around me.  It finally dawned on me that the voices were the unspoken voices of their spirits.  But it was not this realization that disturbed me the most.  What I found most disturbing was that these voices often said different things than what their spoken voices gave breath to.  
     Judges professing to be impartial and fair instead voiced inner satisfaction with payoffs received for a verdict.  Prosecutors giving outer voice to the interests of justice gave inner voice to their desire to close a case by hanging someone, anyone, and then getting back to the tavern for drinks and their favorite whores, who they only arrested when they refused to give their services en gratis.  Defendants’ protestations of pure innocence were betrayed by inner voices of pure evil and malice.  
     And most disappointing of all, those whose inner voices did resonate with truth and innocence were often the most likely to be crushed in the tight, merciless cogs of justice as the bribes, the prosecutors desires to satisfy the mob, or their barrister’s incompetence either singly, or all together, muffled their innocence and threw them into society’s gutter.  
     I now know the true nature of the “law” in this metropolis called Desbury.  It isn’t about truth or justice or right or wrong or innocence or guilt.  It is about politics and influence.  It is about bribes and quotas.  It is about finding a neck to hang not finding the guilty and freeing the innocent.  The town guard have no interest in real investigations.  
     So I am a lawyer, no more, but I still practice “the law” as it is practiced in this dungheap we call civilization.  I know the system.  I learned it.  I live it.  I will now ride those cogs of “justice” to destinations of my own choosing.  For my talents and skills now give me special insight into the workings of our society.  I can see what my opponents are thinking.  I can sniff the bribes, smell the corruption, see it as if it were a brightly woven tapestry twenty feet high right in front of me.  I can even manipulate those inner voices, despite their bribes and corruption, and make them go my way.  
     So I now offer my services with the rose-colored glasses long discarded.  I will help those who pay navigate the system, but I no longer care where the river leads.  


Cordozo – Chapter One – Winning at Darts, Losing at Fate

     After a long round of useless pleadings before a well-bribed judge, I wandered out into the taverns of the night, looking for a diversion to get my mind off of my latest round of disappointments.  
     I found my distraction in a game of darts, joined by three other players of apparent skill who were probably better at drinking than at throwing (unless it was throwing up).  After many rounds of play, due more to the drunkenness of the other teams than any innate skill, we reached the final round.  Unfortunately, the other team was far better than ours, even though they were twice as drunk.  Fortunately, the judges and spectators were four times as drunk as them, and the judge was especially vulnerable to “modification.”  In reality, we lost the tournament on points, but won it on my special talent, as I altered the perception of the judge (as I’ve done in court) and we were handed a victory.  Twenty-five solid in gold coin for each of us.  
     At my suggestion (advice of counsel) our team of four left the tavern quickly after that to head to another one, before anyone sobered up enough to wonder why the team with the fewer points won the final match.  
     Walking down the darkened cobblestones of the city street in the fog, I took stock of my teammates.  One was a rather large, rather dense barbarian, who seemed to take more pleasure in hitting things than carrying on a conversation.  But he seemed to have a clarity of purpose.  Another was a woman of much smaller stature who, but for the constant buzz of her scheming thoughts, I would not have known was still with us, for her movements were as silent as the night was dark.  And finally, there was the noble cleric of Pelor whose noisy steps in his metallic shell were in stark contrast to the quiet calmness of his thoughts as he dedicated even his innermost voice to Pelor’s calling.  

     My contemplations were interrupted by the loud, desperate screams of a woman in distress.  We all quickly ran to the source of her cries, but arrived too late, finding her freshly dead body outside an abbey, near an open grating in the street.  Small lavender worms left a trail of slime leading from her to the grating.  Her body appeared to have slashes and acid burns, at least that’s what the cleric said, but to me, all I could see was at least two more lives wasted.  Hers and the poor soul that the city guard would blame for her death and hang because of their wholly inadequate investigatory skills.  
     As if hearing my thoughts (something I now often wonder if others can do, based on my own awakening), the familiar shouts and boots of the city watch rang out into the night.  “Halt!  Murderers!”  It certainly didn’t take them long this time to find some poor souls to lay blame for the latest tragedy of the city.  
     The lithe woman and the barbarian quickly hid around the corner of the abbey, leaving myself and the cleric standing over the body.  The Pelorian tried to help the poor girl, but it was far too late.  As the guards approached from both sides, they shouted to us to drop our weapons.  The Pelorian hesitated, but I did not.  I calmly held up my hands and indicated that as a barrister, I did not carry weapons.  Having learned the way of the city watch, I also helpfully shouted out that I saw someone depart into the grate, the probable killer, on the slim hope that they’d try and hang that neck instead of ours, or at least they’d consider seeking the true murderer.  Alas, it was to no avail.  They had four necks, ready-made, and so off they took us to their lair.  
     I briefly noted, with amusement, that the barbarian did not like to be touched.  “No touch!” he shouted over and over, until they finally subdued him and escorted him with the rest of us.  I could just barely hear him mutter under his breath as they led him away, “no touch.”  It was refreshing to me that at that same time, his inner voice said the same words in unison, and at the same volume.  So few people have inner and outer voices in synchronization.  I think I’ll like this barbarian.  

     After five hours of explanations, legal and factual, the city guard grudgingly took us back to the scene of the crime and “generously” let us do their investigating for them in exchange for not having us all summarily executed.  They left a perimeter of guards to make sure we could not get away and sent us down the grate.  I had, helpfully, given them a more detailed description of the “person” I’d seen “flee the scene” that, just coincidentally, matched the description of one of the more common “usual suspects” the guard was familiar with, but they still were content to let us do their job for them.  
Oh well.  At least we could be thankful that they had enough decency to at least let us try to find the real killer instead of just executing four innocent people.  As if it were possible, my respect for the authorities of the city and the laws they enforce dropped even lower.  At least they gave me a torch to light the way to hell.

Cordozo – Chapter Two – Descent into the Depths of Desbury

     We lowered ourselves through the grate and found ourselves, unsurprisingly, in the basement of the abbey above.  There was much debris and vermin, as evidenced by the rather large and disgusting centipede that the barbarian turned into cottage cheese with a single swing of his very large axe.  Had I not my peculiar talents, I would not even have noticed the diminutive one’s contribution of an arrow to the centipede’s demise, but I caught a stray thread of her annoyance at the barbarian’s destruction of her arrow.
     Two other rooms bordered this one: an old, moldy library and a wine storage room.  We found four scrolls (three divine healing, one unknown) in the moldy library, along with a sealed stone door leading to what we assume are the crypts of the abbey.  The wine cellar had one flask intact, one not.  The one not appeared to be a nest for giant rats, of which we could see no sign of their existence.  We did find a brooch of some value, which the diminutive one took into her custody.  
     Through the broken cask was a passage to a dark hallway.  Much to our sorrow, we went down that hall, where the diminutive one found a door.  It was not locked, as she discovered when she tried to open it and was greeted with the sight of four ghouls feasting on the long-dead remains stored in the formerly non-smashed caskets in that room.  
     My various comrades played a game of ghoul-paralyzation roulette, as each entered, and then was paralyzed and pulled out of the room for the next to enter, until finally the Pelorian turned two of them away with the power of his god and we dispatched the remaining two with much difficulty.  I toyed with my own talent for crushing the minds of my foes, but found them mostly resistant to my efforts.  I will need to practice that more before I would trust my life with my skills of the mind.  Despite the corruption, a courtroom is a far safer place to practice one’s arts than a dank dungeon.
     The Pelorian managed to heal everyone, using a scroll in the process, along with all of his magic, leaving us tapped out.  I argued for the sensible course of action, which was to rest for eight hours before venturing further.  The diminutive one wanted to press on, showing her best judgment in doing so.  The Pelorian was also eager to press on, but when I pointed out that our quarry had already had five hours to leave the area, he agreed to rest as well.  The barbarian, to his credit, left the thinking to the rest of us and also agreed to rest.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Three – Dangerous Thoughts and an empty Crypt

     Spells and mind refreshed, we ventured further down the long hallway, finding a cave filled with “shimmering ghosts.”  I ventured a guess that it was old, rotting, dirty laundry hanging to dry, but the diminutive one was convinced it was ghosts and the Pelorian attempted to “turn” them, to no avail.  The barbarian then boldly stepped forth, right into the giant spider webs.
     The giant spider was not too far behind, arriving and sending more webs to cover the poor barbarian and stick him fast in his tracks.  What happened next will forever be burned into my mind, pun intended.  
     First, the Pelorian worked his magic, touched the barbarian through the crack in the wall and declared that he was now “resistant to fire.”  Then the diminutive one helpfully touched her torch to the webs, setting them and the barbarian in them, on fire.  Finally, the barbarian, now freed, unhurt, screamed “Fiiiiiiiiiire!” and ran faster than I would have thought someone of his size could move, out of the crack, and down the hallway, not stopping until he was out of sight.  His inner voice was almost deafening as well.  I guess he won’t be holding a torch anytime soon.
     The Pelorian squared off against the spider, through the crack, not in the room.  I decided to hone my talent further, and tried again to crush its mind with my own.  This time, to my great surprise, it worked – within seconds, the mighty spider with the puny brain lay dead in the room.  The others did not know what to make of this, though the diminutive one was quick to take credit for her little jab against the beast.  No matter.  I had discovered another talent.  I could kill with but a thought.  That was a skill I was unlikely to use in a courtroom.  
     We found the missing giant rats here, apparently fodder for the spider.  One of them was cocooned with a bag of 150 solid gold pieces, which I took into my care.  We then ventured to the end of the hall, leaving another side door for a later try.
     At the end of the hallway we found another door to a room that had a lovely altar and tapestries dedicated to the deity of the abbey, but nothing of apparent value to us, either monetarily or philosophically in our quest for a neck to hang for the dead woman above.  So we quickly retraced our steps and opened the last remaining door in the hall.
     There we found a room filled with garbage and a creature wallowing in it, with a large mouth and two large tentacles.  With great fanfare, the others managed to dispatch it as it proved rather resistant to my mental meddings.  From my vantage point in the hall I could more hear than see the fight, but I was glad to see us victorious.  I was fully spent, and ready to rest again, but decided not to bring it up with the others at that time.  
     And then it happened – as I probed my mind I felt a tingle inside me, something I’d not felt since my powers had awakened for the very first time in a darkened courtroom.  I felt a wellspring of power within my mind come bubbling to the surface.  The room seemed to spin and then stopped, and I felt even more powerful than before.  The killing of the spider with my mind must have awakened something further inside me.  I was almost afraid to find out what it was, but I had to know, and I began to exercise my mind, reaching out its tendrils into the cold, dark stones of the walls around me.


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## Sabriel (Oct 2, 2005)

Please, sir, may I have some more? 

Dangit, I think I'm hooked on another story hour...

Thankyou!


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## Altalazar (Oct 2, 2005)

You are welcome.  Rest assured, there will be more installments as there are more sessions (planned for every Friday).  I'm glad someone enjoyed this.  I never got any feedback about my other two story hours, though those are rather old at this point...


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## Altalazar (Oct 9, 2005)

Cordozo – Chapter Four – Two Rooms, Two Doors, Too Stubborn

	What a nice, silver bowl we found.  I contemplated my reflection in its shiny surface as the tendrils of my mind slipped back around my scalp.  
	My mind was definitely feeling stronger.  I could not wait to flex my mental muscles.  But in the meanwhile, some muscle flexing of a different sort was happening not ten paces away from my reverie.  The room with the dead garbage monster had two additional doors leading out of it.  The doors looked old, rusted, and ill-used.  This led the diminutive one to conclude that they were not likely points of departure for our quarry.  The Pelorian echoed this sentiment.  Then a dispute erupted between the barbarian, who wanted to boldly go through the door here, and the diminutive one, who wanted to retrace our steps back to the stone door labeled as the way to the “honored dead” back near where we entered, because that door showed evidence of recent use.  
	Much indecision ensued.  
	Back when I started as a young barrister, trying my first case, full of fire and fury for the law and zeal for my client, I was sitting in court, waiting for my turn to argue my case.  The previous case was going on and on, far over the time it should have rationally taken, far beyond what any sane person would ever have argued, far beyond what any insane person with a penchant for filibustering would ever even dream of going in some deranged half-drunk delusional rant, and well beyond what, I determined later, anyone ever would attempt in court because cases were so often decided based on bribe or influence long before any words of argument were ever uttered.  But that argument was short compared to the dispute between which door to take.  
	Just as I was about to consider the issue of stopping to rest moot, because enough resting time had already passed, there was movement on the indecision.  It became a quick-draw of rashness between the two impulsive members of our little troupe, with the barb blinking first – on the dust of the diminutive one as she rushed off to the door to the “honored dead.”  We all quickly followed.  I was especially keen to keep her in sight, given her predilections and her even scarier, rasher thoughts that often translated, unfiltered, into action.  
	We all lined up before the door.  The Pelorian queried if everyone was ready.  The barbarian answered quickly, and with a graceful, brutal elegance: “Me bash dead.”  I hefted the crossbow the Pelorian had given me to use.  It felt solid, though slightly alien, in my hands.  Standing behind the others, I worried I would more likely strike them rather than any foe.  
	And so, after much ado, debate, and indecisive action, she opened the door.  I caught a quick glimpse of five coffins.  Full coffins.  Coffins soon to be empty, as their occupants climbed out, perhaps with the intention of correcting any misconceptions about the distribution of their estates.  Idly, I wondered who handled their probate, if such a thing even was done when they were interred.  I tensed for action, hefted the crossbow, and readied every nerve in my body for the coming combat.  Combat that could redefine who I was.  Physical combat.  A fight of the sort that I, as a member of the scholar class, had never before contemplated, much less participated in.  And then she closed the door.  And then I heard the very clear sound of a bar being drawn across the door (on the other side) and locked into place.  Ok, off the barbarian went back to the other door (in the other room).  I guess they’ll wait, seeing that they’re dead.  
	Unfortunately, there were two doors in that other room, and now the barbarian and the diminutive one yet again could not agree as to which door to open.  Fortunately, the barbarian, slow that he is, learned a trick from her and immediately went to the northern door and opened it and then boldly went down the hallway behind it, as far as he could before he found himself in the dark and required a torch.  Except that he is afraid of fire, so the Pelorian had to supply that light for him.  And he’s learned to let the diminutive one to search for traps, which she then refused to do because she wanted to go through the other door.  The Pelorian asked her nicely to help.  In order for her to do so, the barbarian had to climb out of the way, crawling along the floor to avoid the torch of the Pelorian standing behind him.  I sat down on the cold stone floor, opened my briefcase, and started to go through my old briefs.  
	By the way, the exchange above involving the Pelorian, the diminutive one, and the barbarian was translated from “No light bring stick,” “funny wall here,” “go get woman she check for trap.”  And again, I was awed by the clarity of his inner voice saying exactly the same thing, right down to the clipped pronunciation.  When I looked up from my briefs, the search was over.  Maybe I ought to leave my briefs for the daylight.  I then idly wondered whether the barbarian was aware that the symbol of Pelor was a flaming hammer.  That’ll be a fun bridge to cross if the Pelorian ever gets one.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Five – Saint Bethesda Stoned

	It was with a great sense of relief that the final door in the room of the garbage creature was opened.  Interestingly, it led to a corridor bisected by another corridor, with a very realistic looking human female statute right in the middle of the intersection between the two corridors.  Using our vast knowledge (we read the base of the statute) we determined that the statute was supposed to represent Saint Bethesda, the patron to the ruins we were then infesting.  Another clue to her identity was the booming female voice intoning “Welcome Brothers.  May the healing balm of Saint Bethesda ease your suffering” that then echoed throughout the dank walls of our explorations.  
	We ought to have been more alarmed by this obvious alarm, but since it repeatedly said it each time someone approached the statute, we quickly ignored it.  On the plus side, we spied several slimy lavender worms heading straight down the hallway, toward a rather large, sinister looking room with a stone sarcophagus and many impressive pillars.  If I had an honest judge in an impartial court, I could have convicted that sarcophagus of harboring our fugitive.  We held court soon enough.

	Cordozo – Chapter Six – Lavender Worms in a Smegowski Suit

	The diminutive one charged boldly forward, right up to the sarcophagus.  And of course, the lid came up and out came – well, if I were blessed with the virtues of an artist, I could draw it.  As it is, I will have to paint this thing with words.  If one could imagine a colony of thousands of slimy, tiny, smoldering lavender worms wearing the emptied out husk of a corpse (freshly killed) as if it were a set of noble garments, that would begin to describe the sight that was before us there.  Fortunately, I was, as always, far in the rear.  (The barbarian had moved up to the diminutive one after the Pelorian summoned him with his great battle cry (“E, Care to join us?”)  
I should probably mention that the slimy corpse-suit of worms was armed with two longswords and had three tentacles, one of which suspiciously looked like a mouth, but all of which were made of dripping, slimy, lavender worms.  And while I’m sharing, I should probably also mention the acid.  But that wasn’t the worst of it, as the barbarian found out.  
From where I was standing, I could tell things were not going well.  The diminutive one was all but dead when she came staggering back into the hallway for the Pelorian’s healing touch (always accented with “The power of Pelor can heal you”).  I noted five of those slimy lavender worms attached to the diminutive one’s chest.  Once again, I was thankful to be in the back.  
	Then the barbarian took his own beating, ending with the central pseudopod latching onto his face where apparently it had inserted itself down his throat.  I could almost hear the barbarian’s own voice in my mind speaking my own words.  “Be in back.  Good.”  
	In the meanwhile, my new, more powerful mind was busy trying to crush the life out of the worms, without much success.  One unfortunate discovery is that most creatures I’ve tried to crush with the power of my mind have been strangely resistant to it.  
	Things were starting to get desperate.  Yes, I might have had to move from being in back (and from safely down the hall, no less).  All three of my erstwhile companions were right up next to the sarcophagus.  I heard a few times just how the power of Pelor is good at healing (paraphrasing, at this point), usually preceded by squishy-sickening thunks of lavender worms striking pale pink flesh.  The barbarian’s face was still locked in a perverse embrace with the “mouth” of the lavender worm’s, well, mouth.  “Back.  Good.”  
	Gathering up all of my powers, all of my concentration, throwing everything I had left into it, I tried one last time to crush the lavender worms’ collective mind.  Much to my great surprise, it failed to resist me and dropped to the floor in a big, slimy heap of dying worms, letting the barbarian go.  

	The fight over, my companions still unsure of my powers at that point, we licked our wounds (well, their wounds.  I have yet to get a scratch) and examined the sarcophagus and its unfortunate former inhabitant.  
	The sarcophagus itself was carved from a single giant piece of wood and was rather ornate and well adorned with symbols of healing.  We briefly toyed with the idea that sleeping in it would heal, but we decided to abandon it and take the body to the surface.  Given the nature of the worms, it seemed apparent that we had found our quarry.  Hopefully the corruption of the guards was not so much that they would not accept the truth even when it locked onto their face and tried to shove worms down their throats.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Seven – We file the Smegowski Suit with the Guard and then give at the Temple

	Much to my surprise, the head of the guard grudgingly accepted the slimy pile of worms as the perpetrator of the heinous crime.  If he hadn’t, I must say, I would have been sorely tempted to crush him with my brain.  Perhaps they would have considered it natural causes.   Though on second thought, this guard would probably have found someone to hang for natural causes as well, out of spite for not otherwise having someone’s neck to use for an afternoon’s entertainment in the town square.  
	The Pelorian, bless his inner voice, wanted to find the family of the poor soul worn by the lavender worms as a suit, and asked the guard if he could do so.  They just wanted to burn it to make sure it was dead.  More out of a desire to manipulate the guard captain than to help the Pelorian, I primed myself for battle and in combat dangerous and real, beat him in the arena of words and convinced him to let us take the body back to the Pelorian temple.  They did warn us that if anything happened, the Pelorian would be held responsible.  Well, good enough for me.  

	As fate would have it, there was an adventurer staying at the temple who had some sort of special glove that could determine prior ownership of objects.  It was determined that the body belonged to a Mike Smegowski (prior to its belonging to something called a wormwraith.  I would guess there would be some lavender worms in there somewhere).  We posted the name for the family to find his fate and then burned the husk.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Eight – Honoring the Dead

	We rested for the night, myself and the diminutive one in an expensive inn across the street from the temple, the Pelorian with his fellow brothers, and the barbarian in an inn of ill repute.  While Morwen and I paid a handsome gold coin for a night of rest, E the barbarian paid much more, as he awoke to find his gold purse gone.  Sometimes it pays to pay up front.  He really ought to get himself some reputable representation.  
	We then returned to the underground lair of Saint Bethesda to lay rest to the honored dead.  Brother Marcus, the Pelorian, insisted that it was the proper thing to do.  
	So back and down we went.  For reasons unclear to me, however, we headed in the opposite direction, to open one last door before honoring the dead.  Once again, I kept well back, and we played roulette with the front ranks as we found a room well stocked with bandits, six in all.  First the diminutive one, then the barbarian were surrounded and nearly slain before the diminutive one (dim for short) tumbled back and the barbarian held the doorway as they threw daggers his way.  Once again, my mind fresh, I tried to crush them with my brain, one by one.  Once again, they seemed strangely resistant.  Either that, or my skill is not what I hoped it would be.  The Pelorian did note that, while I once again hefted his loaned crossbow, I did not even attempt to fire it.  As he asked me if I should really have it, I cried out in frustration that I was trying to crush them with my brain.  The Pelorian’s eyebrows lurched upwards at this and I could tell he was intrigued by the concept, for he spoke of it no further and turned his attention back to our rout.  At that moment, I crushed the leader’s brain into fine pulp as the barbarian slashed another into oblivion.  
	In their wake, we found 500 pieces of gold, a tiger eye, and a potion of unknown elixir.  In a rather macabre display, we also took the equipment and weapons of the slain.  I guess this is the buffet version of probate court.  
	The rest ran, leaving one behind to open the door for the other’s escape.  To quote the barbarian.  “You not leaving.”  Too bad for him.  I wonder if he had a proper will.  Briefly, I considered what business opportunities I was forsaking as we left the room and headed, finally, to the honored dead.  
	Or so I thought.  Now they all wanted to explore yet another hallway, one which I presumed led to the surface, much like the hall the bandits used to escape.  I was wrong.  It did, however, put the diminutive one to sleep.  The Pelorian woke her, almost falling asleep himself.  At the end of the hall was a lovely painting of a tunnel on a dead-end.  Ahem.  
	We found a back approach to the hall of the honored dead.  Boldly, the Pelorian went forth down the hall.  Boldly, the Pelorian fell down a twenty foot deep pit.  I make a note in my briefs.  “Never be bold.”  After the diminutive one jams the pit cover closed, we sally forth.  

	Now, yet again, the moment has come.  We are ready for battle.  I heft the crossbow in my sweaty palms.  The Pelorian readies his well worn, but piously so, holy symbol.  We are there.  We are ready.  The barbarian steps into the room.  The caskets open.  The Pelorian raises his holy symbol and invokes the power of his god.  And then it’s over.  Four of them fall to dust, the last cowers, until the barbarian decapitates him.  I wiped the sweat off of my palm and put away the crossbow.  
	The Pelorian blessed the corpses.  He also asked us if we wanted to join his church.  He had a rare disparity between his inner and outer voice with his plea, one I could almost call a virtue.  His outer voice said that there were many paths to salvation, even as his inner voice added the caveat that only Pelor’s path will get you there.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Nine – Contingency Fees all around

	I quickly took stock of all we had found, as did the diminutive one.  For all her failings in the ways of the wise, she certainly can add up the value of trade goods down to the last battered piece of copper.  All told, we each took a one fourth contingency fee from our common gains and found ourselves three hundred and fifty three gold thicker in the belt pouch.  I easily ought to be able to update my wardrobe with that.  
	I think I enjoyed that crawl through the dirt rather more than any court I’ve ever been in.  At least in the thick of battle, with vile beasts nipping at your throat, there is no fake veneer of polite society or civilization.  The bandits, vile though they were, were at least honest in their vileness.  They did not claim to be doing the work of lawful good and justice as they tried to slit our throats and steal our treasures.  While I cannot abandon my profession, I think I may take a sabbatical with these three when opportunities present themselves.  Perhaps my gold would be better spent if it were invested in that endeavor rather than in more noble rags to impress the bailiffs.  But where to begin?


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## Altalazar (Oct 9, 2005)

Book II

	Cordozo – Chapter Ten – A Vision in the Dark

	As part of my new moonlight profession, I decided to get to know these three better.  I invited them all to stay at my domicile in the city (a nice one, as befits my station).  Only the Pelorian, Brother Marcus, accepted, and only because he, as an acolyte of his god, was seeking to learn more about the world outside the cloistered halls of his temple.  The barbarian, E, refused as well, though he did stay in the good inn this night.  His inner voice taunted him to stay in the other inn, in hopes of catching his thief, but apparently his desire for a good night’s rest won out.  The diminutive one, Morwen, was nowhere to be found.  
	That night, I took the opportunity within the safe walls of my home to probe the Pelorian further as he slept.  Much to my surprise, I found much more than even he expected.  A vision came to him.  A landscape far to the north.  A temple.  A Pelorian priest pulled from it by a mob and beaten.  Then the landscape rushed by, leading back to the city, showing the way there.  As the vision faded from his mind, there was a loud thumping in the land of the outer voice.  Someone was at the door.
	I quickly checked through the peephole and saw a Pelorian standing there, one with hair grayer than my Pelorian’s.  I opened the door and was met with a Brother Lector, who asked for Brother Marcus.  Quickly, they shared visions, though Brother Lector’s lacked Brother Marcus’s detail.  Apparently this meant the vision was for him to explore.  Brother Lector said as much, indicating that the head of his order, Father Ray, had “suggested” that Brother Marcus explore it.  That settled it for me.  Time to go shopping.  The Pelorian offered to pay me to go with him, which was touching, but I said I’d go on contingency, as before.  I suggested to him we wait until morning.  It was a long journey and we needed to rest and then properly equip ourselves.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Eleven – Shop so we don’t drop (in combat)

	I quickly determined that I had no equipment (save my donated crossbow and 20 bolts) suitable for what is often known derogatorily as adventuring.  So I set out to buy rations, more bolts, a bedroll, a backpack, and whatever else the other’s suggested to me.  
	The diminutive one did agree to go on this venture, as did the barbarian (“Ok, me go.”)  Though it did take some time to locate the diminutive one – she finally did show up at the temple of Pelor.  
	One thing we quickly determined we did need was a wand of curing the lighter wounds (which we could afford).  The diminutive one did not want to make such a large investment at this time, at least not for one fully charged.  I could see no logic in this.  We could easily afford it with our collective fee from our last venture.  Apparently she had other ideas for her own investments.  But this still left we other three with plenty of gold to invest in such magical insurance.  Rather than argue endlessly on this point, I put up most of my own gold toward this purchase and, along with the barbarian and the Pelorian, we purchased said item, taking fifty gold coins and an IOU from the diminutive one to me for the effort.  As I had my rations and my bedroll, along with a few extra bolts, I failed to see any other use for my coin, anyway.  Though later it turned out that I probably should have bought a horse.  But that was also solved when the Pelorian bought both myself and the barbarian a mount and saddle and then borrowed one from his temple for himself.  
	Thus equipped, we prepared to journey north.

	Cordozo - Chapter Twelve – If Treefall’s in the woods, can we find it?  

	With a little research, we determined that the probable name of the village at our destination was Treefall, ten days journey to the north.  Nine days later, we were camped, sitting around the warm fire, telling stories and enjoying the fresh air.  The barbarian was just enjoying the fresh air, some distance from the fire, taking cover behind some strange trees with needles instead of leaves.  Just as the tales were turning bawdy, I heard the sound of something approaching from the darkness.  
	I could make out only a small, grayish blob.  Before I could react, an arrow shot past my head and straight into the fuzzy beast’s hide.  An arrow well-used by the diminutive one.  The furry beast then charged the Pelorian, taking a rather large bite out of him.  I took the opportunity to fire my first crossbow bolt.  If I waited until morning, and then hired half the village to help me look, I might have a small chance of finding where it actually landed.  
	Upon closer inspection, the furry little beast looked almost… cute.  As was voiced by the Pelorian.  I was forced to agree.  “Yes, it is cute.  Let’s kill it.”  To be fair, it did take a bite out of one of our own.  Deed soon followed word, and it lay at our feet.  We dragged the body far away and then set up watches for the night.  I took the last watch, as usual, and heard a stirring in the woods from the direction of the body.   I woke the others.  When we approached it, we found instead a naked, handsome young man with an arrow sticking out of his side.  Now, to be truthful, I’d never seen a true lycanthrope, but I’d heard of it often enough, usually as part of an excuse or defense offered by my more creative (or insane) clients.  I’d always have to patiently explain to them that if they claim lycanthropy, they’ll have more to worry about than a court.  Angry mobs can be even more efficient than a well-bribed judge with a charmed prosecutor.  
	But we held our tongues on that point.  The young man turned out to be a lad named Arawn, who’s father owned “Joseph’s Inn” in Treefall, which turned out to be a very short walk to the north.  He also had a sister named Beth and his mother’s name was Valerie.  I kept thinking of how we were to break the news to his family.  When we reached the inn, I wondered if perhaps they already knew.  The inn itself had signs proclaiming that no one would be allowed to enter past dusk.  When asked, Joseph replied it was “bandits.”  “Furry bandits?” I asked.  To that, he did not reply. 
	The diminutive one and I vowed to seek information from the local populace after sharing breakfast with Arawin’s family at the inn.  As we ate, we heard a shady figure in the back mutter something about “no good adventurers” before sulking out of the inn, purposefully knocking Arawin down in the process.  The diminutive one, for her part, commented to him that it was a nasty thing to do.  “Nobody asked you” was the youth’s only reply before exiting the inn.  The barbarian sought him out to teach him some manners, but returned soon after, a sullen look on his face.  
We did learn that his name was Cole Jenkins, Derris’ son, whomever Derris was.  I decided it was time to find out.


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## Elder-Basilisk (Oct 9, 2005)

Great story hour. I like the voice you've adopted and the Crypt of St. Bethesda brought back some memories. Out of curiousity, what class is your character? If I had to guess, I'd say telepath (psion), but one can't be sure.


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## Altalazar (Oct 9, 2005)

Elder-Basilisk said:
			
		

> Great story hour. I like the voice you've adopted and the Crypt of St. Bethesda brought back some memories. Out of curiousity, what class is your character? If I had to guess, I'd say telepath (psion), but one can't be sure.




Thank you.  And yes, that is a good guess.  He is the ultimate telepath, in that he will have only telepathic powers, and only Psi feats.  Thus far, his luck hasn't been so good, given that his opponents have almost always made their will saves, even when the chances weren't great.  But that just makes things more interesting.


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## Tirlanolir (Oct 9, 2005)

I'm enjoying your cleverly written story hour.  In it, I've seen evidence to suggest that you are a lawyer in rl, which I will describe seriatim: (1) your character's name is the name of one of the most well-respected jurists in history, (2) copious use of the term "statute" when intending to write "statue;" it is something I often do in my own gaming materials due to the fact that I more commonly write "statute" in my rl job, and (3) your view on law enforcement's motivations.  If I am correct, it is nice to see a fellow lawyer who is also a gamer!


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## Altalazar (Oct 9, 2005)

Tirlanolir said:
			
		

> I'm enjoying your cleverly written story hour.  In it, I've seen evidence to suggest that you are a lawyer in rl, which I will describe seriatim: (1) your character's name is the name of one of the most well-respected jurists in history, (2) copious use of the term "statute" when intending to write "statue;" it is something I often do in my own gaming materials due to the fact that I more commonly write "statute" in my rl job, and (3) your view on law enforcement's motivations.  If I am correct, it is nice to see a fellow lawyer who is also a gamer!




Thank you.  And very astute observations.  I didn't notice the statute typos, though I did find many others.  I was a bit more careful with editing for my subsequent postings, I hope.  Yes, Cordozo is a legal giant, and I thought it made a nifty name for a medieval lawyer.  I do have my doubts about law enforcement motivations at times, though I can sympathize with the travails of that job.  I'm not technically a lawyer, yet.  I'm studying for the bar having just graduated second in my class in law school.  Law school was what kept me from gaming for the past three years - working full time and law school don't leave much time for anything else.  Having a six week old baby also tends to eat away at the hours, but at least I'm home with her while I study.  Half of the fun of gaming for me these days is coming up with an interesting character, one I can write about in first-person.  I am always surprised where it can take me.  

I also find it nice to know there are other lawyer gamers.  Have you practiced long?  I've only done my externship, in appeals, so I've never even seen a trial, though I've read many many complete trial transcripts and depositions for writing appeals briefs.  There is a certain legal purity to appeals which, to coin a bad pun, appeals to me.  

I should be updating this story hour every Saturday after gaming Friday night.


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## Tirlanolir (Oct 10, 2005)

Altalazar said:
			
		

> I also find it nice to know there are other lawyer gamers.  Have you practiced long?  I've only done my externship, in appeals, so I've never even seen a trial, though I've read many many complete trial transcripts and depositions for writing appeals briefs.  There is a certain legal purity to appeals which, to coin a bad pun, appeals to me.
> 
> I should be updating this story hour every Saturday after gaming Friday night.




I've been practicing for 8 years.  In my gaming group we have a 3rd year law student and another lawyer as well (the other lawyer has been practicing for 3 years).  I look forward to reading more of your story hour!


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## Altalazar (Oct 26, 2005)

Tirlanolir said:
			
		

> I've been practicing for 8 years.  In my gaming group we have a 3rd year law student and another lawyer as well (the other lawyer has been practicing for 3 years).  I look forward to reading more of your story hour!




I have yet to game with any other lawyers - how's the rules lawyering?   

Oh, and I just wanted to post to say that the reason there's been no update is there was no game.  The last one had to be called off because two players couldn't make it, and the next few weeks the DM and one of the players (his wife) will be in Hawaii on vacation, so we won't be resuming playing until November 11.  But then updates should resume.  Thus far, we've had two sessions cancelled due to lack of players - but this is typical for adults with various commitments gaming.  By the next date, we should all be free for a while.


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## Tirlanolir (Oct 27, 2005)

Altalazar said:
			
		

> I have yet to game with any other lawyers - how's the rules lawyering?




Interestingly, the lawyers are the least particular about the rules.  Just a personality thing, I guess.


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## Altalazar (May 11, 2006)

Cordozo – Chapter Thirteen – Bandits fur real

	It turned out Derris knew more than he was admitting, but about as much as we expected, given his dramatic departure from Joseph’s Inn.  There were bandits, of a sort, attacking the village.  And, to no one’s surprise (except perhaps Ee, who is surprised by most things) the bandits were really the villagers themselves, changed into beasts against their will.  Transformations of a different sort became my bane.  
	My mind began to reach out to Derris.  I probed deep into the inner recesses of his mind.  At the same time,  I was exploring the newfound reaches of my own fractured mind, and I found something disturbing.  It was so disturbing that it overwhelmed my senses and I found myself lying on the ground, my companions around me, looking on with concern.  Ee told me, with his usual aplomb, “You go down.  You not look good.”  “You down long time.”  Three coherent sentences in a row from Ee was likely a record.  And it was, as always, refreshingly echoed by Ee’s thoughts, which never varied from what came from his mouth.  
	I tried to get up, but found the world spin around me before finally deciding to come to a stop somewhere just behind my head.  My companions carried me to a healer’s home and left me there to recover while they dealt with the evils of the world.  I decided to use the time to focus my mind and discover what else it had in store for me.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Fourteen – Long travels, short words

	As I lay recovering from my mental travails, the others of my troupe managed to save the village, free a princess, slay a dragon, and clear an entire lair of evil, refurbish it, and sell it for the forces of good.  Or so I gathered from the excited utterances of Ee as he tried to explain everything that I missed before he dumped a rather large number of coins onto my lap as I lay in bed.  “Here you share.”  
	I stood up and picked up the coins and tried to arrange them into a semblance of order.  I hoped, deep down, that my newfound vigor was not solely due to the sudden wealth I found myself with.  Upon further reflection several days later, as I traveled down the road toward the town of Elton, I realized that the coin really did not mean that much to me.  I could not even think of anything I would spend my newfound wealth to obtain.  Perhaps my cynicism has found new purpose.  Or perhaps my ambitions are so high that mere coin would not suffice to achieve them.  
	Then we were on the road, for reasons obscure to me, but for which I decided I cared not to ask (nor to mind probe).  It was refreshing to be going somewhere without knowing why and without worrying about motives or anything else.  I enjoyed the ride, lost in my thoughts, which included some idle speculation about our new companion, a warrior-priest named Krynyn who apparently was saved by my companions on one of missions breathlessly related to me by Ee.  I decided deliberately to keep my mind from his.  Perhaps it was due to my desire to be left with my own thoughts.  Perhaps it was also a selfish desire not to risk my conciousness or even my sanity at pressing my powers too much.  
I decided instead to play with myself a game where I’d try and guess his motives and character merely by watching him.  At a later time, I could always probe him and see if my conclusions were correct.  After all, I needed to keep my skills with perceiving others intact for that day when I find someone I am unable to read.  I knew that such an eventuality could come because in my ruminations in my bed, I discovered within myself a talent to stop others from reading my own mind, should I so wish it.


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## Altalazar (May 11, 2006)

Book III

	Cordozo – Chapter Fifteen – Elton – a town with bruises, and later, long, pointy sticks

	Elton was a sleepy little village nestled in the mountains outside of Desbury.  And when I say sleepy, I mean bruised, battered, and broken.  The townsfolk were in bad shape, as were their huts.  They were in the process of patching the huts and the villagers when we walked into town.  None were too willing to talk to us until we came upon a middle-aged man named Sanders who seemed happier than his condition should warrant.  His bloody smile seemed to be tied to his belief that the village was chosen by the gods for something special.  He related to us a fascinating tale.  
	Some nights ago, in the middle of the day, there was a new star in the sky above Elton.  This star settled to the ground from high in the sky and resolved itself into the figure of a small, unearthly beautiful, blue boy.  Blue in the chromatic sense, not the mood sense, which incidentally seemed to take over Sander’s face as he related the boy’s current disposition.  “They took him!”  
Piecing together his story in a more chronological fashion, we learned that the boy was seen as a revered, almost godlike figure to the villagers, despite the fact that he was unable to even speak to them until after several days of listening to the villagers.  He did manage to (divinely?) learn the villager’s language (common) in a very short period of time, though from what we were told of his progress, he likely would only be able to share a deeply philosophical conversation with Ee.  
	Thus we came to the blue part of the story (not the boy), his eventual kidnapping by what could only be described as crosses between ogres and giant bugs.  The minions of someone known as Booth the Lesser, who was apparently a blue ogre, though it was lost on me whether this was chromatic or mood related.  
	No sooner had Sanders described the blue boy’s abduction than Krynyn, Ee, Marcus, and Morwen were off in search of him in the caves of “The Lesser” Booth.  They soon returned, in what I have now learned is known in the adventuring world as a “tactical retreat” to lick their wounds, describing caves with ogre-bugs on the ceiling , long spears, and lots of pain.  And also with, much to Ee’s chagrin, the loss of his dear Bertha (a lovely, if often bloody, battleaxe).  
	We spent the night recovering (well, they recovered, I meditated on life) and then returned to the scene of the withdrawal. 

	Cordozo – Chapter Sixteen – Caves, ogre-bugs, and spears, oh boy!  Blue boy.  

	Ee ventured boldly forth into the caves, his glow-stick held high.  Ee ventured boldly in the wrong direction until Morwen offered a course correction.  My specially tuned, ultra-sensitive, deeply-perceptive psionic senses were completely unneeded to discern that letting Ee lead and Morwen act as his wisdom backup was about the dumbest thing we could possibly do.  So we pressed on.  
	When we reached the large chamber that was the scene of much bloody combat, there were no bodies to be found and Bertha had been carried off.  Ee looked like he was about to cry, until we noticed more ogre-bugs ahead, on the ceiling, and he had something to kill.  
	The tricky thing about ogre-bugs with long, pointy sticks is that they can jab you and you can’t jab them.  Their thoughts were about the simplest I’ve ever sensed – which in its own way was refreshing, if one leaves out the parts where they fantasize about ripping us all into strips of fresh meat and eating us alive.  
	I stood in the back and crushed them with my mind, sending tendrils out that felt much stronger than ever before.  Much to my surprise, I dispatched one with my first attempt, sending it crashing from the ceiling to the floor.  My companions dispatched the other one after much dancing about between the reach of its long spear.  I even fired a crossbow at it, though that bolt was fated for another purpose than anything remotely useful to us.  
	My mind was almost spent just after the last one was dispatched, so I suggested we rest, but we pressed on.  
	The corridor soon led to a large chamber, which went beyond the range of even our cleric’s magical light.  But in the shadows ahead to the left we could see two of those creatures standing upon the floor, not the ceiling (and thus not so far out of reach).  Even more relevant was the small, apparently blue figure on the floor between and behind them.  We could not tell if he was still alive, though I sensed something.  Ee immediately charged them, covering almost half of the distance to them before he almost killed everyone.  
	I am beginning to think my abilities give me some sort of precognition.  As the others stepped out into the large hall and carefully advanced on the creatures (well, then there was Ee) I held back and stayed just outside the room, in the corridor.  Which was fortunate as Ee triggered a wire that then unceremoniously dropped the entire ceiling of the room down on everyone in it (short of the creatures, of course).  Ee was still ready to charge, but some quick shouting convinced him to return for healing.  I argued for a retreat to rest, my brain nearly spent, our healing nearly gone, everyone’s bodies nearly dead (but mine).  Ee and Morwen initially both voted to continue on without stopping even to heal.  So I counted that as a vote to heal.  I’ve found that whatever course of action they dictate is usually a good barometer for deciding to do the opposite.  Marcus agreed with me, and so Ee finally agreed to “me heal first.”  The creatures, of course, immediately ran up to the ceiling, the trap having been sprung.  Little buggy bastards.  
	Unfortunately, “me heal first” led Ee to determine that as soon as a heal spell was cast on him, he was off and running again, even before anyone else had their wounds tended to.  I could only shake my head (from the safety of the hallway).  
	A few more wasted crossbow bolts later and my companions had efficiently dispatched the two creatures from the ceiling and freed the blue boy from his shackles and rescued him from his fate.  Unfortunately, blue boy (whose thoughts revealed his name to be Arithel) had other ideas and immediately ran deeper into the complex, looking for more creatures to dispatch to “save” the villagers.  Considering his rather fragile disposition, Morwen chased after him.  I used what remaining mental energy I had left in one last desperate effort to stop him.  He was not very happy to be stopped in his tracks.  He quickly deduced it was me, perhaps because of the large shaft of light surrounding my head.  Not wanting to antagonize him, I let him go.  Some staggering, but quick footwork snagged Arithel and stopped him from getting himself killed.  This despite Ee’s shouts of encouragement to “kill ‘em all!”  
	After a half-dozen similar combats against killer ogre-bugs, we cleared out the complex and returned Arithel to the overjoyed villagers.  They were in for a treat, too late to save the boy (of course).  

	Cordozo – Chapter Eighteen – Another star falls, not in time for anything but a denouement.  

	Soon after the boy was returned, another star appeared in the sky and descended to the ground.  This was a large blue woman of a rather alien visage.  Her name was Celentra.  I guessed she was his mother.  I was wrong, though I could have argued she was the equivalent in a court of law, since she did admit to being his guardian.  Given his predicament, I also could other legal action taken against her for losing track of her charge.  Idly, I wondered if his true parents would need the services of a barrister.  Before I could offer Arithel my card, he was carried off into the sky.  Even more idly, I wondered if his “guardian” watched the whole thing, hoping for his demise, and when it didn’t happen, decided to come collect him.  Perhaps my cynicism hadn’t quite left after all.


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## Altalazar (May 11, 2006)

Book IV

	Cordozo – Chapter Nineteen – Back to Desbury, just in time to “save” the Pink Lady (after the Blue Boy)

	Rumors of her kidnapping reached us even before we reached the gates of Desbury.  I could almost hear the tendrils in the air.  The worry.  The gossip.  The sometimes heartless speculation.  Count Sebastian of Desbury’s twelve-year-old daughter, Lady Alexandra, has been kidnapped.  Her carriage was attacked outside the city.  Everyone in her entourage was killed and she was now missing.  The Count was desperate to have her returned to him unharmed, and was offering gold and riches to any who could rescue her.  My cynical mind calculated that any ransom asked must have been prohibitive for the Count to be able to make such an offer.  Her life was worth so much to him.  Funny how he never seemed to find much value for the lives of the commoners that his laws sent through my courtrooms.  
	We quickly took to the streets, heading south to her last known location.  As fortune would have it, we saw a diminutive form running toward us in the darkness, screaming for help before she was cut down by arrows from two of five pursuers.  The town watch came running, but as is usual, they were advancing at a pace guaranteed to make them arrive after the danger was over.  I couldn’t help but recall how my whole illustrious adventuring career began as we ran toward the fallen form of who we assumed was the kidnapped Princess Alexandra.  
	Scholar Ee grabbed Big Bertha and ran toward her pursuers.  Marcus, ever mindful of the health of others, made a few gestures of his holy symbol in the fallen princess’s direction, sending the healing power of Pelor into her body.  And thus, before a word could be spoken, combat was joined.  
	Not that our esteemed opponents did not try to parley with us.  They eloquently shouted “you don’t understand!” even as they shot arrows at us and swung large, heavy metal instruments at us and Lady Alexandra.  Ever mindful of the need for good rhetoric, I shouted back “if you want to talk, stop attacking us!” before crushing their minds.  I didn’t expect they’d stop, but at least now I could truthfully testify to the town watch that we tried to talk but they wouldn’t listen.  Not that truth usually mattered to the watch.  
	The front two pursuers fell quickly, the remaining three fled.  Ee did not even skip a beat before pursuing.  Marcus, ever mindful, healed the two that fell, just in time for the town guard to appear.  Oh wonderful.  We are “saved.”  
	I could hear in their minds the usual pitter patter of their tiny intellects as they prepared to lock everyone up without regard to truth.  But then it quickly evaporated as soon as they laid eyes upon the Princess.  Their tiny ape-like brains quickly were filled with fear of the Count’s wrath, followed by elation at her apparent good health.  Their esteemed leader, Sir Ishan, knelt at her feet and kissed her tiny hands before standing and facing us.  The princess then announced that “my father will tell of your great deeds and reward you for your valor.”  Wonderful.  Maybe I can get some upscale clients.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Twenty – Grand plans – spoiled little brat demon (dead)

	Count Sebastian was so happy to see his daughter, I almost believed him to be a decent man.  But then even scoundrels have family.  He set up a grand ball in our honor, something he invited all of the great (and not so great) nobles of Desbury to attend.  He promised to reward us handsomely at the ball and advanced us each one hundred and fifty gold coins to dress for the occasion.  I guess he assumed rabble such as us would not have our own wardrobe.  I could sense within him worry of embarrassment at seeing dirty, smelly adventurers at his grand celebration.  Subtle, count.  Subtle.  We were also to be the recipients of the “Star of Desbury,” something I’m sure will look good collecting dust on a shelf at my residence.  Then again, it could get me a lot of business with the upscale clients of the town.  That is, if they even bother to hire a barrister before they bribe the judge or use their influence to make a charge disappear.   
	The Count apparently did not extend his hospitality to his own home, instead buying us a place at an inn in town, the Golden Goblet.  At least his snubbing our staying in his home came with gilded edges.  Before we left for the inn, I happened to catch sight of our little Princess heading toward her chambers and run into her old, faithful nurse.  Surprisingly, she shunned her nurse before stopping and then smiling and taking her with her into her chambers.  Ok, so the little Princess is really a demon.  I figured it was best just to keep that to myself.  Revealing her to be a demon to the Count, perhaps revealing the real Princess was dead and gone, was not a great conversation starter.  It couldn’t go anywhere but downhill from there.  So time to go shopping for the ball.  
	Marcus suggested that perhaps it would be unwise to dress too nobly for the occasion.  He suggested that the gold given was to buy two outfits for the ball of good quality.  I took that as an invitation to add my own gold to the money the count gave us and purchase noble vestments to rival the richest of nobles.  I couldn’t wait to see what the assembled nobles of Desbury had to think about that.  
	We spent the day shopping for our vestments, the heralds announcing the evenings ball echoing through the streets, before returning to our rooms at the Golden Goblet to prepare for the evening’s festivities.  There we found a middle-aged man nursing some bloody wounds sitting at the mahogany desk in the foyer outside of our suites.  
	“I’m not here to fight you,” were the first words out of his mouth.  I believed him, but I also sensed that he’d like to get up from his polished oak chair and slice all of our throats for our “stupidity.”  He then put voice to his thoughts, berating us for our causing a “bloodbath at the stroke of midnight” where he said we’d condemned over one hundred people to die.  Nice to meet you too, old man.  
	John Swift, as the old man called himself, said he was a member of the “Masters of Minutemen Society.”  And, he said - wait for it – “The young girl isn’t a girl at all – she’s dead.  Congratulations.  She’s really a terror fiend – a type of vampire that can only feed on royal blood.”  Ok, close enough to demon.  Though all this “feeding only on royal blood” didn’t sound half bad to me.  Well, but the Count hadn’t paid us yet.  And I decided I wasn’t quite that cynical.  Not yet.  Though the old man’s sarcasm was starting to grate on me.  Sure, I knew she was a demon.  But why berate the others.  It was a good thing that Ee doesn’t know what sarcasm is, or John would swiftly find himself introduced to Bertha.  But no, Swift could not let up, and so he finished his speech with bold pronouncements about how the “real feast tonight will be of rich blood, courtesy of the heroes of the city” followed by a sarcastic bow, if such a thing is even possible.  
	He then filled us in with the story of what really happened to the Princess’ caravan.  It was attacked by a Fiend summoned by the Wizard Favrnal that escaped his control.  The fiend then killed everyone in the caravan, including the Princess, who ran away when the attack began.  The Masters of Minutemen society captured the beast and recovered the Princess’ body, but then the fiend escaped, and that’s where we entered the scene.  I held back a few sarcastic comments about how they could have been a little more forthcoming with words and less so with arrows when encountering us in the street, but then I changed my mind and said them anyway.  
	Just to prove his point, he had one of his men carry in the canvas-wrapped body of the Princess to show us she was truly dead.  Nothing like carrying the corpse of a twelve-year old girl just to win an argument.  
	The old man reiterated his favorite refrain, “it will feed on the blood of every noble.”  
	Ee, ever the eloquent voice of reason, responded, “YOU capture, YOU kill.”    
	The old man could only then whine about how all of his men are scattered, hiding, or in chains after being rounded up by the city watch.  I held back an offer to represent them in court.  I could make quite a lot of coin representing so many.  Thoughts of coin led my mind to my bulging bags of unspent booty.  I suddenly had a wonderful idea of just where to spend it all.  The germ of a plan began to form in my mind.  “I think the ball will definitely be on for tonight,” I said to my assembled comrades. 

	Cordozo – Chapter Twenty-One – Stupid town watch – Gang aft agley

	Just before midnight, the princess stood before the assembled nobles, including her father the count, and raised her arms up in salute to the heroes assembled before her.  “Thank you for your last gift!  Your gift of… life!”  
	Her body then exploded outward into messy, slimy tentacles covered with spiked protrusions.  The tentacles then flared out from her body, eviscerating the heroes gathered before her, cutting them to ribbons and sending their lifeless corpses flying through the air out into the crowd of stunned nobles.  The nobles just stood there dumbly, their jaws dropping down into their fancy drinks as they failed to fully comprehend what was happening before them.  
	That’s when the REAL heroes arrived, namely my companions and myself, dressed in fancy clothes soaked to the skin with human excrement and well torn.  Which was not quite the plan I had in mind.  

	To fully explain requires backing up four hours earlier.  Four long hours.  Four hours I’d rather not repeat.  

	My plan was simple.  We needed to get the Count on our side.  I figured the Count would not take kindly to news that his daughter was really dead, if he would even talk to us at all.  I thought we needed to both break the news of what really happened to him and also reunite him with his real daughter.  Thus, I took my hard-earned coin to Marcus’ temple, along with Alexandra’s body, and asked the temple to raise her from the dead.  Marcus intervened and suggested we first speak with her from beyond the grave and ask her how she died and if she really wanted to live again.  I demurred to him in these matters – I was not used to dealing with such matters of life and death except in the cavalier way lives are usually disposed of in court.  
	Her corpse only confirmed what I already knew to be true – she was killed by a demon and was quite ready to be alive again “yes, thank you, and hurry up!”  Thus, Morwen’s cynical asides about the Count abusing her and her wanting to die (and even perhaps being in on her demise) was unfounded.  It may be possible that Morwen is even more cynical than myself.  Ee would prove most cynical of all, almost to the point of his own demise.  But that was after midnight, and I wish to explain further what happened before.  
	With coin from all of my companions we raised Alexandra from the dead, who proved quite grateful.  We then explained the entire story to the head of the temple and asked him to send an urgent, emergency summons to the Count.  My intention was to get the Count reunited with his real daughter, her heart beating, so we could tell him the whole story, we could confirm it, and then we could then ask the Count to let the Ball go on as planned, except now the only blood in the bathtub would be from the demon as we set up the perfect ambush.  We knew when and where the demon intended to strike.  We had hours to plan, buy fancy clothes for the city watch and the Minutemen, whom could then be sprung from jail by the Count (their innocence proven) and then both the watch and the Minutemen could attend the ball, in disguise (a costume ball!) in noble clothes, waiting for the demon to make “her” move.  
	To this end, Marcus went off to secure fancy clothes and masks, the message to the Count was dispatched by the temple, Morwen went to the palace to keep an eye on the demon herself (to make sure she did not get wind of our planned ambush) and I headed for the nearest station of the town watch to start to gather as many of them as possible for the ambush at the palace.  As I discovered later, Ee also went off on an errand of his own, to find John Swift.  Fate would have Morwen succeed at Ee’s task even as she failed at her own.  
	Dressed in my finest noble fare, I reached the guard station some minutes walk from the temple.  I found but a lone guard there, a sergeant, who informed me that the palace guard had been doubled and so there were few watchmen left in the streets.  I decided to trust him and inform him fully as to the awful truth about the demon and the Count’s daughter.  He was skeptical, but agreed to accompany me to the temple, especially after I told him the Count had been summoned there as well.  When I returned to the temple, I found things had not gone quite so well for Morwen.  
	Morwen returned to the temple around three and a half hours before midnight carrying disturbing news.  She had not been able  to gain entry even to the outer palace.  Instead, she found John Swift again, this time with the news that the last time Mr. Swift crossed our paths, the son of the Captain of the Watch spied his departure from our rooms.  This good son then went directly to dear-old dad and informed him we were working with the Minutemen to work a scam to fake a kidnapping and rescue of the Count’s daughter just to get a monetary reward.  Thus, the palace guard was doubled and the heroes of the day were to be the town watch and not my companions and me.  The Captain bought it and we had no chance to even attempt to talk him out of it.  It suddenly seemed unlikely the Count would come to the temple, though the request was from the priests, not the “kidnappers.”  
	Barney, the Sergeant of the watch who had accompanied me, was unaware of the situation at the palace.  I quickly informed him of it, ALL of it, and suggested that he go inform the Captain of the error of his ways.  
	Fortunately, Morwen had another route into the Palace.  Swift had provided a map to the sewers beneath the city to Morwen before he melted into the night once more.  Nice.  A dirty sewer.  Filled with failed magical experiments of the Minutemen.  I was beginning to think this adventuring life never allows one to make a proper, dignified entrance into high society.  Not that there was much dignified or even high about the society kept at the palace.  
	With time running out, we waited for Ee’s return to the temple.  He finally did so a mere two hours before midnight.  We quickly left, with instructions to Sergeant Barney to leave ten minutes after our departure to correct the record with the Captain on our behalf.  If he had half a brain, perhaps we’d have an ambush waiting for the demon after all.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Twenty-Two – Descent into the depths of the excrement 

	The sewers were about what I expected, only smellier, dirtier, and apparently laced with traps.  Of the latter, I could confirm with no fear of hearsay, because our erstwhile “not-a-thief” Morwen failed to notice one which I stepped upon and promptly fell into the sewage below.  To make the record complete, it should be noted that there were iron spikes waiting in the water where I fell.  One would think such things were completely unnecessary to efficient sanitation operations.  On the one bright spot of the otherwise miserable fall, the spikes made good handholds to prevent my being swept into the current of excrement and drowned.  After that, I let Ee carry me over the rough patches.  Ee was greatly aided in this by his slippers that allowed him to walk along the walls and even the ceiling.  Utterly amazing what these adventurers can do.  
	Unfortunately, the next trouble I found was not a trap, but was instead a beast that defies description.  My first warning of its existence was when its slimy touch met my sewage-soaked clothes, turning my body into a quivering mass of gelatinous matter.  It took all of my mental discipline to prevent myself from melting away entirely.  Krynyn met a similar fate.  We managed to hold ourselves together long enough to retreat to his temple and seek restoration from his god.  Thus another hour was burned with no real progress made before we descended back into the sewage.  
	Time was running out, and the sewers were a maze of muck and dead ends blocked by thick iron gratings.  When we could progress no further, our goal almost in sight (at least if Swift’s map was accurate, which fortunately it turned out to be), we found a grate barring our way.  
	Next to the grate was a slot in the wall holding a silver dagger and silver characters adorned the wall:  “TNESSFFTT___”  
	We all stopped and stared.  At the wall.  At each other.  “I hate puzzles,” muttered Morwen.  “Riddles?  Ok, the nobles are dead, let’s go home,” I thought to myself.  The echo of my words down the walls startled me.  “Oh, did I say that out loud?”  
	After much fussing and worrying from my companions, I put my lawyer’s mind to work, grabbed that silver dagger, and drew an “O” on the wall for the final character, sending the grate sliding into the wall.  Onward we went.  
	“What the hell…?” asked Morwen.  “Ten Nine Eight Seven Six Five Four Three Two One,” I replied, before pressing onward.  The silver dagger I slipped into my tattered clothes.  I figured I had earned it.  And thus I obtained my first and only weapon, beyond the borrowed crossbow I sometimes used to waste crossbow bolts.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Twenty-Three – Ee finds his voice – and a rather large number of arrows

	And now back to where we began – just before midnight…

	The end of the sewers in sight, we ran up into the palace, just in time to hear the carnage begin.  The poor, useless town watch “heroes” met their end, an end they could have avoided had they listened to us in the first place.  I found it hard to feel much sympathy for them.  I found myself falling behind, as usual, as my brave companions rushed forward to fight the huge demon in the midst of its noble-blood buffet.  
	My companions, brave though they were, had great difficulty denting the demon’s huge, tough hide.  Thus, my moment arrived, I rushed as fast as I could into the ballroom and crushed the demon with my mind.  I felt its grey matter soften in my mental grasp, a shriek of pain in my mind.  This had gotten personal.  My clothes were ruined.  My hair was full of excrement.  This demon was going to DIE.  
	Several ineffectual swings and shots later, I focused my mind again on the demon, its tendrils surrounding its otherworldly grey-matter.  I tensed myself mentally and then I squeezed with every last ounce of strength I could muster.  This time, the mental anguish was almost audible as I felt its brain turn to liquid in its head.  The demon collapsed to the polished marble ballroom floor in a heap, its brains slowly dripping out of its ears.  
	Just in time to “save” us, the Captain of the guard ran into the room, twenty men armed with longbows in tow, apparently to help us, his “misconception” having been corrected by the good Sergeant of the Watch.  
	It was at this point that Ee began his long tirade about the stupidity of the Captain of the guard, right in front of the Count and the entire nobility of the kingdom (well, those that were not already snacked upon by the demon).  Ee used his usual eloquence.  “You so stupid.  You could have stop this.  You stupid.  You so stupid.”   
	I tried to explain to the Captain that Ee was just upset and not to listen to him.  Twenty arrows later, Ee was almost dead and I finally had to lock his brain with my own to shut him up and save his life.  Ee was, needless to say, not amused.  
	We thankfully managed to exit the palace with Ee intact, though it did take some time to pry all of the arrows out of his torso.  Privately, I tried to explain to Ee that of COURSE the town watch and nobility are stupid.  You just don’t SAY it to them.  Even more privately, to myself, I wished I could have told the Captain and the rest of the aristocracy exactly what Ee said, only with a wider variety of adjectives and adverbs.  Ee will likely never work for the officialdom of Desbury ever again.  
	Ee even went so far as to refuse to receive the Star of Desbury, a reward those who showed up received from the Count for truly saving his daughter.  The Star, a platinum brooch set with a flawless sapphire, seems to magically improve one’s social standing, especially within the walls of Desbury.  It will go nicely with my silver dagger as a souvenir of this otherwise forgettable experience with the excrement of society.  And I didn’t like the raw sewage, either.  
	One final note: Ee’s disdain for accolades did not extend to the chest of two thousand gold coins offered to each of us from the Count’s personal account.  Though I can’t vouch for what he actually did with those coins.  I heard stray thoughts of his indicating a strong desire to give them to whomever would annoy the Captain the most.  I must say, in a world filled with deceptive, double-dealing, “noble” hypocrites, Ee’s nakedly-voiced disdain and directly-expressed revenge is, as always, a breath of fresh air.


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## Altalazar (May 11, 2006)

Book V

	Cordozo – Chapter Twenty-Four – Marcus sees the light – and then sees dinner – but no one sees me

	This past week has been a special one for Marcus.  Apparently, those of his faith have a ritual once a year (or so?) where all priests take to the streets wearing nothing but loincloths and their positive dispositions, exposed to the elements, and without any of their divinely inspired magic.  And thus I found at least one non-cynical reason to favor my chosen profession over that of my erstwhile companion’s.  
	After days of this sort of environmental self-flagellation, Marcus had a vision, presumably from his deity.  The shining path of light coming down from the heavens was, perhaps, a small clue to its divine origin.  And what did this shining shaft of light lead to?  In a spectacularly anti-climactic fashion, the light led Marcus to a diner.  Yes, a diner.  Where the patrons barely looked up from stuffing food into their mouths to acknowledge Marcus’ entry.  That alone would have been enough for me to conclude that the whole thing was an elaborate advertising campaign to bring in the, likely very hungry (due to fasting) members of Marcus’ Pelorian church in out of the cold to eat, were it not for what happened next.  
	Two ragged and battered Pelorians, wearing far more than loincloths, staggered into the establishment just after Marcus arrived.  They were in horrible shape and needed immediate assistance.  Marcus treated them no differently than he treated your average street scum – he gathered them up and helped them with everything he had, taking him back to his church. 
	The two were apparently on some sort of important, divine mission for the church and needed assistance to reach their destination.  They met resistance in a dark and mysterious woods that shook them up so much they refused to speak about it with Marcus, nor any one else, any further.  Marcus was assigned to escort them safely to their destination and, as is typical for Marcus, he did not press them for more information and instead took it upon faith that Pelor would provide him with the knowledge he needed when the time came.  Marcus, bless his heart, needs a good dose of cynicism, as we would all find out in a dark and dreary woods.  But not quite yet.  
	Marcus gathered all of us together to ask us to accompany him on his journey.  We all readily agreed, though apparently they could not find me to tell me about the mission.  Which was unfortunate in the sense that I was there the entire time listening intently and they STILL could not find me.  I had discovered yet another power of my mind, one over which I had no control as of yet.  I decided to go along with them anyway, hoping that eventually they would notice my presence.  I wondered idly if this is how most ghosts perceive the world.  The small bruise on my head now is the only evidence that I cannot, in actuality, walk through walls.  Fortunately, due to my predicament, no one saw me try that particular experiment.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Twenty-Five – A tree falls in the woods and still nobody hears or sees me

	Still hopeful that whatever it was that was happening to me would wear off, I followed my companions as they escorted the Pelorian pair to their destination.  I picked up along the way their names – Raz was the escort and the other one was named Satura VII, and she was some sort of outsider, as evidenced by her rather long-winded title as “The Vessel of Stars, The Relic.”  The Relic.  That last part reminded me of a nickname for a rather old and decrepit judge who simply refused to retire, despite his near-deafness and his propensity to sleep through most trials.  His only “saving grace” was his low price for bribes, his price list not having been updated for decades.  
	The path quickly led into the dark woods, following a narrow, meandering path that barely left room for one to hold one’s arms straight out.  The undergrowth was so thick one could get lost in it after just a few steps.  Not that it made much difference for myself, still unseen and unheard by all.  I felt tempted to shout insults to Raz and the Relic, just to see if they really did not see me.  Only long habit held my tongue.  For Raz, that habit would ultimately prove insufficient.  
	One wonderful side-effect of my disappearance was a general inability to do anything else with my mind.  I wondered if that was from the “effort” required to mask myself from so many at once.  I started to experiment with this concept when we came upon a downed tree of massive proportions blocking the road.  
	Ambush.  Was I surprised?  Of course not.  Did it matter?  No.  What was surprising was that the beings standing on the trunk resembled humans with the heads of Oxen.  Habit helped me keep in the more obvious insulting nicknames, but I couldn’t help but chuckle.  Their simple tactics allowed my companions to defeat them despite their apparent advantages – they were mostly unhurt by even enchanted weapons, they seemed to resist magical spells, and they had this nasty habit of shouting out that made my companions run away in fear and weakness.  Despite this, my companions still eventually did defeat them.  What morons.  Oxen-head morons.  “Oxymorons!”  I couldn’t let habit stop me from that one.  
	The turning point was when Ee went berserk and charged them and Marcus then enchanted his already magical weapon with magical flames.  Much to everyone’s relief, Ee’s irrational fear of fire did not even slow him down in his rage.  Unfortunately, the same did not hold true when he calmed down.  Several hours later, we managed to catch up to Ee after he ran screaming in the direction opposite to where he threw down his flaming weapon.  
	I was still unable to be seen, but then I decided to try something to change that – I focused my mind on just one person – Ee in this case, to make myself specifically absent for just that one person.  With a mental “snap” everything came back into focus.  Ee was still unable to see me, but now everyone else could.  And with a quick flick of my mind, Ee could then see me as well.  I am going to have to be careful with what new powers I discover within myself.  I think I’ll stick to just one person at a time with this particular talent, at least until my mastery is far higher than it is now.  I’m not quite ready to be ignored by everyone in the world, yet.  I’ll save that for when I have grandkids and I want to bore anyone who walks by my mahogany rocking-chair with my grand tales of adventure from my youth.

	Cordozo – Chapter Twenty-Six – Another tree falls and I wish that someone had seen me fall, too

	After much chasing after Ee, who is apparently the fastest of my companions, our band was reassembled and ready to assess the damage.  Apparently the noxious breath of these beasts did more than make one flee – they also weakened one’s general good health.  Marcus offered to use his Palorian talents to rectify this, but it required resting first so he could pray at dawn.  Dawn thus arrived, much praying ensued, and the others were feeling much better.  Ee and Morwen then decided the best course of action was to head boldly forward into the woods rather than rest further, having depleted most of Marcus’ divine reserves.  So of course the best course of action was to rest.  Several foolish miles further, we spied yet another downed tree.  
	Fortunately, there were no Ox-heads in sight.  Unfortunately, the first sight we did see was that of a lightning bolt springing forth from the fingertips of a human without an ox-head, injuring half of our number.  Were I further afield, I am certain I would have fallen.  Rest assured, I survived, or else you could not be reading this.  Unfortunately, I am less clear on what happened after that point, because while my companions rushed boldly forward, I stayed behind with Raz and the Vessel, much to my sorrow.  
	The last thing I remember is locking the mind of another human standing in ambush.  The last thing that person likely remembers is standing there in the woods, drooling, unable to act, as a giant celestial bear appeared in front of him and rended him into tiny pieces.  In retrospect, I suppose, things turned out better for myself.  
Some time later, when I was awoken from my slumber by Marcus, I learned that the fight was over and all but one of the six attackers were beyond Marcus’ abilities to help.  I slipped myself into his mind, making him my friend, and then learned that he was but a hired gun (much like myself, except I was armed with a pen and briefs) to stop us.  It was against Marcus’ sensibilities to kill him – he was our helpless prisoner.  If only the authorities of Desbury were so enlightened in their treatment of all of the helpless prisoners of Desbury’s “justice” system.  Thus, we let him go.  To give him a little extra incentive, I slipped into his mind and gave him an extreme aversion to “trees.”  I’m sure he was running for hours to get out of the rather thick forest.  Only later did it occur to me that the way was ultimately blocked by a rather large tree in both directions, due to the twin ambushes we met on the forest floor.  I idly wondered how many times he would bounce back and forth between the ambushes before either his aversion or his feet ran out.  I found it hard to have much sympathy for a hired murderer.  I then wondered if this was what led so many to lose their compassion and humanity when given a position of power to make judgment of those accused of such things.  
	Much later, I learned the reason for my untimely slumber, and it wasn’t from an unseen foe.  I did waste yet another crossbow bolt firing off toward our rear, just to be safe.  It turned out there was no chance it would hit anyone, but not for the usual reason that I was the one who had fired it – there was no one to hit in that direction.  Had I turned it the other way, the result would have been the same, but it would have been more satisfying.  But now I am getting ahead of myself.  
We resumed our journey, walking until it was almost dark.  We considered stopping, until we remembered that the way station was just ahead, where warm beds and warmer stew awaited us, courtesy of the clerics of the god of travelers.  

Cordozo – Chapter Twenty-Seven – Hospitality from smiles falser than lawyers at bench

	The way station seemed inviting enough.  A cozy column of smoke wound its way up and out of its chimney.  We approached cautiously, Morwen trying to peer in a window before she determined that they were all on the second floor and out of reach.  Ee, ever himself, barged straight in.  
	The way station was run by a group of three clerics of the traveling god and there were two guests there partaking of their hospitality.  Raz was an acquaintance of Tallon, the lead cleric.  That set off some alarms for me.  The two guests were all smiles and extremely friendly.  So immediately, I knew they were all conspiring to kill us all in our sleep, perhaps after poisoning our food.  It didn’t help the three “clerics” were armed with semi-concealed longswords and did not appear to wear similar vestments to each other.  No one else seemed to take notice of this, so I linked my mind to Marcus and then to Morwen to warn them of our impending ambush.  Ee had already wandered off on his own, so we had to track him down.  I decided not to link with his mind – who knows what Ee would do if he started to hear voices in his head.  
	I tried to see how suspicious the clerics were of us by offering them some of our own food – I figured if they had poisoned the food they offered to us, they might be reluctant to eat food we offered fearing a similar fate.  Instead, they looked at me like I was crazy, and ate my offered iron rations.  Maybe I ought to have actually poisoned them.  Too bad I don’t have any actual poison, beyond the text of my lawbooks.  Meanwhile, everyone else ate the stew offered, and claimed it was very, very tasty.  All the better to mask the poison.  
	We arranged to have a medium quality room so we could all be together.  I suggested we all take the first watch, so we could be awake and ready when they came in to murder us in our sleep.  All of us were thus awake and ready, except for Ee, who promptly went to bed, accusing us all of being crazy.  I tried to decide what would be worse – not having Ee ready to fight when the inevitable happened, or finding out that Ee was right and it was all paranoia on my part.  I didn’t have long to think about it.  
	Tallon soon knocked at our door, asking to come in and talk with us about something urgent.  He was unable to come in due to the redecorating we had done – apparently it is hard to open a door when there are a few hundred pounds of furniture piled against it.  So we opened the door, ready to pull him inside and then re-barricade the door.  Unfortunately, only Ee was strong enough to do this and he was sound asleep.  So after the door was opened and we saw all of the other denizens of the way station in the hall ready to murder us, all we could do was stand there and look foolish.  
	Amazingly, I found an extra burst of speed and before Tallon could even open his mouth again, I massively crushed his mind, leaving him staggering backward, desperately drinking elixirs of healing to stave off his imminent demise.  I would have finished him off if not for the other four thugs pushing their way into our room.  I thought to myself – “Ok, I’ll kill him last.”  
	Poor Ee was still in his bed when the half dozen or so arrows flew into his body, followed up by tumbling “clerics” coming into the room to stab him in his repose.  Well, at least that woke him up.  Maybe next time he’ll listen to us.  And maybe he’ll light us a fire and stick his hands into it and dance a diddy.  
	I managed to get away from the doorway, behind Ee before the room was filled from floor to ceiling with horribly sticky strands of a magical web.  It was unclear where this came from.  Fortunately, this finally got “The Vessel” upset enough to do something other than just stand there and look cute – she dispelled it with a wag of her finger before going back to playing with her nails.  Raz then read from a scroll and promptly vanished from sight.  His brain definitely needed crushing.  So not only was I not paranoid, I was not paranoid enough.  (As the old saying goes – just because you’re paranoid, it doesn’t mean you’re not being followed).  
	We quickly dispatched the remaining brigands save one, including Tallon, as they foolishly tried to stand toe-to-toe with the vertical Ee having been lulled into a false sense of security from attacking the horizontal Ee.  The remaining brigand ran out the door before being dispatched with sickening efficiency by Ee.  I ran to the door to cut off any invisible fleeing traitors, but was too slow – Raz was already out the door, as evidenced by his appearance behind Ee in the hallway, sleep wand at the ready.  Unfortunately for Raz, Ee already had a good night’s rest and he did not meet my fate at the point of that toad’s wand.  Before the wand was cold, Raz’s head was rolling around on the ground behind him.  
	The fight over, we took stock of our situation.  My stomach growled.  Time to sample that delicious stew.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Twenty-Eight – The Story of the Vessel After the Fall

	A quick search of the rest of the building turned up the real clerics, imprisoned upstairs in their posh quarters that put to shame the meager facilities offered to mere travelers – you know, those who are supposedly the worshippers of their god.  So not only did they not protect us as travelers, they reserve the nicest quarters for themselves rather than giving them to the tired, needy, weary travelers along the long road through the dark wood.  They’d make good judges.  
	After a hearty stew, we were all back on the road, heading ever closer to the Vessel’s destination.  We soon found ourselves standing outside a well-hidden cave leading into the side of a small mountain.  Digging our way through the thick underbrush, we made it inside, only to be stopped by a rather unstable-looking pile of rubble.  Given my recent experience with swimming in sewage, I somewhat reluctantly stepped out onto the stones.  As predictably as my waste of a crossbow bolt, I felt myself falling, with heavy rocks not too far behind.  But then that memory of falling into the sewer came rushing back to me and I felt a strange flush over my entire body and found myself walking across the rubble as if I had no weight at all, leaving no trace, leaving no stone turned.  Somehow my strong aversion to ever experiencing such a horrid event again changed something down to my very core.  It made me feel almost eager to walk past the next challenge to face us, a rather short rope bridge across a chasm deep into the ground.  It was apparently designed for use by the short little ox-headed beasts that have been giving us trouble for so long.  I slipped across the ropes without a second glance – my newfound power giving me a rush the likes of which I’ve never felt before.  I’ve never been much accomplished in the physical realm – it felt so exhilarating to feel such a viscerally physical skill come so effortlessly in body after but a small concentration of my mind.  And just to cement the memory, I ran directly into an entire community of ox-headed beasts, both young and old.  I quickly stopped to assess the situation.
	Fortunately for all involved, they were willing to talk to us.  They gave a rather lurid tale about how the Vessel was oppressing their people on some far off plane or some such thing.  The Vessel, for her part, said nothing useful.  The conversation was ultimately cut short by Marcus’ shaping the very stone of the cavern to cut them off from the passage.  I idly wondered if we’d condemned them to death by slow suffocation as we led the way for our little Vessel of an oppressive aristocrat toward her yacht.  Perhaps life as an adventurer is not all that different from defending murderers, bribing judges, and watching the well-connected serial killers let off with a verbal warning.  Well, they did attack us all first, so I guess that makes it all ok.  I’m going to need a long, luxurious bath when this is all over.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Twenty-Nine – The Vessel boards her Vessel 

	There was a rather strange-looking craft melded into the very rock of the cavern we found ourselves in.  It was the largest metallic object I’ve ever seen.  It was as if the cavern itself was wearing the shiniest full-plate armor one could buy.  Fortunately, it was not entirely intact, allowing us a way into its mysterious interior.  
	We climbed up into a chamber that was just as shiny and metallic as the exterior.  While climbing up a ladder deeper into its bowels, we found ourselves facing down yet more of those ox-headed monstrosities, along with a creature that seemed to be both there and not there at once, with long, furry tentacles over a feline-like body.  Amid many shrieks and shouts, we dispatched them with ease, though I spent most of the fight struck dumb by an ox-headed shriek.  At least I managed to melt one of their brains before they let loose their verbal assaults.  
	After quickly regrouping, we stepped up into the final chamber, the one just before the Vessel’s yacht.  Of course, it would not be that easy.  A hidden door opened and we were met with a two-pronged magical assault by twin mages (no relation, different looks) who seemed determined to stop the Vessel from departing.  
	After many different magics thrown our way, strange and wondrous and painful magics beyond my understanding (what little there is of magic).  So it was very satisfying to send some strange and wondrous and extremely painful mental emanations of my own in their direction, emanations beyond their understanding.  My reaction at their first blast of fire and lightning was to bring up within myself the memory of the lightning bolt that devastated our little group in the wood, and suddenly I found my mind sending my own lightning, of the cold variety, heading toward the mages at the speed of thought.  What is happening to me, I wondered, even as I felt the rush of power from deep in my spine, from the base of my neck.  I almost felt drunk with it, the surge, the cracking of flesh and bones as tissues and sinew were frozen in painful reckoning.  I felt a lust for blood and so it was a grave disappointment when the first mage fell and the second mage quickly grabbed him and vanished from sight.  
	I’m not sure what is happening to me, but this power now has changed something deep down.  My cynicism is fading.  My lust for power, something I think always drove me to law, even as I told myself I sought justice, has bubbled to the surface.  Or maybe the two are combining into something new and twisted.  I try to do well by others as an adventurer, but I find that those we help can be evil in their own right.  As we watched this “Vessel” launch up into the heavens in her yacht (that resembled more an egg than anything else), I pondered who our next “client” might be.  I’m going to be much more wary about who we assist.  From extra-planar aristocratic asses to barons and counts who listen to rumors over our honest words, to city watchmen who are more interested in a quick arrest and a trip to the pub rather than finding real criminals, our work is cut out for us.  Woe to the next client who steers us wrong.


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## Altalazar (May 11, 2006)

Book VI

	Cordozo – Chapter Thirty – The Gift that Keeps on Taking

	We returned to town some days later, my head still spinning from all that I had seen and learned.  I had nightmare visions of the “Vessel” returning to oppress all of those ox-demons, thanks to us.  Maybe the ox-demons were evil, maybe they were just seeking some well-deserved freedom or revenge.  We would probably never know for sure, but I’m sure it will haunt me for some time to come.  And yet I can’t be sure the ox-demons were truly sincere.  They certainly had thugs of questionable character in their employ.  Perhaps the Vessel was not so bad.  I suppose that if I was sure she was, I would have crushed her brain myself before letting her return to oppress masses of people.  
	My ruminations were interrupted by an announcement of a new form of “magic” called “Dream Gifts” – magic that takes something from its wearer such that much more powerful magic for less cost can be made.  Such a gift was made to us as an introduction to a meeting for hire.  Already, I could sense the evil we would unwittingly spread.  Or perhaps my cynicism is simply spreading from law to adventuring.  The “Gift” such as it was, was a small gold circlet.  Tossing caution to the fates, I quickly donned it, and felt myself stricken with weakness to my stamina.  Fortunately, Marcus was able to rectify the situation, and I was able to wear the circlet safely.  Right away I noticed something very different about it – it actually was magic that affected the powers of the mind!  I could sense its tendrils enveloping my being in its soft embrace, providing me protection against the minds of others, no matter what form their mental emanations may take.  Perhaps this “Gift” is not so bad after all.  
	Our client turned out to be perhaps the last member of a group called Thalos that once had something called the Occulus that was since struck and destroyed by a firey meteor, or perhaps it was just shifted into another plane.  In any event, it was our task to seek some way to restore this Occulus to the group so they could resume their Dream Gift creations.  
	So down yet another road we travel, for reasons that will perhaps never be clear.  Just as we were about to depart, I felt another surge of power rush through my mind and then everything went black.  


	Cordozo – Chapter Thirty-One – Nightmares … and Death

	Strange, wispy shapes.  That’s all I can remember.  Darkness.  Monsters that seemingly appear out of mist in ambush only to vanish back into it as they are slain.  
	Somewhere in my waking life, I have dim recollections of our client Thalos voicing a need to find seven medallions or tokens, one of which he already held.  We needed to dive into the realm of shadows, of dreams – a realm I seemed to already be slipping into even when awake.  So through a portal we went, into the shallows of the shadow realm.  In my dreams I sensed that those whom we were seeking, whom Thalos was seeking, were somewhere between good and evil, on the edge of insanity.  Perhaps it was the Occulus.  
	Thalos was with us in the mist.  Just past the gate, nightmares of mist rose up and provided a nasty fight.  I have trouble now remembering which was real and which was my own nightmares brought to life.  But I do know we prevailed, much drained.  So rest we did, in the mists.  
	Unfortunately for Thalos, his rest was both ended and made eternal as three appeared out of the mist and slipped their knives into his ribs, killing him before we could even react.  And then they ran, one escaping, the other two joining Thalos in permanent dreaming in the mists.  
	On his lifeless body we found one of the medallions or tokens of which he spoke.  He also had a book that exuded so much evil that it was painful for Marcus to even examine its aura.  We prepared to return to the temple of Pelor for further information.  Unfortunately, death was not finished with us.  
	Another ambush, this time leaving Morwen’s corpse to dream the dreamless sleep of eternity.  Two bodies, more unanswered questions.  The only positive notion was that as Morwen died, the mist in my mind parted, and my nightmares retreated to my sleep for the time being.  

	Corozo – Chapter Thirty-Two – Life restored, life ignored, a book explored

	The priests worked their strange magic, restoring life to Morwen, who seemed rather perturbed to have lost her life.  I think she was more upset about the surprise of the ambush than she was about the death itself.  I’ll never understand the strange magic of the priests.  How can they have such faith when the world is full of such injustice even from the best of men?  But then I suppose it helps that their magic is so powerful.  
	Marcus asked his order about the book and about the fate of our client.  The book’s evil came first, an evil that we discovered could only be destroyed in a place of shadow called the Abyss of Possibilities.  We are still unclear as to whether Thalos was intending to destroy the book or use its evil for something befitting its nature.  Now, much like the appeal of a capital case of an already-hanged man, it was moot.  Because Marcus’ other inquiry, about the fate of Thalos, was answered with a simple, if cryptic sentence:  “This man is not needed alive.”  So dead he stayed.  
	The question was – what do we do with the book?  I ventured that we must destroy it.  And perhaps those tokens were the key, regardless of Thalos’ true intentions.  Thus armed with a purpose, we ventured forth into the town to gather supplies and provisions for our return through the gate to the plane of shadow.   

	Cordozo – Chapter Thirty-Three – Odd Haversack out

	Amongst the strange and wondrous items found in the shallows was an item of much interest to me – a circlet that increases one intellect.  Beyond the possibilities of the courtroom that swam through my mind, I wondered if it would help me focus my newfound powers.  I was eager to try, and thankfully, my companions let me do so.  Brains would be crushed with glee!  I silently thanked the gods that no one could have read my mind at that particular moment.  
	Even more of interest to me were several items that I could sense mental emanations from, almost as if they had small minds of their own.  Items of mental power!  I never dreamed such items could exist, much less that I would hold them in my hands.  A crystal.  A wand.  An amulet of psionic power.  I reverently held them all in my hands before donning them on my body.  I felt my mind pulse with power as the crystals touched my flesh.  
	My companions also have found something they all relish – something called a “handy haversack” or some such nonsense.  I didn’t quite understand the need.  All I ever needed, even in the direst of combats, was the sharpness of my mind.  I could think of nothing worth spending my hard-earned coin on, so I again held it in my purse, even as it bulged ever outward.  
	We spent one night in town, to rest up before returning to the shallows.  My nightmares returned, thankfully only in my sleep, and I discovered something else of note.  Morwen, recently restored to life, was having nightmares of her own, strangely similar to mine.  I could feel them leaking from her dreams into my consciousness as she slept.  Curious.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Thirty-Four – Gates, gates, grey gates, crimson stains of death

	Upon our return through the gate, we found ourselves on a peninsula of mist that held three further gates.  With a depth of analysis akin to a coin toss, we stepped through another gate and found ourselves on a grey plain of seemingly infinite expanse.  Looking down at ourselves, we found that we were grey as well, even Morwen’s orange complexion having returned to a duller state.  
	Looking off into the distance, we saw the only non-grey in sight was a stain of red of indeterminate distance and indeterminate size.  Having no other landmarks to guide our steps, toward the red we then marched.
	As we closed in on the stain, we discovered it was the stain of blood, apparently the only substance to keep its natural hue in this grayish land.  Before we could do more than lean toward the body, out of the mists leapt the shape of a vicious animal covered in a strange, shaggy coat.  I was so excited!  A chance to try out my new powers, my new items of power, my new mind!  I would crush its brain into a fine powder, more insubstantial than the very mists of the land!
	Quickly, my companions jumped into action.  A whir of blades, a smash of staffs, a slinging of spells, and the shaggy dog lay dead, then slipped back into the mists.  Just as I was about to make my move.  I wasted another crossbow bolt, firing it off into the far horizon in mute protest.  I don’t think my companions even noticed.  They were too busy examining the corpse.  They found what we could only assume was a token or medallion.  This must be one of the seven.  I guess now we know at least two of the seven are dead.  Time to find number three.  
	Given what was found before, I reached out the tendrils of my mind, searching for other minds with powers like my own, and much to my delight and surprise, I found minor minds again upon items on the person of the corpse.  What a joy for me, though it would be better to find a living mind to converse with and explore just what these powers mean and where they came from.  
	On the body we also found a note, written by the dead man, Solon by name.  It merely said that “Thalos must be SLAIN.  KILLED KILLED KILLED.”  So either he was insane, Thalos was evil, or both.  We’re definitely going to need to screen our clients better.  
	After we finished with the body, we considered giving him a proper burial, but there was nothing here.  I suggested we leave the body where it is, as its own marker.  If we buried him, in this empty place, there would be no sign of his existence at all.  So we let him lay where he was.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Thirty-Five – Plains of grass, ants of size, swamps of sadness, and chips of buffalo

	The next gate brought us to a homestead on a vast plain, in a misty sort of way.  Swampy shores nipped at our heels as we gazed off toward a herd of grayish buffalo, only slightly obscured in our line of sight by two buildings just a short hop away.  Before we could fully appreciate the dull beauty of our surroundings, yet another set of monsters slipped out of the mists of the swamp and attacked.  
	We faced down fifteen giant insectoid creatures.  This time I was determined to act before the others could steal my glory.  I wanted to stretch my mind, express my power, destroy them all!  Every injustice in court I’d seen, every corrupt judge, every guilty noble who walked free, every last ounce of indecency in the law flowed through me and then out of me as I lashed out at the creatures.  Five large balls of cold issued forth from my mind, coalesced in the air, and slammed into their armored carapaces.  I watched with great satisfaction as four of their bodies exploded in a surge of mental energy and then faded into the mists.  Strangely, one seemed unaffected, as if he could resist my mind completely.  How strange!  Perhaps it had a crown, much like the one that sucked away my life force after given to me by Thalos.  Or perhaps it was naturally resistant.  I was determined to see if it could survive another strike from my mind.
	My companions moved and made attacks of their own, striking down a few of their numbers before I acted again, this time I threw every last ounce of my mind into my globes of cold fury and this time I watched with great satisfaction as all five of my targets fell to my mental aim and exploded in a shard of armed mist.  Including the one who was previously unaffected by my mind.  I knew he could not last.  
	As the battlefield lay quiet, the corpses slowly fading back into the mists, I felt a warm wave of powerful satisfaction at how easily I decimated my enemies before me.  No crossbow bolts were wasted on that day.  
	Before we even turned away from the corpses, we heard a loud battle cry as an armored figure burst forth from the house, screaming “Have no fear!  I’m here to help!”  
	Thus, we made Chilon’s acquaintance, a man of great enthusiasm for battle if bad timing for charges.  If only his enthusiasm held true in other areas.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Thirty-Six – Invited inside – and not much else

	Chilon introduced himself as the protector of the Occulus.  He was a warrior of the mind, as I sensed from him as I probed his thoughts.  Disappointingly, he seemed much weaker of mind than myself, and was probably not one from whom I could learn much about my own art.  His lack of concern about anything beyond living in his “retirement” on this shadow realm of his own making.  
	He admitted he had a medallion token of his own, but refused to give it up, even to as a loaner, for us to see what we needed to do with all seven of the tokens.  To him, it was just a token of his past, a badge of his office.  Though he created the whole realm we were standing in from the deep recesses of his mind, and could probably have made his own substitute badge, to him, it just wasn’t the same.  
	Seeing how useless this conversation was going, we decided to leave.  I suggested we could always return once we’d found the other tokens and try again.  Perhaps then we‘d know more about what we might even need to use the tokens for.  He sure seemed nice enough.  It would be a shame if he had to die.  I wondered if it would be more evil to kill him to destroy the evil book, or to not kill him, leave the book intact, and then perhaps some greater evil is loose in the world.  I hate our clients.  
	So through yet another gate we went.

	Cordozo – Chapter Thirty-Seven – A city of millions, A city of one

	We emerged from the gate into a town square set with a fountain and three more gates.  A city loomed in the distance and all around us.  Buildings of gigantic proportions.  A temple pyramid up to the clouds.  And a population of millions moving through the streets, out of the buildings, all around us.  All identical.  All silently mouthing the same words as they noiselessly walked past us.  
	As we tried to explore, we found ourselves moving in circles, always returning to the fountain of our origin.  Finally, we managed to change our course and enter a tower from which all of the silent twins seemed to emerge.  Inside, floating in air, seemingly in agony, we saw what spawned them.  Another of the lords of Thalos, holding on to some unseen, glowing thing, body suspended in air, an endless stream of her shadow selves shedding from her body.  Her words we could somehow discern, wordlessly repeated by all of her shadows.  
	“Please, the blackness looms.  Please, the blackness looms.  It touches each of the seven, even me.  With each semblance cast off, my mind knows peace, but the blackness grows.”  
	Ok, I said, time to get her down.  I’d seen enough.  “Ee, go ahead,” I said, and looked expectantly.  
	“Me watch her,” was all he said.  
	“Ee?”
	I was startled – Ee usually isn’t so thoughtful.  Thankfully, Morwen acted, and then Ee followed suit, and soon the unseen pearl in her hand was seen just as her whole body crumbled to dust.  And then we were seen, as every single one of those millions of semblances turned in our direction.  
	Sometime after I was already running toward the gate, I heard myself yell “run for the gate!”
	As we ran past the many shadow images, they swung and snapped at us, shredding our flesh even as we kept on moving.  I felt my blood draining away, my life leaving me.  Just as I was about to fall, the fountain came into sight.  So close.  I called out to Marcus.  I felt claws grasp my throat.  The gate loomed ahead, back to the buffalo.  I jumped.  Claws grasped.  Everything again went black.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Thirty-Eight – I take another licking

	Something wet.  Something warm and wet.  There it was again, against my cheek.  The darkness faded and a fuzzy world came into semi-focus.  As my eyes opened, I saw a huge, hideous beast looming over me, its pink, wet appendage assaulting me without mercy.  And then the buffalo licked my cheek again in a long, slow, slurping stroke.  The flavor it left in my throat reminded me of the aroma of a particularly well-traveled tavern around dawn, when only the dwarves are still conscious after a full night’s drinking.  I sat up and took in my surroundings.  Back on the homestead.  
	Chilon gave as warm a greeting as his buffalo, though fortunately with less tongue.  Given our previous failure to get him to give us his token, I decided instead to ask him for something he may part with – information about the others of his former seven.  We knew of Thalos, who died under our competent care.  We had found the body of Solon, and we determined that the now dusted body of a million shady images was a woman by the name of Biana.  Chilon was kind enough to name Pherecyde, Anacharsi, and Cleobulus as the remaining three lords of the tokens we had yet to find.  We rested and thanked him for his help before departing his plane and heading back toward the unknown, through yet another wispy portal.  
	We ran back through to the land of the million shades, never even slowing down as we ran through to another portal, hopefully for somewhere less disturbing.  We were sorely disappointed.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Thirty-Nine – Disgusting.  Utterly disgusting.  

	We ran out of the city of the million dead shades walking, and right into the land of phlegm.  Knee deep phlegm.  Waterfalls of phlegm, down the walls, across the floor, into a veritable river of phlegm.  I found myself longing for more tongue action from the buffalo if it meant I did not have to experience the milky-white sticky fluid running past my disturbed toes.  My brain, well primed from my unfortunate sewer experience, was ahead of my feet and I found myself standing on the surface of the phlegm even as my companions were knee-deep in the disgusting goop.  
	The stench was overpowering.  Only the thought of how horrible it would be to have vomit all over my very expensive clothes kept me from spewing out my own version of the phlegm they were standing in and I was standing on.  Morwen glanced over at me and asked “can you do that for me?”  I looked down at my dry feet standing on top of the disgusting river beneath me and replied “no, sorry.”  
	The walls were like the soft, pink innards of one’s intestines, which didn’t make keeping my own intestines steady any easier.  Whatever it was we might find here, I hoped we’d find it quick, so onward we marched.  The passageway, if you could call it that, wound its way forward, and led out into another, even larger chamber full of phlegm.  Before we got there, though, a rather large mass of what looked like animated phlegm rose up out of the muck and smashed its slimy pseudopods into Ee’s body.  Ee screamed and sliced it in two.  Unfortunately, this left us with two creatures to kill instead of one.  Morwen’s arrow contributed further to our troubles, and now we faced three creatures.  Not liking the way this was adding up, I set forth my own concentration and a long blast of cold air went forth from my mind, striking all three of them at once.  Before I could take stock of the results, a massive column of flame came down into the phlegm and all of the remaining quivering mass melted back into the goop.  I heard a shout from behind me, “By the power of Pelor,” followed by “hey, I killed something too!”  
	After we got over the new, disgusting smell of burned, frozen slime, Ee searched through the muck and found something rather remarkable: a longsword made out of ductile stone.  I kept my distance, not wanting to hurt myself by holding it, but I did find it a fascinating concept.  For some reason, the mental vibrations emanating from its surface created the word “stonewand” in my mind.  I repeated this out loud, and then attempted to convince Ee that this was the instrument of a dwarf wizard.  Ee, much to my delight, both thought and said at the same time, “It longsword.  Ee not that stupid.”  

	Cordozo – Chapter Forty – Phlegm down the drain – please, please, please no

	Around the intestine-like corridor we walked until we came to another room, this one with a drain in the floor creating a waterfall of phlegm down into unseen depths.  No, no, it can’t be.  There’s no way I’m going down there, I thought to myself.  Or so I thought, as I heard my words echo off of the slimy pink walls.  
	“That’s where we need go,” said Ee.  
	“No, that’s where YOU can go,” I found myself saying, with Morwen, in unison.  
	“Sure, me do it,” said Ee.  Then, in a flash of insight, he said, “me not too smart anyway.”  
	“I’m not going down there,” I said, in case anyone had missed it the first time.
	“Here, take my ring of swimming,” Marcus said as he handed over his ring of swimming to Ee.  Ee also had his slippers of spider climbing.  I took a look down at the waterfall of phlegm and silently wondered just how useful either of those items would be in a free fall on down.  Then I took another look at Ee and at the rest of us, and wondered just who was going to be strong enough to not only lower his bulk down a rope but pull him back up.  
	In the meanwhile, to make sure we could communicate through the inverse fountain of phlegm, I linked my mind with Ee’s.  I asked him, inside his head, “can you hear me?”  Ee began looking around frantically, not saying a word.  Or thinking a word, for that matter.  After several minutes of explaining to Ee that nothing nefarious was afoot, we changed our mind and decided to send down Morwen instead.  She was not happy about it.  I tried not to say anything.  I linked with her mind, though, so we could communicate when her face would be full of phlegm.  We only had 120 feet of rope to work with, given that there was no rope in my briefcase.  
	As we lowered Morwen down into the muck, I learned several new swear words I had never heard before, which she shouted through our mindlink.  And every once in a while I’d hear “not there…” until finally, after several tries, I hear the “good, I’m here” from the link, which I passed on to the others.  I asked her if she could go invisible.  Surprisingly, she said she could, apparently by downing an elixir.  I suggested she do so if she were to go explore alone down there.  Helpfully, I asked her to “let us know if anything kills you.”  
	Morwen described for us a sharp protrusion that would have nicely impaled us if we had been so foolish as to jump down instead of climb down.  Several skeletons covered with green fungus decorated her landing.  Two passageways left her location, and she went down both, one at a time.  Her running commentary was none too helpful at times.
“Oh, that’s ok.  That looks suspicious there.  Oh, that’s ok.  Curves to the left.  Then to the right.  Oh, an island free of milky fluid.”  
And thus one led to an apparently empty room, the other to a room with what could only be described as a lake of phlegm – at least, that’s what she said – “it looks like a lake of phlegm” with an island in the middle that was covered with overlapping runes of all kinds.  There seemed to be some meaning to it, but what that was was very unclear.  I asked her to write it down, but she had no paper.  Apparently only lawyers carry briefcases full of paper into dungeons.  
	“Is there a demon?” I asked her.  She mentally shrugged in reply, if such a thing is possible.  
	Then she said, “ok, Cordozo, this one seems pretty normal?  The other side looks, perhaps, too dangerous.  There is a pretty strong current.”  I almost forgot to pass it on to the others.  I quickly mind linked with them all to make sure they wouldn’t miss any of my commentary just because I forgot to open my mouth when making it.  
	Since she had no way to cross the lake, she came on back up to remedy that situation with a little divine Pelorian help.  There’s something almost comical about hauling up an invisible Morwen who is miserable, and dripping wet with slime.  I was so glad it wasn’t me.  I really hoped no one heard me think that thought through the mindlink.  
	So back down she went, this time with paper, which she used to transcribe what she saw.  She came back up and still I could make no sense of what she had written.  It was likely psionic in nature.  So naturally, they wanted to send me down to see it for myself.  Naturally, I did not want to go.  Ee offered to go down with her.  “Me go down with you.”  But somehow, I doubted his expertise would help with the puzzle of the sigil-laden island.  I reminded everyone I could crush them with my mind before I tied the rope around my waist and prepared myself for my disgusting fate.  
	No, no, no, no, no, I said to myself as I wrapped my cloak tightly around me and was lowered into the gurgling phlegm.  At least Morwen went first.  I enhanced her commentary with some of my own on the way down.  
	Morwen, at least, offered me an invisibility potion of my own to use.  I didn’t relish the thought of what might be in that lake.  Morwen seemed like she’d offer me scant protection against the demons of the deep.  Where was a good wall of ‘Ee’ when you needed one?  
	I made my way to the island, walking on the surface as Morwen walked on air beside me.  Power of Pelor indeed.  I still could not make out anything of the symbols.  I got disgusting for this??  Next time, I swore, I’d send Ee down instead of me.  
	On the way back out, it became apparent there was something nasty in the nasty.  Morwen went looking for it in the lake, swimming in the muck.  It makes me wretch to think of it even now.  Something seemed to go after her, but nothing happened.  That was all I needed to get out of there.  “I’ll go up first.”  Once I was up, “let’s leave.”  I sure hope we don’t need to come back here.  I have a bad feeling about it.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Forty-One – Out of the phlegm and into the fire

	We returned to a safer, nicer place and cleaned up, using this fountain that was there.  It made my mind refreshed to drink from it, in ways that I normally could not without resting for the night.  I’m definitely going to have to write this place down.  Morwen and myself then immediately asked Marcus to cure disease on us both.  “You don’t look sick,” he said.  We were sick, we insisted, until he relented.  Best not to take any chances.  
	Unfortunately, to get to the next gate, we had to walk through the slime again.  This time, Morwen rode on my back for the trip, in order to avoid the muck.  Much to our surprise, instead of slime, we found ourselves knee deep in a million images in a city that looked hauntingly familiar.  They all looked our way.  I ran, Morwen rode, and we got the hell out.  And then back into the slime.  I didn’t even slow down before I stepped through the next portal.  Anything would be better than what we just experienced.  
	The next place was so hot I almost passed out when we stepped in.  Steam rose from unseen vents.  A pillar of fire shot forth next to a structure of some kind in the distance.  And out of it popped several salamander creatures, breathing fire and looking rather uninviting.  So naturally, we charged them.  
	Before anyone got too far, I deduced that they would not be great fans of cold, and sent a few globes of cold their way from my mind, dispatching them in almost an instant.  My, that sure beats wasting another crossbow bolt.  
	Ee ran and charged.  And then kept on running and charging almost through another portal.  Ok, Ee, the battle is over.  We chased Ee through the portal and then brought him back, just in time to meet a new “friend.”  

	Cordozo – Chapter Forty-Two – A nice Pherecyde chat.  

	Standing before the column of fire upon our return was a woman of a rather fiery disposition.  She seemed rather inclined to kill us all.  That is, until my companions said, “hey, you’re the lawyer, use your diplomacy or something,” and so I turned on my lawyerly charm and soon she was inviting us in for biscuits.  If by biscuits, one meant salamander constructs she was building to amass an army to kill all of her former companions.  
	We asked her if she could help us.  She did offer to help us kill the others.  She said they were all crazy.  It was perhaps the only true thing we could glean from our conversation with her.  She boasted about making the salamanders and also this horrible guardian.  I sensed trouble right away, behind me and to the right.  Before I could even open my mouth, I heard my worst fears realized:  “Me kill him!” stated loudly and proudly.  I closed my eyes and waited for the carnage to start.  I was wrong.  We had to wait a few more minutes for that.  
	She did offer to help us kill Cleobulus, who she said was in the river of phlegm.  Wonderful!  Maybe none of us would have to get dirty.  We also told her about the evil artifact and asked her about it.  She asked about it, so of course, we showed it to her.  And then the carnage began.  I shouted at the top of my lungs, “Dammit, we should have done this AFTER she went into the slime for us!”  
	I killed another salamander with my mind.  Unfortunately, its mind already had Ee, and so he first killed Pherecyde and then attacked Morwen.  Fortunately, we were able to stop him before he ran very far this time.  
	Pherecyde, in one last desperate move, incinerated us all in a globe of fire centered on herself.  I could feel its heat burn into my skin and into my mind.  I tried to absorb her energy, but was unable to do so.  Yet I did feel a strange signature leave its imprint on my mind when she was done.  This was definitely something I needed to explore.  
	Her body yielded yet another token, a gem, a box with incense, and a ring.  I fervently prayed to Pelor and every other god I could think, imploring them not to make us go through any more slime.  Somehow, I knew those prayers would go unanswered.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Forty-Three – We need to Ash some Questions

	Frantically, we wracked our collective wisdoms to figure out where our path should take us next.  In truth, Morwen and I attempted to figure some way to avoid ever having to even say the word “phlegm” again.  Eventually, we settled on the vast, empty plain of grey ash.  Perhaps that heralded the fact that our ideas were as empty as an infinitely large plane filled with nothing but grey ash.  We found nothing.  
We did see the body again, but we elected to leave it where it was, both as a monument and a landmark in a place bereft of both.  At least, that was my argument.  Ee agreed, albeit in a rather cruder form.  Marcus and Morwen argued that we had agreed to bury it at a later time, but I did not recall ever making such an agreement.  Ee denied it even more vehemently, then turned to me and said “Me talk to my lawyer.”  I turned back to Marcus and Morwen and announced, “I’m representing Ee in this matter.”  
I pointed out that there was no formal contract between Ee (or myself) and anyone regarding the disposition of the body.  And, moreover, if there was, which I did not concede, it was unsupported by consideration, and was therefore unenforceable.  And thus I fulfilled my pro-bono quota for the year.  That body didn’t move.  
	But we did not find much of anything either.  Or rather, we found nothing.  So we returned to the buffalo.  I kept my distance.  After much more deliberation, we decided that, whatever we needed to do, we at least needed to get the token from the phlegm, wherever that was.  I selflessly volunteered to stay behind while they did it, but my companions rather ungraciously declined my charitable offer.  
	Ee did vote to kill Chilon to get his token.  I suggested we show him the book, and if he attacks us, so be it, but if he does not, then perhaps he’ll volunteer to help us.  Morwen and Marcus thought this was a weasely attempt to find an excuse to kill him.  Hey, stop looking at me, just because I’m a lawyer.  Ee made a very eloquent case for it, which seemed to impress Morwen, if not of the validity of his position, at least of his vastly improved grammar and elocution.  That is, until she saw me standing nearby, listening and concentrating and saying nothing.  Oh well, maybe on another occasion, it will be beneficial to feed Ee some good lines of conversation though a mindlink.  
	One other benefit of my mindlink with Ee was that all of his comments about how stupid certain individuals we have encountered are, or how we should kill them, stayed unvoiced, and only in my head.  Perhaps that will get him a few dozen less arrows from the Captain of the Guard the next time we save a Kingdom from utter destruction.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Forty-Four – Phlegm.  Again.  No, I don’t want to talk about it.  

	There I stood, my feet refusing to penetrate the river of phlegm beneath them, Morwen standing on my back.  My companions were trying to figure out some way to get all of us down that horrid, putrid shaft filled with the phlegm waterfall.  I was trying to figure some way to guarantee I’d never have to feel phlegm in my hair and down my shirt and pants ever again.  I concentrated so hard on it, until I felt my mind turn in upon itself.  I began to visualize the area below.  I visualized myself there, unencumbered by any phlegm.  I concentrated so hard, the phlegm beneath me began to ripple outwards with patterns of shockwaves.  And then suddenly, something inside me snapped, and then slammed into my brain with the force of a mountain collapsing inside my head.  I saw a flash of the mages we fought for the Vessel of Stars, one down, one picking up his fallen companion and vanishing, and then everything went black.  

	When I opened my eyes, my companions were staring at me expectantly.  
	“What do you mean, you can get all of us down there?”
	I felt awkward, like I was intruding upon a conversation long in progress, despite my apparent participation in the discussion from the beginning.  I felt my mouth say the words, “I can do it.  I can take us down there.  I can do two of you at a time.”  My companions kept insisting I explain further, but I felt I could not find the words; I did not understand it myself, I just knew it was true and wanted to show them.  
	In order to reduce our trip down via my brain to one trip down, Ee and Marcus agreed to be lowered via rope to the bottom before Morwen, Krynyn, and myself followed in the non-phlegm version of the trip.  
	After Marcus was lowered down, but before Ee was lowered down, there was a long discussion between Ee and Morwen about the merits of simply going into the room below and killing everything in it.  Morwen, like Marcus, had certain reservations.  I wisely stayed out of it and let Ee’s eloquence rule the day.  Nothing was resolved, but it was refreshing to hear Ee’s complaints over the mindlink.  I did also learn something else as I rooted around in Ee’s mind.  Ee’s name, or rather, its origin.  Ee was apparently from a barbarian tribe that traditionally named its warriors after animals, right at birth, with the animal pronounced by one’s father, as the first animal seen, as the name one took for life.  
	When Ee was finally free of his mother’s womb, his father proudly looked up to the sky and the first animal he saw was an eagle, flying high and soaring through the clouds.  Just as he was pronouncing the name, an orc warrior shot an arrow right through his father’s throat, spraying blood over the already bloody baby.  All his father got out was “Eeeeeeee” before he collapsed and died.  I imagined his mother took appropriate revenge on said orc, though I tried not to picture if that was before or after the cord was cut.  But I digress.  
	Ee was finally slowly lowered down, and then Morwen collected the rope, and held my hand, as did Krynyn, and then in a blink of an eye, we were standing over a hundred feet below where we were, still, unfortunately, surrounded by phlegm.  The tunnel to the island awaited us.  
	I pulled out a large diamond from my pack and gave it to Krynyn.  I had already given one to Marcus earlier.  I said, “if I die, use this to bring me back with that divine magic you have.  I know from Marcus that you can do this if you get to my corpse fast enough.”  I figured it was an expensive form of life insurance, but one I certainly would endorse.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Forty-Five – I offer a roomful of death – Brother Marcus offers pleasant conversation

	Marcus was sitting down in the phlegm when we arrived, meditating with Pelor and waiting.  I think he has long ago discerned that sometimes we have “problems” deciding a certain course of action, and so Marcus was patiently waiting until “solved” whatever “problem” we were on that was delaying us.  
	I offered to fill the room with death, something I think I can do if I now concentrate.  The only catch is I can’t control it very well, so I’d kill all of my companions if they were there with me.  I didn’t relish the thought of standing in the room by myself, but I thought I’d offer.  Marcus’ reply was succinct.  “Please don’t, unless absolutely necessary.”  
	Ee took in his surroundings, and pronounced his findings so all could hear.  “This phlegm deep.”  
	I sensed something psionically active ahead, but could not discern exactly what it was.  Marcus detected three evil beings ahead.  I again offered to kill everything in the room, but he again declined.  I never saw anything wrong with a little efficiency when it comes to slaying evil.  I know many judges who put efficiency over everything else, including justice.  I was not sure if I was becoming more cynical or if it was defensible because, after all, we detected evil, by the power of Pelor.  Pelor wouldn’t lie, would he?  Unfortunately, something else nagged at the back of my mind.  What if there were other creatures, not evil, lurking in the muck?  Justice, as always, is hard work.  Harder than expediency.  But I gave it one last try.
	“They’re evil.  Do you want me to kill them?  You want to kill evil, or talk to the evil things?”
	Marcus being Marcus, gave me his answer, shouting into the room with a lake of gurgling phlegm, “Hello!  We mean you no harm!  Will you please communicate with us?”  Silence was the only response, if you ignore the never-ending gurgling of the disgusting phlegm, which I was doing my best to make my new profession.  
	We would have waited longer for a response, more out of a desire not to enter the lake of phlegm than any optimistic assessment of a possible answer, but Ee being Ee finally could wait no more and proudly marched forward, walking on air (courtesy of Krynyn), and, taking Marcus on his back, marched around the lake, trying to figure out where the evil beings were.  They decided they were near the island, so they walked up to it, and then they appeared. 
	Surging out of the water were three psionically active beings with large spikes on their back.  I sensed that they were all somehow part of one being, perhaps deceased, in some slightly less disturbing version of the million-image city we had recently vacated.  Pelor proved accurate when they immediately attacked.  I could feel the air crackling with pisonic energy.  
	Before they could eviscerate Ee, I sent three surging balls of fire from my mind, circling out over the lake of phlegm, and into each of the spike-backed creatures.  One fell, two advanced, though one of those did not get very far before being stunned by a blast of shadow energy from Krynyn.  Number two fell, leaving just the stunned one alive.  Marcus helpfully suggested we interrogate the remaining creature, though by the time he finished his sentence suggesting it, Ee had already killed him.  Ee has his own brand of efficiency.  We certainly spent no time debating the merits of Marcus’ suggestion.  
	The corpses yielded another token, our fifth, not including Chilons nor the ever unseen and apparently domainless Anarcharsi’s.  There was also a ring, of the same sort of dream magic Thalos had demonstrated before.  I declined to touch it, but Ee quickly put it on.  Morwen had goggles of similar magic, and I had my crown in my briefcase.  Once Morwen gave me that headband of intellect, it seemed more prudent to wear that than something that shields my mind.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Forty-Six – Buffalo.  More damn Buffalo.  And a request.  

	“Ho, dreamers!” was what greeted us when we again stepped home on the range, where Chilon was playing.  We again asked him about his token, and got nowhere.  Ee was surrounded by trees for his trouble.  Fortunately, he kept the insults in his (and my mind) and nothing further happened.  It was interesting to watch trees spring out of nothingness.  We convinced him to let Ee go.  (Which he may not have, had he heard Ee’s thoughts.  First, he thought to himself (and to me) “He dead,” then he finished with “Me not apologizing.  Time come, he die.”)  
	But now we had to figure out what to do.  We had to find a way to get to the True Adyton to find the Abyss of Possibilities so we could throw in the book and destroy it.  There were no more domains that we could find, leaving us one token unseen.  I wondered if the book was a domain of its own.  Chilon said Anarcharsi was “into books” and I toyed with taking him literally.  Finally, Krynyn asked his god for an answer, and got one of the most useless answers yet – “Follow your heart, drink lots of water.”  Several wasted crossbow bolts later, our Pelorian decided to ask his god for the same advice, and he got a slightly more helpful answer – give the tokens to Chilon and let the “glib one” talk to him.  All eyes turned to me.  I swore if I could not read minds, I could still have read all of their minds at that moment anyway.  I broke out my briefcase, polished my briefs, and then entered into the most eloquent and persuasive argument of my existence, extolling our virtues, the virtues of helping us, the virtues of destroying the evil book.  Chilon sat and watched with wonder, and decided, must to our surprise, that his apathy was over and he would actually, not only help us with the token situation, but come along with us and see it through to the end.  
And they said a lawyer wouldn’t make for a good adventurer.  Well, ok, no one said that, but I’m sure many would think it, had that unlikely scenario been brought to their attention, perhaps while at a bar and after a few ales.  
	He walked with us to the non-functional gate, which then cleared and opened, and we stepped through to the shadow plane beyond.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Forty-Seven – We fight ourselves, but with red lightning in the background

	We found ourselves on a large rock that was endlessly falling through a dark storm punctuated by strikes of red lightning.  It was really beautiful, in an “evil, we’re all going to die” sort of way.  There were four portals, two facing two, outside of what appeared to be the remnants of a building with a large double door.  Boldly, Ee kicked it open, revealing the far end of the rock and a woman, whom I guessed was Anacharsi.  I hoped she wasn’t evil.  Ee apparently had some confusion on that note, because before she could finish her speech, he was charging her.  Before he killed someone who might have answers, I locked his brain in place with my mind and then again, she tried to finish her speech.  This time I caught the part about the Occulus, but I think I missed something else about madness and evil.  And the future.  She did greet us with a “Ho Ho dreamers!” so I was ho-ho-hopeful she wouldn’t try and kill us.  
	With her and Chilon there, we had a reunion of sorts, which only got sicker when the corpses of Thalos, Solon, Phercyde, and Biana showed up through the four portals.  They didn’t look all that different from the last time we saw them.  Disgusting, though not quite as disgusting as the phlegm – sorry, the universe is just going to have to try harder for me to ever use that word again without it being the phlegm.  Though the way their intestines were hanging out and their tongues were pulsating and extended out was kind of gross.  
	Oh, and there was one other detail about them I’ve not mentioned yet.  Everyone else had moved forward into the “room” to talk with Anacharsi.  I was still standing outside when these things showed up and completely surrounded me.  I really really really wanted to be somewhere else.  The funny thing about having strange powers of the mind is that when you think about what you want, if it happens to correspond with what your mind can do, it happens – and so when I closed my eyes and wished I was somewhere else, I felt a shift, and when my eyes opened, I was somewhere else.  In fact, I was standing near Anacharsi.  I sure hoped she wasn’t evil. 
	My companions rushed back to fight them.  Well, except for Ee who was standing there, not moving.  Morwen threw a big bag of sticky stuff that adventurers apparently carry for just such an occasion.  I thought it unnecessary, given his brain was locked.  Except that I dropped it when I shifted.  Oh well.  Maybe Ee would come to his senses.  I was wrong.
	Ee did take several seconds to smash his way out with his axe.  Then he turned on Marcus and Krynyn.  Morwen, not wanting to be left out, turned on me, slashing me rather painfully.  I ran, sending waves out from my brain to slow her down.  I did not wait to see if it worked before I got into the only available corner and waited.  She ignored me and went after the next closest target, the woman in the white robes.  Marcus blocked her, then she stepped forward and blasted Morwen with her mind.  It was an awesome spectacle.  I wondered if my mind could do such a feat.  It left Morwen stunned, leaving us time to figure out what to do about the book.  
	Marcus and I had a conversation with the woman as the battle raged behind us.  I did a quick turn and sent four balls of fire to the attackers, killing three of them, before turning my attention back to the conversation.  But before I turned around, I saw Krynyn rushing back, my diamond in his hand.  No!  That was for me!  Unfortunately for Chilon, the fourth one, unseen by me, had paralyzed him and was starting to feast on his corpse.  I decided we needed to do a little accounting later.  
	Marcus asked me if I thought Anacharsi could be trusted.  We pulled out the book and showed it to her and asked her how we could destroy it.  She, very sincerely, asked for the book.  Marcus looked at me expectantly.  “What, am I the liar expert here?”  Apparently I was.  “Let’s just trust her,” I said, “She seems sincere.”  Whether she was sincere about helping us destroy the book or sincere about wanting to take the book from us so she could use it to cook up a nasty recipe for feasting on our roasted corpses, I was somewhat unclear about, but I didn’t say that to Marcus.  Besides, what else did we have to lose?  
	So Marcus handed over the book, and she began an incantation of protection and unwrapped it from its cloth.  Much chanting began, and then she turned and looked at us expectantly.  “Give me the tokens, now.”  Ah!  The tokens, I think those were on Chilons recently dead body, no alive, laying at the feet of Krynyn as he was surrounded by four of those images from the city of millions (where did they come from?) and also one of the dead former sages.  Oh, and Ee was also attacking Krynyn.  Wonderful.  
	Marcus turned, I turned, I sent four balls of fire to the undead creature and three of the shadows, Marcus summoned a lion of otherworldly beauty and sent it to attack, then Krynyn blasted the shades with some shadow magic of his own.  Then in quick succession, Ee gained his wits, sliced the standing shades to bits, finishing them off from my blast in one long, slicing cleave that sliced through them all.  And then the last was dispatched by the lion.  It couldn’t have gone more smoothly and efficiently had we planned it, which was good, because usually our plans don’t turn out so well.
	Unfortunately, now Chilon was far away, with Ee and Morwen between him and us.  And they had decided to switch sides yet again, motivated by unseen forces.  I quickly linked with Chilon’s mind and told him we needed him to bring us the tokens.  Marcus sent his lion to run circles around Ee and Morwen, drawing their attention (and their attacks) while Chilon then ran around them as fast as he could in his heavy armor.  Marcus ran back to cover him, I tried to lock Ee’s and Morwen’s mind, and finally, the tokens arrived in Anacharsi’s hands.  
	She did some fancy handwork and then tossed the book and all of the tokens into this big, swirling abyss of fire that lay just off the edge of her end of the endlessly falling rock.  There was a light show the likes of which I will probably never see again.  And then the book was destroyed and Morwen and Ee started acting normal again. 
	Anacharsi explained to us that the book was sent from something called the “Dark Plea,” a god-like being from the future that sent the book through the past to gain power.  Thalos found it and he used it to make the dream magic items we had, items which allowed the “Dark Plea” to control Morwen and Ee when they were using them here.  Wonderful.  She originally wanted to destroy the book and the Occulus, to stop its corruption, and so she summoned the meteor.  But then the “Dark Plea” sensed it coming, so it shattered the Occulus and sent it into the dream planes, along with the sages, to protect itself.  But now we have fixed it.  She said that the connection with the future was now severed and all was well.  
	I told her “Sounds good to me,” and then started running out because the whole plane started to destroy itself.  We didn’t stop running until we were all the way out of the shadows.  Only then did we take stock of what we had.  I glanced over the items and coins, and then looked up at Krynyn.  “About that diamond…”


----------



## Altalazar (May 11, 2006)

Book VII

	Cordozo – Chapter Forty-Eight – Breaking and Entering, Head and Home

	My shoes are very expensive.  I’d wear nothing less, both for court and for “adventuring.”  They are certainly a distinctive sight when viewed walking toward you in the street.  They were also a rather distinctive sight on my floor, my feet still in them, when viewed through the front window to my domicile.  

	Apparently, I picked something up in those shadow planes, and I’m not referring to the power stones and crystals, though they were certainly interesting.  The crystals can actually store my mental energy, allowing me to call upon it later when my own mental reserves are exhausted.  And the stone seems to store a power inside itself, allowing me to call it forth without any of my own power at all, but it only works once.  I’d never heard of such things before, but then I’d never heard of my own powers manifesting anywhere else before, either.  It was certainly a pleasure to meet others with my rare, and once-thought singular gift.  Unfortunately, not everyone of the rare bearers of such gifts are bearable to all.  But I digress in my digression.  
With my hard-earned spoils, I traded my headband of intelligence to Morwen and then got an even stronger one for myself.  I know I have but one asset to offer, my mind, and so I sharpened it as best I could even as Ee sharpened his axe or Krynyn sharpened his new-found sword of stone.  
We found several items known as dorgets, items that can store a power of the mind and then call it forth without expending one’s own energy, but they have but a limited charge.  We sold one and I kept the other, curious to learn its secrets.  The two final items of note were also psionically active.  One, known as the Third-Eye of Guardian, will allow me to roll out of the way of trouble once a day, assuming my reflexes do not fail me.  I figured my soft disposition required a little extra help.  The other was known as a contemplative pearl, and it uses the power of the mind to form almost anything at all one can think of.  One could consider it almost a miracle, if one were so inclined.  One like Marcus, for instance, who has taken the pearl into his custody and care.  Now I finish my prime digression.  Back to my shoes.  

Morwen apparently admired my shoes for the first time when I failed to meet her following our swapping of intellects (of the worn variety).  She and the others (minus Ee) came looking for me at my abode and found me there, or rather, my shoes.  This led her to unlock my door (no, I did not give her a key) in what could only be described as a burglary, according to the common law definition, minus the element of intent to commit a larceny or felony therein.  In fact, one could make an argument for exigent circumstances, one I’d have been happy to make for her had I not occupied those shoes in an unconscious and otherwise incoherent state.  
	Morwen quickly summoned help in the street, in the form of a dirty chicken cart.  Using a blanket to keep most of the chicken excrement off of me, she put me on the cart and wheeled me off to the temple.  And I can only say now that I am glad I was unaware of my surroundings or as I lay there, covered in feathers and dung, well, there would have been a lot of free fried chicken in the streets of Desbury that day.  But I was out and so off to the temple was I brought.  

	None of the temples, miracles notwithstanding, knew what to do, but they did know to summon someone I had not met before by the name of “Princess.”  I learned it was not so much a title as a disposition.  She was the only other mind in town as active as my own, and I would have been intrigued to compare notes with her had my brain not been infested by psionic parasites slowly killing me.  That little nugget, in fact, kept her not only from making conversation with me, but it kept her at least twenty feet away from me at all times, and I swore later, that she always held a silk handkerchief in front of her mouth whenever she was in my presence.  
	Unfortunately, her diagnosis did not include a cure, but she did offer to take us to someone who would be able to help me.  This required finding something rarer even than a psion: a conclave of them.  They were accessible through another nation some two weeks travel from Desbury.  We did not realize then just how far beyond that we would be traveling.  
	Fortunately, she was able to salve my affliction to the point where I could remain conscious.  But, she cautioned, her method, which involved splitting my mind in two, had a problem.  If I let any of my active mind out, it would cross-contaminate the two halves again within an hour, returning me to my shoe-displaying state.  She had only three stones that allowed her to grant me this state, and she had used one already.  This meant I would need to use my mind judiciously, if at all, until we reached our destination.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Forty-Nine – Ee hits the bars, we hit the road

	We did eventually locate Ee in one of his favorite taverns.  He was in the process of trying to make his mental state match my own, as it was earlier, through the use of ale.  I wondered if it actually improved his intelligence quotient to do so.  And I figured, even with half a brain, I was still likely smarter than Ee, but then I couldn’t face a dragon in single combat and survive, either.  But then, I digress.  And foreshadow.  So let’s move on.  
	The road was unremarkable, as it usually isn’t, and we traveled for about a week, Princess graciously taking last watch so I could sleep through the night.  I left unsaid my desire to never take a watch, even when perfectly healthy.  If we are so sure something will attack us in the night, why go to sleep at all?  And if we have no such suspicions, why not let those whose minds need rest less stay up the night?  I always made sure I got a good night’s sleep before any big days in court.  Court.  It has been so long now.  

	Incidentally, I discovered later that the dream world of shadow passes time at a different rate than in Desbury, such that we lost several days.  Had I had any big cases pending, I could have missed filing deadlines and committed possible malpractice, requiring disciplinary action by the court (i.e. bribes).  But then, perhaps destroying an evil book that is a fragment of an apocalyptic deity from the future on the plane of shadow counts as a reasonable excuse to miss court.  I’ll have to look that one up in the court rules.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Fifty – I hear an Ee that isn’t Ee.  

	I was awoken by the sound of screaming, like someone was screaming Ee’s name, someone who wasn’t Ee as he charged into combat.  Then I heard it again, this time it was more like “heeeeeeelp me!” and it sounded like Princess.  So much for the fourth watch.  We got up just in time to see her flying through the air.  I would have been very impressed had she done it herself, rather than with the aid of a black dragon that was holding her in its grasp.  Given her annoying, non-stop banter, and her drooling over both Ee and Krynyn’s muscles, I considered leaving her be and heading onward to Raizenburg without her.  
But then I looked up again and realized, I’d never seen a dragon before.  It looked very impressive, even though it was much smaller than I’d imagined a dragon to be.  Still, it was certainly a bit larger than my horse, who was standing nearby, grazing on some reddish-brown grass.  Even in my weakened mental state, I sensed from him a fleeting thought that the reddish-brown grass really doesn’t taste any better than the reddish-green grass, but it does seem to give less indigestion.  “A horse.  I’m reading the mind of a horse.  Ok, I need my cure, and I need it now,” I thought to myself.  I suppose that involves rescuing her, I sighed.  
We all watched as the dragon flew up toward a mountain, and then right into it, disappearing into an apparent cave up its rather impressive-looking face.  Here we go.  Just to be clear to everyone as we headed toward the mountain to rescue our Princess, I said “you do all realize, right, that it’s a dragon?”  They didn’t even slow down.  Thus, we followed the dragon into its lair, not knowing what might be there.  At least I fulfilled my fiduciary duty by pointing out the obvious before we all went up toward certain death.  

Cordozo – Chapter Fifty-One – Eight Hundred feet to nowhere – nowhere good, that is

When we reached the base of the mountain, we saw that the way up was aided by steps cut into the steep rock, leading up to a barely-discernable cave entrance into the mountain.  It was about eight hundred feet of climbing, and it was not something I looked forward to.  In fact, I offered to stay put.  Ee offered to carry me.  I opted for the middle route and just climbed up myself.  I had visions of falling to my death.  The parasites didn’t help, in that regard.  
Of course, just when we reached the halfway point, that’s when we found ourselves caught between rocks and a hard place.  Lots of rocks.  Rocks tossed down on us by at least a dozen orcs above.  Their aim was mostly wide, but a few did connect, and so my companions doffed potions of spider climbing (except for Ee, whose slippers provided the traction) and then took bizarre, zig-zag courses up the side of the mountain in the vain hope of avoiding rocks.  I decided I was just as likely to get hit either way, so I just kept on climbing straight up.  Given my desire to keep my brain intact, I used no powers of my mind, but I did drink a few potions.  One to blur my presence, to avoid some of those rocks, and the other to help my climbing which, unaided, was about as good as my aim with a crossbow.  
The climb up seemed to take forever.  I contemplated stopping and wasting a few crossbow bolts, but ultimately, just kept on going.  I was hit by a few rocks, drank another potion to cure what ailed me, then I got close to the top.  In fact, given my straight course, I was second to arrive there, just behind Ee.  Ee killed several orcs, but unfortunately discovered that there were over a hundred more waiting behind them in a large circular cave carved out of the mountain.  When I got close to the ledge, I decided that either we rescued Princess or I was doomed anyway, so I let loose my brain and cleared the ledge of five more orcs with orbs of cold.  I shouted to Ee, “Get off the ledge, I’m going to fill the room with death, this time I mean it!”  Ee did not even pause as he jumped off of the ledge and below the lip.

Cordozo – Chapter Fifty-Two – A roomful of death

Just as Ee left the ledge, I stepped up on to it.  There was just enough space for me to stand without being swamped by orcs.  I closed my eyes and let my fury at the rocks, the dragon, the orcs, the Princess, and finally, those damn parasites fill me and center me.  Then I let loose with a blast of cold that surrounded me and filled all of the space around me up to forty feet with frosty death.  When I opened my eyes and the dust settled, there were almost a hundred frosted orc corpses surrounding me in the cave.  I sensed fear leaching from the remaining orcs.  I also heard one in the rear shout out some mangled orc call for help.  
Unfortunately, I’m a rather easy target, even for orcs.  Fifteen of the survivor’s threw javelins at me, one of which connected, nearly finishing off what the rocks started.  I would have been more worried had Morwen not stepped in, did a cone of cold of her own, and felled almost all of the remaining orcs.  But then I was more worried anyway when the black dragon appeared at the back of the cave, looking none too happy to see us.  I felt a wave of strong emotions emanating from its form, almost as if it were wearing an aura of fear.  But it utterly failed to penetrate my superior mind, and I laughed at its rather pathetic attempt at mental manipulation.  My lawyerly self thought to the dragon, “Amateur!”  
I stepped back down underneath the ledge and waited for Krynyn to arrive, his feet lagging far behind the rest of us in his very heavy armor.  I met him just in time for him to lay his healing touch upon my chest, closing the many wounds left open by the marauding orcs.  I left the dragon a parting gift in the form of five balls of cold, killing the remaining four orcs, and saving the last one for the dragon himself.  (I assume it was a him – I shuddered to think of how close I’d have to be to discern the appropriate anatomy).  

Cordozo – Chapter Fifty-Three – They finally realize it’s a dragon

Ee returned to the ledge and charged the dragon, managing to penetrate its thick scales with a few blows of his own.  The dragon seemed unimpressed, and proceeded to rend Ee’s form with a series of sickening blows, first with its fanged mouth, then with its claws, wings, and tail.  Ee looked closer to death than I’d ever seen him, and that was in the space of a few seconds.  Ee quickly retreated to Krynyn, even as Morwen sent a few arrows into its scales.  I kept my body below the ledge, just peeking over the top enough every few seconds to send a few more balls of cold its way.  I hoped my assaults were steadily wearing it down.  I fervently hoped that it never stood next to me and did what it did to Ee, or else there would be enough left of me to bury.  
The battle seemed to be at a stalemate, with us lobbing a few things the dragon’s way, and the dragon sending acid and other death our way.  Then everything went black.  

Fortunately, unlike the other times this has happened to me, I was still conscious and aware.  It was just, well, black.  Magical darkness, I figured, at least I sure hoped it was.  I shouted for Krynyn to dispel the darkness with some divine light.  He declined, and instead called upon some divine retribution, making himself as large as the dragon, and as tough, though I did not realize it until a few seconds later, when he did indulge my rather selfish desire to be able to see where the big nasty dragon was that was trying to kill us and cast some divine daylight on the situation.  
	The dragon had moved from where he was.  Krynyn charged him, as did Ee, and they locked in a ballet of melee for what seemed like an endless series of blows and counter blows until finally, with one last swipe of Krynyn’s stone sword, the dragon fell at his divinely enlarged feet.  We heard, again, a muffled “help me!” from within the cave.  Oh yes, we can’t slay a dragon without forgetting about rescuing the Princess.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Fifty-Four – More copper than we can carry 

	We found the Princess down a pit in the dragon’s lair.  I offered to dimension down and grab her up, but she did not want me anywhere near her.  Those parasites must really like her.  I can see why.  
	Morwen instead offered her a rope, and then we took stock of the dragon’s horde.  There were a few choice objects d’art, and a huge pile of coins that probably amounted to over 80,000 pieces of copper, but I think we collectively decided just not to bother.  One of the gems we found was worth more than that.  The dragon was young, so perhaps that’s why all he had was copper.  I imagine that the older, tougher dragons probably came by and asked him for “protection” money, thus always taking his other coins.  Ah, the mysteries of dragon culture.  I wonder if dragons ever go to law school.  If they did, that might explain a few of my professors.  
	We packed up what we could, Princess, from a safe distance, re-partitioned my mind, and off we went.  I idly wondered if this splitting of my mind was akin to what we asked juries to do when we’d admit evidence and tell them they could only use it for the purposes of impeachment or some other such nonsense while telling them they couldn’t use it as evidence of guilt.  I know from reading their minds that such legal fictions seldom found purchase, even in those jurors who thought they did.  I wonder how many dragons were on those juries.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Fifty-Five – I meet the enclave – plane and simple.  

	We finally reached the nation of Raizenburg after another week of travel, minus and further dragons.  There, in the city of Bellonen, we waited three days for this portal to yet another city in some far off land, a city known as Cauldron.  We paid our toll of one piece of gold and stepped through the circle.  The city turned out to be in the crater of a (hopefully extinct) volcano.  We quickly gathered where it was we were to go.  
	In a huge tower I finally met the enclave.  I would have been more eager to ask them questions had I not been in such urgent need of some disinfection.  In fact, they barely talked to me before they quarantined me and put me in a large metal box for transport to yet another plane, this time the ethereal.  Great, long rituals were performed by hypercognitive masters to determine this course of action.  I slept through most of it.  Suffice to say that in a day, I was back to my usual, cynical self.  I wondered whether there was some vast “brotherhood” of psions whom I could now join the ranks of, or if instead I’d be presented with a large bill.  My ruminations were interrupted when I noticed that Marcus’ hand was glowing in a way that I associated with that paragon of inter-planar virtue and exploitation, the Vessel of Stars.  Wonderful.  What the heck does she want.  
	I tried to keep my mind off of it as I promised the other psions to always practice safe psionics in the future.  After all, practice makes perfect.  Now where did that Princess go?


----------



## Altalazar (May 11, 2006)

Book VIII

	Cordozo – Chapter Fifty-Six – Six hours, five statues, four demons, three rounds, tuustarr, and one weird guy

	After I received my cure from the powerful psion named Poseidon, my companions and I went around this interesting town of Cauldron and explored, shopped, and looked for answers.  We didn’t find many until we happened upon a park by the water.  Arranged in a circle there were five statues, one of which looked particularly familiar to me.  Upon close inspection, I read its base, where it said “Poseidon, a true defender of Cauldron – We not only owe you our lives but the lives of our children and their children.  May Spellmasion’s smile always be with you.”  The other four statues all said the same thing, except they were of four different individuals.  Tuustarr, Sushi, Kerrick, and Yukiko filled out the names of the other four.  
	So, this Poseidon apparently was one of a band of heroes who somehow saved this town-in-a-volcano.  Interesting.  Nice to see another psion be recognized for something.  He certainly helped me when I needed it, and he didn’t even charge me anything for it.  I wondered if I would get billed later, but thus far, I have heard nothing.  
	As we stood around pondering the statues, Marcus spied someone in the trees by the side of the clearing.  He brought this to our attention and we approached what could only be described as a being of angelic beauty, in the non-metaphorical, she had a white visage, wings, and feathers-sense of the words.  But she also appeared wounded, and she was glowing less than she would have liked.  Her name was Nidrama, and I earnestly hoped she wasn’t royalty, because the last thing we need is a Nidrama Queen.  
	Marcus parlayed with her while I listened carefully, checking for signs of subterfuge.  I have learned not to trust anyone we meet, and the more they look like a supremely lawful and good being of the lawful and good outer planes, the more I suspect the creature is truly evil and out to stab us in the back while we sleep.  But perhaps I should be less cynical.  Maybe if she looked like an evil demon, I’d be more apt to trust her.  Her conversation did not allay my suspicions.  
	She carefully described her origins, and the origins of this family artifact she had, an heirloom that she has held in her family for over one thousand years, gathered by her brother as the spoils of a majestic war between good and evil, powerful in magic though it has never functioned.  Never, that is, until the day before, which by one of the greater non-coincidences of our experience was the exact time we arrived in Cauldron and Marcus’ hand began to glow.  And yes, the stone she held now glowed, for the first time she could remember.  Aside from this happy conjunction, she could not tell Marcus why this was so, either with her stone or his palm.  
I did sense she was not telling us the whole truth about something, but then, I already knew that was coming.  I decided to ask her an important, burning question, perhaps the most important question ever asked of one of her kind, from her Celestial realm.  I stepped up to her, cleared my throat, and in an even, steady voice asked her, “so tell me, on this majestic plane of pure good that you dwell on – do you have any lawyers?”  She looked at me strangely, then answered that they had no need of them.  Ah, so this was her deception.  For I know that everyone says that lawyers are a bane, or evil – everyone says that, that is, until they need one.  I pointed out to her that a plane of good was where they would be needed most of all.  
“After all,” I said, “when one has a disagreement, friendly though it may begin, the evil, destructive way to solve it is through war.  The civilized and good way to solve it is with lawyers.”  
The angel appeared dubious, but then, they always are.  

Our conversation was cut short when she turned back to Marcus and Marcus asked to see the stone.  As soon as his glowing palm touched the glowing stone, there was a flash and we found ourselves somewhere, well, still there.  

Looking around, I saw four individuals standing in the clearing who looked vaguely familiar.  Then it hit me.  The statues.  They looked just like those statues.  Statues right… uh, where were they?  No more statues.  I decided to ask them two very pressing questions.
“Is this that Celestial place?” and “does anybody here need a lawyer?”  
I noticed the light of recognition in the eyes of the one who looked like the Tuustarr statue.  “That’s an odd question to ask,” she said, “I’ve only ever known one person to ask that question.”  Then I probed the surface of her mind, and found Morwen there.  I quickly found that Sushi was Ee, Kerrick was Marcus, Yukiko was Krynyn, and that meant Poseidon was me.  Oddly enough, that was what made the most sense of all.  
	I looked around at them all and explained the situation.  Then I said, “this is what we psions like to call a mind f@@@,” only I said it somewhat less politely.  
	Looking around the area, I noticed that not only were the statues gone, but that the whole city looked different.  The big hole in the center filled with water was gone and the houses that had been in ruins around it were fully intact, as were the streets between them.  We appeared to be in the same place, only in a different time.  Given the surroundings, the lack of the statues, and who we appeared to look like, I surmised we were in the past.  Strangely, I looked like myself to myself, including everything I had with me.  But when I offered my business card to Morwen / Tuustarr, she did not see it.  Marcus held up his mace and I saw a staff.  He asked me what I saw.  Just to keep him sharp, I said, “a mace,” but then quickly admitted it looked rather like a staff.  Marcus seemed somewhat perturbed by the whole situation, but we didn’t get into that until later.  Which was probably wise, considering the two large, leathery demons that attacked us just at that moment.  

	When I say two demons, I want to be clear, that there were really four demons, but we didn’t see the other two until a moment later, when they attacked us from the other side.  
	Krynyn waved his holy symbol, said a prayer, and then he was four times as large, and at least twice as scary as the might of his god flowed through him.  He didn’t seem to make much of an impression on the demon.  Certainly, he didn’t make as big an impression as the demon made in his skull when it ripped a few chunks of flesh out of his body.  I sent a few balls of fire at the two demons in front of us, but it did not seem to do much to them.  Neither did Morwen’s staff.  I started to wonder if things were looking grim.  The second pair of demons answered that question for me.  
	Then, we heard from the other side of the clearing, “I’m here to help!  Die demons!”  And this short man appeared wearing robes.  I hoped he would be of assistance, even as I also wondered just when this one was going to betray us and slit our throats in our sleep.  I really have to work on that cynicism thing.  But given that he sent a cone of cold against two of the demons (just after Marcus immolated them with divine flames from above), I decided to worry about his betrayal at a later time.  When I noticed myself surrounded by demons that could probably each singly rip me in half and swallow me whole, I thought I’d be feeling a whole lot safer somewhere else.  Mush as is often the case with one with such powers of the mind as I, the thought became action and I was standing right behind our new “savior.”  I introduced myself before hiding behind him.  “Hi, I’m Cordozo.  Do you need a lawyer?”  
	My companions and I did what we could, but not a single demon dropped from our efforts.  Then our new betrayer, I mean, friend, stepped forward and held forth a scroll and screamed “begone, foul demons!” and the demons all vanished.  I never will understand magic.  Thinking something and having it happen is one thing.  Having to read all those funny symbols and play with various dead animal parts to make something happen seems a good way to catch some sort of incurable disease.  

Cordozo – Chapter Fifty-Seven – A test of courage – or gullibility 

Our new companion with the hooded cloak and the gnarled staff introduced himself as Kaurophan.  He said he was sent by the powers of the Smoking Eye to take us to the outer plan of Occipotus to pass the test of the Smoking Eye, so we can somehow change the whole plane toward good, rather than toward evil, as apparently others want to do.  First, I had to clear the air.  “You said Occipotus, right, not Occulus?”  “Occipotus,” he said, and I breathed a sigh of relief.  
Optimistically, then, I raised my hand again and asked him about this test.  “Is it a written exam,” I asked.  His look was all the answer I needed.  He did say he knew it had three parts and that he had already tried and failed the first part, something involving fighting a large spider.  Either that or fighting another creature, of which he could tell us nothing.  
Marcus being Marcus then had to spend rather a long time trying to explain to this hooded fellow that we weren’t who we seemed to be, that he didn’t want to proceed under false pretenses, that he was to be referred to as Marcus, because, as Marcus said, “That’s who I am.”  I started to think he was having an identity crisis.  Really, I only worried that the visages we had were those of people who had some bad debts to settle or something equally ambush, worthy.  I eyed the surrounding park for signs of impending ambush.  
Kaurophan did say that other demons were trying the test, one a Succubus, one a Rhakasha.  Wonderful.  I hoped they weren’t as tough as the four we just not-killed.  
Marcus was eager to shift to this plane to try and get to the test ahead of the evil ones.  I thought it would be wiser to rest and heal first, a sentiment which was backed up when Morwen chimed in with her strong desire to leave immediately.  Kaurophan said only he knew where the test was, so we could leave the next day if we wished.  That finally convinced Marcus.  I did also suggest that we be fully ready to go in case the strange plane of the test did not leave many chances to sleep or pray.  
Next we needed to find a place to stay the night.  I suggested we find where our visage-counterparts stayed and stay at their places.  Surely, such heroes-to-be of Cauldron wouldn’t begrudge us staying the night in their homes for the cause of good.  But while that may not have been too much to ask of them, it was definitely too much to ask of Marcus.  He would hear nothing of it and instead led us to the temple of Pelor for the night.  There, we found the most nervous priest I’ve ever seen in my life.  I looked for the ambush, but then saw from his eyes that he thought we were the ambush.  It didn’t help matters when Marcus, of course, had to explain to him who we really were.  I thought he would soil his armor right then and there, but Marcus assured him of our “goodness” and finally he seemed more relieved to have someone to stay with him than spending the night alone.  He did seem young for a head priest.  
Marcus did not appreciate my help in the matter of explanations.  I tried to assure the priest that we were as good as the ones we replaced, or in fact, even better.  Marcus thought that too presumptuous.  I tried to explain to him that if this was what his god intended, we must be better than them, otherwise, why would Pelor put us in their shoes for this task rather than them?  But Marcus did not appreciate my lawyer’s logic, and when he seemed ready to smite me with a Pelorian poking-naughty-finger-of-death, I let it go and went to bed.  

Cordozo – Chapter Fifty-Eight – Just Plane Gross, again, but at least no phlegm 

The next morning, we met the gnarly one at the clearing and he plane shifted us to Occipotus.  Instantly, I did not like it.  Red sky.  Large skull.  Pillars of fire.  Ground that feels like flesh.  A great feeling of unease amongst my companions.  I did not like it at all.  But at least there was no phlegm.  I looked expectantly at Kaurophan for him to attack us.  He didn’t.  Maybe he was really the angel we saw earlier.  Yeah, that makes it more likely he’ll try and kill us.  Everyone knows angels are purest of good.  So the angel must want us dead.  I’m pretty sure from my legal research that the line between cynical and paranoid must be a subtle one.  I vowed to myself to look up the distinction in the library when I had the chance.  
We began to walk toward the testing site, which apparently was three days walk away.  So much for not being able to rest.  Apparently when one waves around scrolls and dead animal parts to go to a plane, one can’t pick the exact destination.  I would think it would be more precise than that.  I decided to think more upon that later, and pushed it to the back of my mind.  
After two days walking, we got up one morning and came upon a rather ugly looking thing that Kaurophan announced was a “grey slaad.”  “Salad,” I asked.  “No, slaad,” he said.  It looked really tough and seemed to crackle with a tremendous amount of magical energy.  We all buffed up and got ready for the fight of our life.  The fighting ones made great displays of prowess with their weapons as they rushed in for the kill.  Mighty combat was joined.  The fight was on!  
Only I just did not feel like fighting anyone, so I just reached into its mind, deep down to its very core, and locked it off.  Then I sat down on the ground and began to file my fingernails while the grey thing just stood there and drooled while my companions slowly beat the slaad out of it.  Then we picked the corpse clean and proceeded on our merry way.

Cordozo – Chapter Fifty-Nine – Feathers – that’s like the angel’s wings – I smell a trap

We finally reached our destination, something called the Citadel of Feathers.  We walked around the building, but could only see one way in, two solid and huge stone doors at the top of some steps.  Krynyn, Morwen, and Marcus all tried mightily to open those doors, but they would not budge.  Finally, after much divine magic, making them all stronger and Krynyn much larger, they managed to barely force those huge doors open while I watched.  
Peering inside, we saw nothing, despite Krynyn’s earlier warning that he sensed two evil creatures somewhere beyond.  
Morwen boldly stepped forward into the foyer and then down into a hidden pit beneath an illusory floor.  
I looked around for the ambush.  
Krynyn boldly stepped forward, rope in hand, to pull up Morwen from the pit below.
I looked around for the ambush.
Marcus boldly stepped forward, to the other side of the pit.
I looked around for the ambush.
Kaurophon boldly stepped forward, to the right of Krynyn.
I looked around for the ambush.
They all started to work on getting Morwen out of the pit.
I again kept standing, off the steps, outside of the building, and looked around for the ambush.

Cordozo – Chapter Sixty – The Ambush

Sure enough, as soon as they were mucking about with that rope, they were ambushed.  From above, magical webs shot down and caught them all in a sticky embrace.  I quickly lost sight of most of them through the thick, fibrous strands.  Then I saw a flash of light as a lightning bolt came down from the roof of the structure.  I saw it rather clearly because it came straight at me, nearly killing me where I stood.  But I was ready for them and quickly shot back two large globes of cold.  I saw two spider-like things on the roof.  I briefly wondered if they were the guardians for the first part of the test, but somehow I imagined there being only one spider, only larger, and behind a door we got to choose.  
My little balls of cold did little to the spiders.  Kaurophan did something more helpful when he dispelled the webs.  I watched him for signs of backstabbing or evil.  None so far.  Unfortunately, I still made a good target, so when three missiles of force flew down from above, I was literally at death’s door, or nearly so, and did what a good lawyer always does when outclassed on the briefs.  I played dead.  Not that it was much of a stretch at that particular time.  
It seemed to work, because they turned their attention inward, attacking my companions in the building through their nice murder-hole in the roof.  Another web appeared, but not before one of my companions sent one of the spiders to its maker.  From my place on the ground, I quietly concentrated, and sought out the mind of the one remaining.  I quickly found it, then, as I did for the first time oh so long ago in that dank crypt, I crushed it with my mind.  The spider fell limp. 
I was fortunate that my companion, Marcus, healed me as I lay there “dead,” the prayers of his god Pelor heard even across the distance from the building to my prime parcel of ground beyond the steps outside.  I wondered if Pelor was special in that regard, because Krynyn always had to touch me to heal me.  Such are the mysterious of the priesthoods.  At least they don’t usually have to wave around dead animal parts to make their magic.  
My companions waited for the webs to dissipate, or rather, they were going to until Krynyn just lit them up with a flame and they burned away, charring them all.  They then searched the corpses and pocketed the spiders’ possessions.  
Ahead of us lay yet another set of doors, and probably another ambush.  I hope it isn’t more demons.  I don’t know what a Succubus or a Rhakasha is, but if they are nasty, evil types, I sincerely hoped they weren’t behind those doors.  Somehow, I knew I was going to be disappointed.  I thought it was a good time to rest.  I just had to find out if I’d garner any agreement.  In my mind, I knew Morwen’s answer already.  Maybe if we rest here now, Kaurophan can finally get it over with and backstab us.  The tension sometimes is just unbearable.  Time would tell.  

Cordozo – Chapter Sixty-One – We rest – I dig

After our bout with the spiders, I was eager to rest.  Not so much to replenish my mind, but because I wanted to know what this Kaurophan was thinking, deep down in his innermost thoughts.  As usual, Morwen protested any attempt to rest, as did, in fact, Kaurophan.  She also protested my suggestion we sleep outside, but I had no intention of sleeping underneath the murder holes in that ceiling, especially when we did not know what was inside those other doors.  Fortunately, Ee was on my side, “He good fighter with him head.  Let him rest.”  
And so, out on the rubble of the plains, but in sight of the entrance to the building, we rested.  I took third watch, but secretly stayed awake.  I kept my eye on Kaurophan until he was sound asleep, and then I reached out the tendrils of my mind and went deep down into his.  I could sense he was hiding something.  He had no plan to attack us, but I sensed he may make a plan in the future.  He also seemed only interested in us as a means for him to pass the tests and take over the plane.  Perhaps that was not so nefarious, since he did not seem evil, but then most of my clients didn’t “seem” evil either, but I knew half of them were cut-throats.  I will have to watch him closely.  And I vowed to myself that I would examine the minds of all of our adventuring clients as closely.  I have had quite enough of clients who use sleep wands on my back in the middle of combat, of other clients who intend to use us to bring a great evil from the future (though he fortunately was killed before we had to deal with his madness), and clients who appear out of nowhere to whisk us off to other planes to take some undefined “test” that apparently interests the vilest demons in existence.  I think even the “good” clients often have hidden intentions, intentions they keep from their surface thoughts, requiring me to dig deeper.  Oh, how I long for minds with the sweet, simple simplicity of Ee, or the pure-as-snow innocence of Marcus.  
From Kaurophan’s mind, I also saw glimpses of other planes he had visited, creatures fair and foul, and I suddenly gained insight into the workings of planes and beings far removed from my books and court rooms.  But I would need time to sort all of the images and knowledge out.  
In the end, I did not probe too deep in Kaurophan’s mind, not wanting to wake him up and let him know I was probing him.  He seemed to sleep peacefully through the rest of the night.  Or rather, until it was my turn to watch, and I had quite an eyeful.  

Cordozo – Chapter Sixty-Two – My turn – My watch – My oh my

Morwen woke me and I stood up, stretched, and looked around.  The plane looked no different.  It was still red and putrid.  There was still rubble all around us.  There was still a ruined building to our left.  And then there was the half-naked woman with the large, leathery wings standing by the building and smiling at me.  And my, isn’t that red lightning pretty.  Ok, let me back up.  
She was beckoning to me to come over to her.  She certainly looked good, though the leathery wings rather gave away that she was a demon.  Well, at least she had the decency to be upfront about it.  Looked like a nice trap to me.  I smiled back and made come-hither gestures to her in return.  She made a ‘shhhh’ sign with her fingers and her sensuous, pouting, demon lips and I ‘shhh’d’ back to her and motioned her forward.  
In the meanwhile, I silently mindlinked with all of my sleeping companions and told them that there was a naked demon woman standing by the building, and they should ready themselves silently for combat, waiting for word from me to strike.  
She was now walking slowly toward me, coyly motioning me forward.  Shy psion that I was, I kept motioning her to come toward me, updating my companions with her forward progress.  When she was about sixty feet away, I felt her mind reach out toward mine and try and wrap it in a sensual, yet ultimately cold embrace.  But her feminine-demon wiles could not penetrate the fibers of my mind.  I smiled at her in response and then waved to her good-bye.  “NOW!” I shouted in my mind to my companions, and they all sprang into action.  

Cordozo – Chapter Sixty-Three – We fight – I explode  

Morwen lept to her feet, rolling across the rubble, pulling her bow from behind her, an arrow from beneath her, and as she ended her roll, she already had an arrow nocked – an arrow she fired true at the demon woman.  The arrow struck her in her skull, but then bounced off, not seeming to penetrate her tender demonhide flesh.  
Krynyn lept to his feet, his holy symbol already grasped in his palm, quiet prayers of power moving past his determined lips.  “Feel my holy wrath, foul demon!” he shouted as an anti-demon storm appeared in mid air, raining down holy pain upon her demon form.  As its holy droplets penetrated her skin, I felt her mind go slack.  
I boldly stepped forward, reached my mind out to hers, and channeling all of my energy through my brain and into hers, I felt a power surge through me I had never felt before.  It grew and grew in power with each step I took toward her, until I could feel the spinal fluid within her brain bubbling and boiling within her.  With a last gasp, I let go of her bran, just as the fluid built up to critical levels.  I had to avert my eyes as her entire skull then exploded in a massive burst of demonflesh, demonbrains, and demonskull fragments, creating a circle of demon blood soaked ground surrounding her now headless corpse.  “Yes!”  I shouted over the mindlink.  “Be-gone foul demon!  Or rather, be-head!”
Ee moved next, rather peeved at my display.  “Me want kill her!”  
“Don’t worry Ee, my friend,” I said, “I’m sure there are more demons to kill around here.”  
In a vote of confirmation of my words, a circular curtain of fire sprung up from the ground, surrounding us all with its scorching flames.  Instinctively, my mind threw up a curtain of its own, protecting my body from the harsh elements.  It seemed the plane around me continues to awaken powers within me I never knew I had.  The flames obscured the surroundings from view, making it impossible to discern where they came from. 
Ee, presuming the flames came from the building, charged boldly forth through the curtain of fire, taking it in stride.  He had come a long way from his fear of torches.  
I also stepped through the fire, my mind still sheathing my body from the elements, keeping most of the heat of the flames at bay.  But when I stepped through, I was still unable to see our presumably demonic foe.  But wait – there he was, just to the right of the building.  But then my vision was gone as it was obscured by yet another curtain of flame, this time in a larger circle around us, cutting through the still-extant ring behind me.  This was just going to be one of those combats.
Behind me, I heard through the mindlink, “Stand back,” and then “Follow me!  Hole behind you!” from Morwen.  Apparently she used her ring to blast a cone of cold through the rear of the wall of flames, making an opening for my companions to escape.  I jumped through the second ring of fire and headed toward them, figuring it would be best to keep myself nearby my allies.  This turned out to make us a nice target. 
Ee, meanwhile, ran all the way into the building before I could slip into his mind my vision of where the demon creature with the red and black scales was standing, “the demon is fifty feet to the right of the building, Ee,” I shouted to him through the link.  Ee heard my words and headed back out in his direction.  

Cordozo – Chapter Sixty-Four – Some necks are too big to snap 

We all moved toward the Salamander, some of us faster than others.  Ee was the first to arrive, bruised, battered, and burned from his previous travails, he charged forward and sliced him with his axe.  I sent a few globes of cold into him as Ee sliced him up.  The Salamander must have been desperate, because he grabbed Ee in a tight embrace, burning him with his flaming aura, and shouted to all of us to stop approaching him or “I’ll snap his neck.”  
Not one of us even paused.  I communicated to the others, via the mindlink, “Ee’s neck is too thick to snap.”  My companions were all equally unimpressed.  
Kaurophan sent a few magic missiles into the Salamander.  I tried to crush its brain, but my mind could not find purchase in its slippery lizardy mind.  Krynyn arrived just in time to heal Ee.  We were prepared for one final assault against the Salamander when a final volley of missiles of magic from Kaurophan finished him off.  
“That’ll teach those demons to try and take one of us hostage,” I thought to myself.
I walked back over to the headless corpse of the Succubus.  Succubus.  That name now had meaning for me that it did not before.  My mind flooded with imagery and knowledge gleaned from my probe of Kaurophan.  A Succubus and a Salamander.  Somehow, it all made sense.  
Looking down at the headless corpse, I marveled at the circular splash of brains, blood, and spinal fluid sprayed out on the ground.  “Only a four foot radius,” I said out loud.  “How disappointing!”  
She carried a magic spear.  Her companion carried a magic long spear of his own.  We then returned to our former discussion on the merits of resting locations. 

	Cordozo – Chapter Sixty-Five – We rest, Kaurophan notices the obvious 

	Morwen decided again to argue old ground, suggesting we sleep the remainder of the night inside the building rather than out on the rubbled plain.  I pointed out to her that the Succubus and Salamander seemed to come from the building, but to no avail.  I pointed out that on the plane, it would be difficult for someone to sneak up on us without us seeing them a long way off, to no avail.  
	We fought like this, with various other parties throwing in their own views on the relative merits of our sleeping position when Kaurophan interrupted.  “I thought the Noble Strangers (the nomenclature by which our current visages were known) were much more coherent as a group,” he said.  I turned and answered for Marcus, before he could open his mouth, “We’re NOT the noble strangers!”  I looked over at Marcus and nodded, hoping he was satisfied once and for all about setting that record straight.  Then I went to sleep. 

	Cordozo – Chapter Sixty-Six – We enter the Citadel of Feathers – And those books smart

	Inside, the inner doors, we found the citadel in ruins, rubble strewn everywhere.  A statue in the far end of a large, fat, ugly demon looked back at us as we stared down the ruined central hall.  Orcus.  That statue was of Orcus, a demon worshipped as a god.  Again, I found my mind probe with Kaurophan useful.  If only it told me when he’d be betraying us.  I’ll have to save that for next time.  
	With lots of mostly fruitless searching, we found some items of marginal value, including a gold cup set with sapphires I found that I figured was worth at least 2,500 pieces of gold.  I thought it would look quite nice on my mantle.  
	We also found a staircase behind the statue, but before we went down, Morwen wanted to check out the other two doors in this room.  She opened a door.  In all my days as a lawyer, I had heard of barristers hitting the books, but never had I heard them hit back as hard as when they struck Morwen’s skull, nine books in all.  Fortunately, she quickly closed the door as she saw a few hundred other books swirling about the air inside.    
	The other door led to more items of interest, but mostly items of junk.  
	Kaurophan again seemed rather impatient for us to move forward.  He was not happy when we stopped to rest and now he’s not happy from our pause to loot.  Presumably, if there are other demons here behind us, they’ll have to come by this way, so we’ll spot them.  I’d rather fight them here anyway, than in the middle of some damn test.  
	Our pause complete, we turned toward the stairwell, and contemplated what lay beneath our feet.  Perhaps the first part of the test lay down below.  I looked at Kaurophan expectantly.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Sixty-Seven – One statue down, unfortunately one more to go (later) – and books…

	Morwen, badly bruised and beaten from her experience with the flying books, got down on her knees in front of Krynyn and asked for healing.  I heard in the minds of some of my companions around me, who shall remain nameless (for that is protected by attorney-client privilege), impure thoughts related to that position that I shall not repeat here.  Needless to say, Krynyn acquiesced to her healing request and she was looking much less bruised than she was before she took up speed reading.  
	I picked up the single book that flew outside of the room and landed at our feet.  It appeared to be a treatise on the celestial religion.  I figured it was worth around five pieces of gold.  Apparently, that was enough for Morwen to drop it into one of her many merchandise storage bags.  She then declared that she wanted to see about the rest of the books.  I suggested it was an unwise idea.  However, she was determined, so I took cover behind some rubble and watched as she attempted to disarm whatever mechanism of magic triggered her previous literary assault.  She declared success and opened the door as I dove for further cover.  When her book-battered corpse did not appear in the doorway, I decided to take a look for myself.  Perhaps some books in there would enlighten me further about planar lore.  I was not entirely disappointed.  
	Inside the ancient library, I found hundreds of books, mostly floating around, but some on the shelves as well.  Skimming through the musty volumes, I found 21 more books of marginal worth, much like the one I perused in the outer hall.  But three of the books, three were special.  They were ancient texts on celestial religions long since vanished, that would likely catch a thousand pieces of gold each to the shrewd collector.  I began to see more uses for the obscure planar knowledge that my mind probe of Kaurophan had granted me.  It also made me wonder just why he knew so much about subjects so obscure even to the loremasters of the planes.  
	Once we had finished our ancient book tour, we returned to the hall and headed toward the staircase down.  As we passed the statue of Orcus, Morwen took that opportunity to  knock it over onto its face, smashing it with a bit of rubble from the dirty floor.  As we descended, Krynyn commented that the construction of the stairs did not seem to match that of the Citadel itself.  But he could not discern if it was older or newer in construction.  
	Strangely, Kaurophan was unable to step off of the stairs, even if “helped” by E trying to carry him into the room.  He said he couldn’t go because he had already failed the first test.  Morwen was especially suspicious of him at this point, as was I.  I had a few questions for him, but I put them down for after the test.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Sixty-Eight – Examination part One – The Test of Judgment 

	The roughly-hewn stairs led down to a roughly-hewn room filled with the scent of cloves, spice, and even cinnamon.  All in an attempt to hide the rather putrid smell of the corpse wrapped in cloth funeral wrappings sitting behind a large oak desk that smiled when we entered.  Or was it just a case of it lacking any lips.  I did not inquire further into that tiny curiosity.  
	I noticed a large metal door on both the north and south walls of the room, to either side of the corpse-proctor’s desk.  Then the speech began.  
	In a soft, sand-papery voice, rasping with supernatural breath, the desiccated corpse spoke, “Adimcarcus, most potent ruler of Occipitus, welcomes you to the test of the Smoking Eye.  Know, then, that you are a pretender to his throne.  If you are worthy, step forward and take the Test of Judgment.”  
	He then pointed to each door, and indicated that the north door was Thanthnak, the Beblith, and beyond the other door was Halalia, an Avorial Guardian.  From my newfound library of planar knowledge, I determined that a beblith was a rather nasty extra-planar spider, while the avorial was actually a good aligned creature reminiscent of a bird-man.  Visions of myself cocooned in spider silk over an abyss while a giant spider sucked my brains out for a snack compelled me to go with door number two.  E agreed to go with me that way, but Morwen and Krynyn seemed determined to fight the evil spider.  They were afraid they’d have to kill a good-aligned creature to pass.  While I had no such fears, I again hoped for the exam to be written.  I figured a good creature would be more open to negotiations.  Perhaps if we assured the creature that we had the best of intentions, he could give us a “pass” and no one need have their brains sucked out.  Plus, Morwen was all for the spider, so I knew I had made the right choice.  
	Simultaneously, Morwen and I opened our respective doors.  I saw a room; she saw a large spider moving down toward her, ready to suck her brains out.  She closed her door and I went through mine.  
	Inside was a room filled with tiny birdcages and, in the far end, inside a silver circle, was Halalia.  He said he had been imprisoned for centuries.  Ok, there’s a good negotiation position to begin from.
	Morwen freed him from his circle with a brush of her blade on the silver powder on the floor.  I then readied my lawyer’s briefs for negotiations on our part.  My primary goal was to get him to tell the test proctor that we “passed” his part of the test.  He claimed to deny knowing anything about any test or proctor.  Slick opening move for negotiations.  When we were finished, he did agree he was grateful for our helping him, but he seemed perturbed by something Morwen had said, and he was unwilling to do more than offer us some healing and then be on his way.  
	We then left the room through the far door and found ourselves in another chamber, one covered with frescoes of demons and devils in epic combat.

	Cordozo – Chapter Sixty-Nine – We passed the bar – and all we got was this stupid lantern

	As we stepped into the room, the proctor of death appeared again and offered his congratulations.  He offered a little advice, telling us to deal with rivals first and enemies second.  It made me think back on our “friend” Kaurophan.  He then said the lantern was for the next test, the Test of Resolve, and then he vanished.  I guess we are on the honor system for this exam.  
	Standing upon a dais was a large metal lantern on a chain that shone a beam of light in only a single direction.  I picked it up and spun it around.  It pointed right back out of the door we originated from.  We followed it all the way out of the cathedral.  It was unanimously decided that I would carry it, since, as E adroitly observed, “he fight good with head.  Give him lantern.”  
	We met up again with Kaurophan, who seemed to be keeping quite a distance from Halalia.  Krynyn confirmed what we long suspected, that he was one evil bastard, so I informed him that, to continue on to the second test with us, he’d have to pass a test of our own making involving my brain in his head.  He backed up, then ran and disappeared as soon as he heard that “suggestion.”  I knew it.  Another evil employer trying to get us to help him take over some plane or summon some evil god.  And people think lawyers are bad.  I know better.  And lawyers will ALWAYS win a Test of Judgment.  And if not, we can always appeal a judgment.  
	We stepped outside and began the long walk in the direction of the lantern’s light toward our destination.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Seventy – Even on an outer plane, it seems, there is a penalty for loitering.  

	Boldly, we strode forth, for many hours walking on the strangely flesh-like ground of the plane.  We turned a bend and came upon a strange feathered creature that my library of planar knowledge told me was a coutl.  He spoke to us in our minds, something I think we are all used to by now.  I was certainly interested in comparing notes on what powers his mind gives him and how he manages to control it all.  Unfortunately, as we became lost in conversation, we stopped walking, and found ourselves back at the Citadel of Feathers.  Damn test.  It didn’t take much for us to reason that stopping our forward motion ended the test of our resolve.  
	Five swear words and seven hours later, we returned to where the coutl was sitting on a rock.  It again asked us, “do you really think you can pass the test?”  and this time, we said “yes” and kept on walking.  We also offered to help him leave the plane, in exchange for his assistance.  He agreed, and walked with us.  And so onward we traveled.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Seventy-One – Something stinks, and it isn’t E after a long combat.  

	We seemed to be nearing our probable destination when we came upon a large, fat, ugly, and apparently very smelly demon of the abyss.  My inter-cranial planar library spat out a reference to a Hezrou demon, and I also managed to recall that it had no particular vulnerabilities to various forms of energy.  Thus, cold, it would be.  
	I immediately sent forth a ball of cold against its fat form, making sure to take a few steps forward as I did so to maintain our forward motion.  Sadly, it would not be enough, requiring drastic action.  But now I am getting ahead of myself.  
	E then boldly charged forward, nearly reaching its wretched demon form.  Then the demon stepped toward E, and immediately E started retching and vomiting as he was overcome with a nausea I could feel myself through my mindlink with E.  E stood there, helpless, soon joined by Morwen, equally nauseated.  And joined by no one else, because at that moment, myself, the coutl, Marcus, and Krynyn were all teleported back to the beginning yet again.  Apparently, a few steps were not enough.  
	And now E and Morwen were alone and helpless against a rather nasty demon from the abyss.  Something needed to be done.

	Cordozo – Chapter Seventy-Two – Drastic action as I perform drastic mental reshuffling.  

	As I stood there gazing out on the vast plain ahead of us, wondering if our companions left behind were still alive, I reached my mind out and tried to will us all to where we were.  But my power failed – it was simply too far to go, by about forty miles.  I could almost feel it, but I simply could not manage it.  Finally, the seed of an idea sprung forth.  I rushed to Marcus’ bag and pulled out the orb that allows one to change one’s past destiny.  I knew it would be a major change, perhaps changing who I was, forever, but I simply could not let my companions die on this horrid plane.  So I did what lawyers do best when dealing with an unwanted judgment – I appealed and amended my brief.  
	I felt myself drawn inward, reliving past experiences over many months, and reliving them again, only making different choices than before.  I felt powers spring forth into my mind that I knew I never had before even as other powers, long familiar, faded away to dim memories.  In my haste out of concern for the ongoing battle with my friends, I did not spend much time learning just what my new powers were, beyond focusing on a single one of importance – a power beyond the one I found before, a power to travel long distances with but a thought.  A power to return to the site of the battle and save my companions from what seemed to be certain death.  
	With newfound determination, I grasped the hands of the large coutl and of Krynyn, and willed us all back to a spot 100 feet shy of our last location.  I wanted to leave plenty of room to keep moving forward on the plane of battle.  I left Marcus behind only because I could not carry his weight, but I would return to him at the earliest time I could.  
	The situation was dire, as I had thought.  Morwen and E were puking their guts out as the beast slashed them and covered them with its evil enchantments.  But the tide changed with our arrival.  Then we had four people puking or stunned instead of two.  I kept moving forward, at least thirty short paces every time I sent forth the power of my mind against the beast.  I sent balls of cold, boiled his cerebral fluid, and I even sent him insulting mental imagery, but to no avail.  And, to my horror, I discovered my lantern-lit path would take me right by the beast, subjecting me to its foul odor and its razor sharp claws.  
	As I braced myself for the inevitable rending of my flesh to the bones and probable death, I moved past the beast, only to feel a gentle breeze over the back of my neck instead of the stinging of its claws.  Somehow, one of the powers of my mind deflected the beast from striking true, and spared my life as I moved quickly by its hulking form.  I could feel new powers of protection surging through me.  Maybe this was not my fated time to die.  
	My companions also chose this moment to rally, holding their breaths to stave off the foul odor as they rended our foe into strips of demon flesh.  The demon then transformed itself into a cloud of gas and began to make its escape through the air above the fleshy plain.  I filed my final motion, ending his motions and closing his case.  I sent forth a stream of fire through the cloud, watching with satisfaction as the flames burned away his essence.  His body then reformed in mid-air and came crashing to the ground, forming a fleshy, leathery crater in the strange soil of the plane.  
	Morwen and Krynyn made quick work of his corpse, divesting him of his wealth (his stink having made him filthy-rich).  I idly wondered just what a demon from the abyss was doing carrying around a rolled up painting of a snooty aristocrat.  But at least it had great value to a collector.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Seventy-Three – The path gets tricky – and lonely out in front

	After nine hours of travel on the plains, we found ourselves in the midst of a strange-looking place.  There were tons of broken weapons, armor, and bones covering a vast field filled with large egg-like objects attached to the leathery ground.  And the path continued right through it, in a strange, twisting path that seemed to have no rhyme nor reason, save assuring that we would spend a very long time walking through this area.  
	Almost immediately, Morwen spotted something inside one of the large eggs.  It turned out to be yet another coutl, this time one that was badly wounded and unconscious.  Krynyn healed him up as best he could, but he still did not awaken.  Our other coutl companion took it upon himself to carry this new-found “friend” and we continued on the path.  
	Not long after, we found yet another “egg” filled with something that caught our attention – this time something shiny.  A large golden bastard sword, a cloak, and some bracers were found within its disgusting leathery insides.  Of course, while they were looting, I kept on walking forward, getting further and further away from my companions, even as I ended up walking almost backwards down the twisting, lantern-lit path.  
	Then the next surprise reared its extremely ugly head.  A large creature with many legs and evil, glowing eyes.  I only caught a glimpse of it as I continued to move forward on the path, by myself, and further away from my companions.  There is a good reason I usually stand well behind (and between) my better-armed and armored companions.  I’m a rather soft and easy meal for most bests.  I felt my level of anxiety increase with each step further from my companions.  My anxiety almost seemed to take a solid form, as it slipped forth from my mind, and I began to feel as if my anxiety was now enshrouding me in a shimmering shell of some sort.  I did not know what to make of it, but I decided it felt warm and cozy and I relished its embrace.  
	In the meanwhile, my companions did battle with this long-legged beast, in an epic battle that I mostly ignored as I followed the path.  When I finally turned back, I discovered that we had another statue to deal with, a statue that looked remarkably like E.  That worried me greatly, until I remembered that Marcus had that stone that allowed one to use the power of the mind to bend the very nature of reality.  If memory served, that stone would function in a matter of days.  There were only two problems, then.  One, was how would we get to the end of this path without E to fight for us, and two, how would we survive out in this infernal plane for another week, waiting for that power to blossom.  
	I looked at the path ahead of me, and fervently wished for the end to appear.  Either that, or for at least one of my companions to join me where I had traveled, far away from their position.  I felt my anxiety shell tighten around me.  Now if only I had a power that could manifest a large, cozy security blanket, I would be set for the challenges ahead.


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## Altalazar (May 27, 2006)

Cordozo – Chapter Seventy-Four –Resolve, Retreat, Regroup, Rest

	Things looked somewhat grim.  I felt secure in my person, but with Ee a statue of solid rock, a Coutl still incapacitated, and our resources much depleted in mind and magic, I decided a retreat was in order to rest and regroup, and perhaps solve our magically-induced problems.  I signaled for my companions to gather together around Ee’s inert form.  Krynyn gathered up the strength and resolve of his deity and lifted the Ee’s massive stone bulk off of the spongy ground and held him tightly.  With a quick thought through my mind, I was standing amongst them, the lantern still grasped in my hand.  A moment later, our forward progress thus stalled, we found ourselves back at the beginning, by the Citadel of Feathers.  Just where we wanted to be.  
	Marcus, who was there waiting for us, called forth the power of his god, and attempted to remove any curses or hexes upon the Coutl.  Much to our relief, he awoke.  Much to our chagrin, he seemed poised to attack us, being somewhat out of sorts at his demon-plane-induced slumber.  I pulled forth the most powerful weapon in my arsenal – my arguments, and I convinced him that we were on his side, that we helped him, that we helped his fellow Coutl, and that we would greatly appreciate it if he would, in turn, help us.  The rage blinked from his eyes and he agreed to aid us, no matter where that might take him on this plane.  I smiled, flush with the feel of victory won in a hard-argued case, put away my briefcase, and prepared to retire for the night.  
	We rested for the night, my mind refreshed, the healers’ powers renewed.  Krynyn broke the enchantment on Ee, returning him to his normal, though no less stony in disposition, self.  And we began, yet again, the long journey down the lantern-lit path of the Test of Resolve.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Seventy-Five – Demons stink

	After seven hours of travel over extremely familiar ground, we found ourselves ambushed yet again by two demons of the odorous variety.  Unfortunately, the path I trod led right past them, requiring me to move at least fifteen feet toward them (and through their rather nasty claws) to keep from having to start all over again, yet again.  
	The two Coutls bravely charged forward, surrounding one of the demons.  They did not seem to harm it much, however, and one of them was banished back from whence he came, leaving us down one friendly Coutl.  
	Even more unfortunately, they said a word of blasphemous evil that stunned all of us in our tracks, save Morwen, who was just out of its reach.  Had she not run past me and grabbed the lantern to carry it forth, we would have had trouble.  Later I grabbed it back from her, but I did not travel far enough afield to avoid another evil word and, this time, I was sent back, along with the Coutl, who stood near me unseen.  
	Before I vanished, however, Krynyn called forth the power of his god to raise a storm of pure holy righteousness, a storm that the demons could not resist and which sent them scurrying away from its center even as it rended their evil hides with its holy might.  The demons kept their distance from the storm and my companions huddled in the warmth of its center as the demons sent forth their evil words and magics against them.  
	In the meanwhile, my friendly Coutl healed himself and promised to return us to whence we came.  I tried to do so with the power of my own mind, but again, found my range lacking beyond the furthest point I could easily see.  I instead readied myself for battle, wrapping my body with the protective powers of my mind, and I formulated a plan for when I returned.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Seventy-Six – Demon storm

	After several moments, I found myself back from whence I came, on the path lit by the lantern.  I noted the storm still in full swing and the large demons that kept their distance from its holy embrace.  I wrapped up the nearest demon in my mind into a swirling vortex of mental energy, twisting its body and wrenching it from its location in space to a new location of my choosing.  And I chose to place it directly in the center of the anti-demon storm, much to its sorrow.  My vortex rended its mind, the storm rended its flesh, and the demon wracked in agony as it felt its life slipping away, though it still stood its ground.  
	My companions continued their assault on the demons, and the demons sent forth more evil words, but this time too far from my ears.  Before the lantern-lit path grew too distant for me to effect it, I grabbed the other demon with a swirling vortex of mental energy, and this time, I deposited it thirty feet in the air over the storm, and over the form of the other demon.  Its body twisted in agony from my wrenching dimensional twist, then it screamed in agony as the tendrils of the storm ripped its flesh, and then it felt the cold, hard kiss of the plane as the ground broke its fall, narrowly missing hitting its demon companion.  One further glancing blow from Morwen was all it took for that demon to be sent back to the abyss from whence it came.  And its companion soon followed.  
	My companions looted the bulbous demon flesh while I continued my journey forward, reaching the strange and twisting path we found before, where Ee met his temporary destiny as sculptured art.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Seventy-Seven – Demon of steel and fire

	We did not travel long on the path before we encountered another monstrosity, this one entirely constructed from some foul magics of the demonworld, if my newfound stolen planar knowledge was accurate.  Not wishing to take any chances about our returning to the start, I spent several moments adding protective thoughts to my form to avoid any unfortunate incidents stopping the forward motion of the lantern.  My companions charged and parried with the beast, to no great effect, beyond the powerful blows dealt by Krynyn as he embodied the living strength of his god and grew to eight times his size.  
	As my path turned back toward the beast, I sent forth a massive bolt of electricity, which it seemed to like none too well.  A final volley of blows from clerics large and small felled the beast and cleared the way for our final encounter with the proctor of death.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Seventy-Eight – A final test 

	We reached the end of the path and found ourselves transported to another place, a fibrous forest, where the mummy lord proctor again congratulated us for passing a test, this time, the Test of Resolve.  It warned us not to let distractions of treasure, friends, or foes keep us from the path – it seemed like rather late to give that advice.  Then it offered the final test, that of Sacrifice, as led by our lantern.  Wonderful.  Just who, or what do we sacrifice?  
	We crossed the plane of cysts and found ourselves at a giant skull.  Right on the steps of the entrance to the skull lay a raven-winged fallen angel, spiked to the ground with multiple large spears.  As my companions began to debate the relative merits of rescuing a fallen angel, I offered my frank advice, “Aw, c’mon, let’s save the poor bastard.”  With that, the spears were pulled out and healing was applied.  As the final spear was drawn forth, I noticed Marcus’ pocket was glowing with that same strange glow that led us down this rather twisted path.  
	Saureya was his name, and he claimed to have been on this plane since it fell from Celestra and down into the abyss.  Talk about a sentence of life.  I had never before contemplated the legal penalty of planar banishment when a whole plane was what was to be banished.  I wondered what court would hear an appeal of such a sentence.  I imagined the contingency fees would be high and likely not of a monetary nature.  
	Marcus asked him, “How can I assist you in any way that I can?  What can I do?”  The fallen angel did not offer much, but some advice.  He suggested that we leave, “unless you want to grow fur,” referring to the rakshasa and fire giant that staked him to the ground and left to take the final test.  Apparently, if they pass, then they would control the plane and we would definitely not want to be there.  They had ten minutes on us.  
	Saureya also let us in on a secret – the test that mattered was the final test.  If you knew where it was, you need not even attempt the first two tests.  The proctors were too dim to know the difference.  
	I asked him how he was thrown so low.  Saureya said he broke Celestial law.  My ears perked up.  “What law did you break?”  But he did not elaborate.  
	I pointed out to Marcus that his pocket was glowing, and he pulled out the stone. 
	“Hey, that’s mine,” the fallen angel exclaimed.  “That is an artifact that has been in my family for ages.”  We explained how we got it, and he said that his sister was the one who we met before.  I could already sense the impending family reunion.  Marcus handed him the stone and he was bathed in a glowing light for ten minutes.  Arcs of lightning seemed to protect him from any touch.  When the light show was complete, his wings were now white feathers rather than raven feathers, and he no longer looked fallen.  He looked like an angel.  And we all looked like ourselves again.  
	Marcus was still eager to sally forth for the final test.  I decided to make a show of arguing with the angel to help us with it, but it was clear that it was not for us.  I argued that the test was for those whose visages we had borrowed, and that our task was simply to rescue this angel.  I certainly did not want to follow the path set forth for us by yet another evil demon employer who was likely to betray us if he ever saw us again.  
	Just for good measure, the angel informed us that we were too weak to control the plane even if we passed the test, and that we’d just be targets for every demon this side of the abyss who wanted to challenge us for supremacy of this plane.  That was enough for me.  “Ok, let’s leave.”  Marcus was finally convinced when his god told him it was not a task he could complete.  I held my tongue even as my thoughts rolled forth, “As if one needs to consult a deity to gather that little nugget of wisdom.”  

	Cordozo – Chapter Seventy-Nine – Angelic reunion

	We plane shifted back to whence we came, into the city of Cauldron.  I think it was back to where it was before our little angelic interlude-on-a-celestial-plane-in-the-abyss.  In return for our service, they magically identified all of the strange and wondrous items we had found, saving us the trouble of using the channels of commerce for such a feat.  
	Thinking back on all that I had seen and heard and had to kill, I contemplated a vacation.  I began a search for information about pending criminal trials and another search about where one could find the best popped corn kernels for the occasion.


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## Altalazar (Jun 15, 2006)

Book IX

	Cordozo – Chapter Eighty – Past Prologue

	My original perceptions were flawed.  The volcano town we were standing in was pre-eruption, not post-eruption.  We were still in the past.  Lacking any immediate solution to that particular dilemma, we all went shopping.  
We sold what valuable items we could from our planar travails, and then emptied our newly-filled purses on other items of interest.  For me, I turned in my stained, blood-soaked magical protective cloak for a shiny new magical protective cloak.  Hopefully it will serve me even better than the last one.  It certainly cost me many thousands of gold.  The shopkeeper’s mind made it clear I was not being cheated and he even gave me a small discount after I haggled with him.  I did not mention the fact that I knew in advance how far he was willing to drop his prices.  I kept my own counsel on that, and as is manifest, the attorney-client privilege kept myself from disclosing it to him.  
	After emptying our purses, we set out to fill our bellies, finding a decent establishment to replenish our stores of fat and share our tales of glory with any who cared to share a drink with us.  And it just so happened that a familiar face came wandering by, though in a much younger visage.
	“Princess!  Princess!” shouted Ee from across the room.  She looked at us as if it were the first time she ever saw any of us, which of course, it was.  She seemed reluctant to sit with us until she looked at me, and then she quickly sat down right next to me, her hip against mine.  The visions I saw in her mind would have gotten you several different statutory violations for indecency in most jurisdictions, were they ever to be written down.  Of course, since she was psionically active, it was quite likely she wanted to share those visions with me.  I tried my best not to try and discern if that were a likely scenario.  
	As she sat with us, I explained to her, in great detail, who we were, how we got where and when we were, and our prior, future, associations.  She seemed very interested by this.  So interested, in fact, that she had a proposition for us, one that, fortunately, did not involve her earlier thoughts to me.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Eighty-One – Princess Proposition  

	Princess explained to us that she was in the area when she was contacted by an acquaintance who was looking for someone who was missing.  Her acquaintance’s name was Anonda, and he was expecting a Cleric of Pelor (my mind noted Marcus’ ears perking up even without turning my attention in his direction) named Damek to replace the former head of a Monestary dedicated to a Shrine of Pelor up in the mountains near Cauldron.  
	The ground along Damek’s route recently shook, and he has not been seen since he began his journey began approximately one week ago.  We were given a map of his origin and destination, and asked to backtrack from the Monestary, to follow his path in reverse, hopefully meeting up with him somewhere on the road between.  All good in theory.  
I imagined it would not be that simple.  I tried to think of ways our employer, apparently an agent of Pelor, would try and betray us.  It would have to be either really subtle, like not referring us for new business after the task was complete, or really blatent, like Anonda is actually a demon-lord in disguise, intent on destroying the Monestary, if only he can get the blood of a Pelorian to use for his final sacrifice.  Or perhaps he needs two such sacrifices, and hiring us to find Damek is a way to get two Pelorians for the price of one.  Needless to say, I did not share this suspicion with Marcus.  Let him sleep in peace, blissfully unaware of how evil demons keep hiring us to do their work.  
	Anonda offered us ten thousand coins of gold to find Damek alive, but only eight thousand gold coins if we found his body.  Marcus began to think in his mind how he’d say that we’d do this task for the greater glory of Pelor and would need no payment.  I quickly reminded him, “but I’m the one doing the negotiating.”  Which I continued.  I pulled out my briefcase.
	“So, 10,000 gp for Damek’s safe return, 8,000 gp for his dead body.  How much of his body do we need, exactly?”  
	“Uh…” Anonda intoned, before stuttering, “it must be intact.”
	“How much, then, for pieces?”
	“What?” Anonda exclaimed.  
	“How much, then, for pieces of his body?”  I asked.  
	“Uh, five thousand gold coins.”  
	“Right,” I said as I noted that down.  “And ok, back to the ten thousand.  What if he’s alive, but in a coma.”  
	“Eight thousand,” Anonda said, somewhat cautiously.
	“Right.  And if he’s, say, turned to stone,” I asked, trying my best to keep from making eye contact with Ee.
	“Eight thousand,” Anonda replied.  
	“Ok then, it sounds like we have all of the details worked out.  If you’ll just sign here, sign here, initial here, and give me your seal, we are all set.”  I said to him as I laid forth my duly drafted, and fully legally binding contract, in all known jurisdictions, in front of him.  
	Anonda mumbled something and signed.
	“Great, now we’re going to go find you one Cleric of Pelor named Damek!”  I exclaimed.  
	And so we were off.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Eighty-Two – One last stop on the way out of town

	Before we left town on our task, we located our recently found angels to inquire about the nature of the artifact that brought us to them and, more importantly, to inquire about just what we needed to do to return to our own timeframe beyond just waiting.  
	Neither of them had any clue it could do such a thing in the first place, so they indicated they would research that question and get back to us.  
	Not waiting for any further explanation, we then went on our way up to the Monestary.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Eighty-Three – Monastic life, then life on the road

	After two and a half days of travel, we found ourselves standing before the “Mountain View” Monestary.  Not a very clever name, but then monks are not known for their clever advertising.  I wonder if they are in need of legal counsel.  I resolved to ask them once I had negotiations in my favor (from having their Cleric in my back pocket, freshly rescued).  
	Marcus offered to bless the shrine, which was declined, but he did pray there, giving him that fresh from Pelor feeling that always puts him in a good mood.  Then we hit the road yet again.
	The first day led to nothing but sore feet.  But the second day led to something rather more interesting.  
	Laid out in front of us was a huge pile of rubble, fifty feet high, that completely obscured the mountain road we were upon.  Making my body nimble and light, I walked up to the top and saw that the rubble extended as far as the eye could see.  Ground shaking, indeed.  
	I looked at the ground, and thought how nice it would be to have all of those boulders cleared away, so our journey on the road would be somewhat less painful on my feet than it already was.  Much to my surprise, as I thought it, it happened, and the boulder vanished, replaced with a pile of dust.  “That could be useful,” I thought to myself.  I then told my companions that, were they willing to wait three weeks, I could clear out the boulders for them, one by one.  They declined my offer.  
	Instead, they all joined hands with Krynyn and then turned into the wind, literally, and walked across the sky, over the rubble, while I walked on the boulders behind them.  “I’m going to need a new pair of boots,” I thought to myself as I followed the wispy forms of my airborne companions.


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## Altalazar (Jun 23, 2006)

Cordozo – Chapter Eighty-Four – Damek on the Rocks

	We climbed (or flew) up over the rubble, and found ourselves face to face with Damek as he fought off swarming little creatures shooting tiny arrows at his head.  Pixies, they apparently were.  We quickly ran forward to save him.  Unfortunately, in the process, we were all hit as well, and so the next thing we knew, we were walking on the road back to the Monastery, Damek in tow, with no memory of how we got there or how we even found him.  But we did still remember the 10,000 gold we were owed.  There was nothing in this contract about any reduction in price for his lack of memory, so we collected the full amount.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Eighty-Five – Memories lost, now found

		We then returned to Cauldron, where all of us felt like there was something missing, our memories having been changed to us finding Damek on the road, with no memory of pixies or any landslide in sight.  
	We sought out Poseidon, the psion, to see if he could help us with what was wrong.  He agreed, though as it turned out, he lied to me.  He said he would fix our memory.  He started on me first, restoring my memory to the point where we found the avalanche, but not much further, before he said he had to stop and resume his work the next day.  He then left me alone and I did not see him or my companions for some time after that.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Eighty-Six – Memories returned

	The next day, Poseidon returned, though I sensed something different about his demeanor.  I didn’t quite trust what he told me the day before, but I wanted my memories back, so I watched him carefully.  He used something called “aura alteration” on me, something I then wished to master, and then worked to restore the rest of my memories.  When he was done, my memories were complete, from the time we found the rocks to the time we were struck by the arrows and returned to the road with Damek.  It was all very vivid and clear and no details were left out.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Eighty-Seven – Clues 

	My memory thus fully restored, I returned that night to my journal, eager to update my memoirs with all that I had forgotten.  As I opened the pages, I discovered something strange.  Written in the front my journal was something I had not seen before and had no memory of writing.  It said that if I ever read this journal and had missing memories from it, that the way to fix this pixie memory loss (caused by their tiny arrows) was the use of a “heal” spell.  How could I have written that.  I did not know how to cure pixie memory loss, and I did not write anything in my journal after we met the pixies.  But it was in my handwriting.  Curious.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Eighty-Eight – More clues 

	I carefully read through my entire journal, looking for more clues as to what had happened.  Nothing else came to mind, though in my careful examination of all of my journal materials, I realized that there were blank pages missing.  Many dozens of pages were missing, not from my current journal book, but from the other papers and other blank journals in my belongings.  These I also did not recall missing.  There was no evidence that they fell out and my materials looked suspiciously clean and neat.  It even looked as though a tiny tear in one of my pages I had accidentally made late one night by the fire while writing a new memoir chapter had been miraculously fixed.  Curiouser and curiouser.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Eighty-Nine – Some answers

A voice in my head that sounds like my own.  It is myself.  It is Cordozo, only the Cordozo from the future, the Cordozo from my past.  He is whispering something to me, about hidden journals and secret entries.  Or was it all a dream?  Finally, I had some answers.  Missing chapters, real chapters, chapters from my journal that were written and now gone were now restored.  The chapters, the REAL chapters, follow:  



	Cordozo – REAL Chapter Eighty-Four – Road less traveled now traveled more

	After we traveled a quarter of a mile over the rubble, we found the road again, and something rather curious.  The road branched out into a new road right where the rubble ended.  A small sign there labeled this new road “Oblivion.”  True to form, Morwen said, “Let’s follow the road to Oblivion,” thus again reminding me how it is usually a bad idea to follow Morwen’s lead.  Morwen then led.  
	Morwen scouted ahead, with only my voice in her head as company, checking out the path for any signs of our quarry.  
	While she snuck ahead, I looked at the new-found road.  There was something curious about it.  It appeared almost like the lower half of a cylinder carved through the mountain.  There were signs of subterranean mosses on its lower reaches that were in the later stages of decay.  It suddenly struck me that this new road used to be a tunnel through the mountain.  Whatever excavated it surely would be worth quite a lot of coin for large construction work.  I began hammering out the contractual details in my head, taking notes as I did so, to have a contract ready for signing when the time comes.  
	Morwen suddenly shouted in my mind that she found something.  “Pixies!”  “Wonderful,” I thought.  We quickly joined her.  

	Cordozo – REAL Chapter Eighty-Five – Pixies – Oh joy

	Standing up in the sky was a pack of pixies, three in all, trapped in a cage of force.  They were complaining mightily that they “spent a whole day in there!” and that they were “bored!”  I quickly rectified the situation, pointing my finger skyward and sending forth the tendrils of my mind to wrap around the bars of their cage of force and to pull them from existence.  The pixies quickly flew forth.  
	They explained that “Rolling Thunder” came through here, wreaking havoc, and apparently unappreciative of pixie pranks.  It finally captured them in their cage, after being frustrated by its inability to catch beings of their quick speed and tiny size.  
	I asked their leader if they saw our cleric walk by.  He fervently denied it.  It was so obvious he was lying, even Ee could tell.  Not desiring to waste much time with the pixies, I formed a deal with them.  I told them I had a “special present” just for pixies (a blur potion I held in my palm), and that I would only give it to them if they told.  They said that I’d have to get it from them and that they could make me forget it.  I said “fine, I can do it.  But if I can get it from your mind, and keep it, then I win.”
	They agreed, and the game was on.  I spent all this time preparing my mind for its task, digging deeper and deeper into the lead pixies’s mind, until it became crystal clear what they knew and what we wanted to know.  And then one of them shot me with an arrow and I forgot it, and everything else.  
	Unfortunately for the pixies, even though my memories were gone, my mind probe was still deep in their leader’s brain, and knowing that, I sought answers to my current amnesia there first.  I found out not only what they did to me and how to fix it (spells known as “heal,” “limited wish,” “wish,” and “miracle” all came to mind), but what it was they were keeping from me before.  And so with a little help from my befuddled companions (a “heal” from Krynyn) my mind was restored and our path was made clear.  
	For in the pixie’s mind, I saw a clear vision of our quarry, Damek, heading down this same road and a “helpful” pixie getting his mind off of the road, in the literal sense, as he fired an arrow at him.  The newly amnesiac Damek then continued down the road, and the pixies scattered as “Rolling Thunder” appeared.  

	Cordozo – REAL Chapter Eighty-Six – Farmer Torvek is looking green

	We came around the bend in the mountain, after walking on this new path for a while, and found ourselves face to face with four men in leather armor surrounding a large troll wearing coveralls, a large straw hat, and wielding a scythe.  The troll shouted at us in some unintelligible language and we sprang into action.  
	My first thought was that this was some poor farmer transformed into a troll and now set upon by his fellow farmers as an aberration of nature, unable to communicate with them.  What was actually going on was far stranger.  
	Ee was ready to kill the troll and charge.  I said, “please don’t kill anyone yet,” but Ee was already ahead of me.  Fortunately, so was Marcus, and he cast a protective spell of sanctuary on the troll, frustrating Ee’s attempts to decapitate farmer troll.  
	The men in leather were not so kind, and they continued to attack the farmer, who attacked them back with great vigor even as he retreated into his field off the path.  
	With a single thought, I was standing behind our farmer friend, whom I linked in mind to say to him “don’t worry, we’re here to help.”  Unfortunately, in his desire to avoid being made farmer soup, it took me a while to get a firm grip on him so as to enable me to whisk him away to safety.  
	Marcus, meanwhile, told them all to drop their weapons, an order he enforced with the power of Pelor.  They quickly found their weapons very hot to the touch, and let them fall to the ground.  
	I finally connected with Torvek, and then with another thought, we were back on the mountain path, far away from any melee.  I introduced myself and asked him if he had need of an attorney.  

	Cordozo – REAL Chapter Eighty-Seven – Back on the road to Oblivion

	I was quickly disabused of my previous assumptions.  
	“I was born a troll,” farmer Torvek told me in common.  “I moved to Oblivion to forget my former life.”  I asked him if he forgot in the pixie-sense, and he replied that he did not.  
	He suggested that we go talk to the Ladies who run Oblivion.  That sounded good to me.  He said that he had never before seen violence on the road there.  I wondered if the recent unmasking of the path had something to do with that.  
	We began to walk up the back way to Oblivion, until I suggested that we meet up with my companions, because they had subdued the bandits.  As we returned on the path, one of the bandits ran back our way.  I quickly locked his brain, and farmer troll Torvek picked him up on his shoulder to carry him to town.  My companions already had the others in custody when I met up with them in Torvek’s field.  
	Torvek told us that the Ladies of Oblivion were Lillends, whatever those are, and that everyone comes to Oblivion to start life anew.  He also told us about a recent resident of the town, someone who sounded rather like the Pelorian we were seeking.  We knew he needed little help forgetting his former life.  
	The Ladies themselves verified what Torvek told us, but they also had a tale of woe.  Apparently, the destruction we had seen was caused by a “Juggernaut.”  They were still rebuilding after the damage it had done.  They asked us if we would help them with it.  Of course, Marcus said yes, but before he could continue, I said, “here’s our standard contract…”


	Cordozo – REAL Chapter Eighty-Eight – We like our worries up front

	We sauntered into the town square, greeting by a large sign which read “Welcome to Oblivion!  Leave your cares behind!”  Somehow, there was something sinister about that sign.  Never trust happy signs in a village full of monsters happily plowing their fields.  Monsters, in this case, being an ogre, a drow, and a human.  
	At the center of the square was a fountain inscribed with the words “Drink deeply and leave your cares behind.”  I began to notice a theme.  Morwen said, “It looks refreshing.”  I quickly said, “I don’t think we should drink from this fountain.”  I almost had to tackle Morwen and Ee to keep them from taking a drink.  A lawyer’s work is never done.  Oftentimes the hardest part of the job is protecting one’s clients from themselves.  
	Just beyond the fountain, I saw more evidence of the path of destruction, ten feet wide, and as long as the eye could see.  
	We went back to the ladies to discuss with them the terms of our arrangement.  They had offered us 2,000 pieces of gold in return for tracking down and destroying this monster.  The monster in question was a large construct on wheels that seemed apparently unstoppable.  It had just gone through the village and was now some distance away.  

	Cordozo – REAL Chapter Eighty-Nine – We meet the ladies, properly.  

	The ladies of the town were lillends, all serpent-like and wrapped around four columns in a large public building near the town center.  “Welcome to Oblivion, stranger!”  they all declared upon seeing us.  “Do you need a lawyer?” was my standard response.  
	I asked them if the bandits we captured for them would have to drink from the fountain.  “We’ll have to discussssssss that” was their serpent-like reply.  Their forked tongues would look great in a courtroom, I’m sure.  
	“Let me guess – no prison,” I replied.  I got the feeling the bandits would soon be drinking from that fountain.  
	Ee, as always, got right to the point.  “New guy.  Where him go?”
	Marcus also piped up, “I am also a brother of Pelor.”
	The ladies replied, “Nobody comes here unless they are looking for it.  We are very upset about the earthquake.”  
	Then they added the dreaded conditions.  “In addition to the gold, we require that you take a potion to forget this place when you leave.”  
	There was no way I was going to let them mess with my mind.  And especially not my journal.  NO ONE messes with Cordozo’s Memoirs.  That is written right on it, in fine print, on the back.  “Cordozo’s Memoirs.  NO ONE Messes with Cordozo’s Memoirs.”  Then there is lots of fine print detailing all of the definitions of “messes with” and all of the consequences of doing so.  Most involve large fines and long days in court.  Recently amended to the possible consequences under subsection 194(IV)(e)(1) was “disintegration.”  Of course, since it was all written in legalese, probably most could not entirely decipher the details without retaining counsel.  But that does not change the fact that, under the law, everyone is presumed to know the law.  
	I began to make appropriate plans.  

	Cordozo – REAL Chapter Ninety – Gorchuck and Damek

	Ee’s query led us to Gorchuck, the town healer.  A beholder.  We met up with him when he was working on healing our quarry.  
	Gorchuck’s house had a large sign which said “Gorchuck’s Healing & Apothecary.”  He had a special lens on one eyestalk and his big eye was closed while he used a very narrowly focused disintegration beam to remove remnants of green slime from Damek’s unconscious form.  
	Ee, who had arrived on the scene first, kept trying to interrupt him and Gorchuck kept shouting “Take a seat, I’ll be with you in just a minute!” in a strange chorus of Ee and Beholder that got louder and louder as the rest of us approached.  
	Finally, he was finished, and Damek was healed, and we had a conversation.  
	Damek seemed to think he was needed here, despite our pleas to the contrary, that he was needed in his monastery.  Finally, he compromised, and promised to let us heal his mind from the pixies because he could always drink from the fountain again if it turned out we were incorrect.  That decided, Marcus and Damek went off to heal other members of the village before we rested for the night in anticipation of chasing down the juggernaut in the morning.  

	Cordozo – REAL Chapter Ninety-One – Blades and beams, oh my, there’s a juggernaut, bye-bye

	Damek accompanied us on our trek after the juggernaut.  We followed it for miles, finally spying it some three hundred feet away, slowly rolling over the landscape.  It saw us and stopped and turned around and came after us.  Very.  Slowly.  
	Ee screamed and charged and started running toward it.  My companions also started moving in its direction.  I decided to walk at a leisurely pace, not very eager to get within reach of its six huge sledgehammers of stone nor its grinding wheels that seemed to flatten even the boulders it rolled over.  I quickly went over everything my mind was capable of and came to the conclusion that almost nothing there would likely harm what was a large, solid rock monstrosity with no discernable brain or weaknesses.  My encounter with the rock-slide came to mind and so I began to concentrate.
	As I got ever closer, Krynyn set up a barrier of blades in front of the construction, doing some damage as the blades made sparks bouncing off its hardened surface.  
	I boldly stepped forward a few more steps and then, taking careful aim with my finger, sent forth a ray of green light, from my brain to its granite center.  My aim was dead on, striking exactly the center of its mass at the very edge of my range.  I sensed it would have eviscerated its heart, had it had one.  But as it was, it was satisfying to see the great climax of our encounter end in a large pile of dust, slowly wafting in the breeze.  
	Ee looked downright mad.  “You steal me kill again!”  “Cordozo always takes away my glory.”  
	I suggested to Ee that perhaps it was for the best, in this case.  Ee looked ready to run right into the six arms of the beast.  I doubted even Ee could stand up to such punishment.  

	Cordozo – REAL Chapter Ninety-Two – A plan unfolds like paper in the wind

	We returned on the path back to the village.  Over the hours we walked, I wrote in my journal, making multiple copies of what I was writing, in case they dared mess with my sacred texts.  
	We needed to rest a day for Krynyn to heal Damek’s mind, so I took that time as well.  
	One copy of my journal entries since we began our search for Damek I sent off to another plane, one of the more neutral planes, along with a note, promising a reward of 1,000 pieces of gold to whomever returns said journal to Cordozo in the city of Desbury on the prime material plane.  I made sure to send it to a location I was unfamiliar with, so there was no way anyone could locate it.  If I couldn’t find it, no one else would stand much of a chance to find it, either.  
	Another copy of my journal I hid out in the mountains there, with another similar note, leaving off any mention of the planes.  
	And then, I took advantage of our unique situation and reached out my mind, across the mountains, over the rivers, and into another mind that I found very familiar.  
	“Cordozo?  This is Cordozo from the future.  I have a task for you to complete…”
	When I was done, I had asked myself to make a copy of the journal notes dictated to him, and then had him hide copies in “our” residence, as well as in various other places in town.  I also had him take dictation about a note to myself to be left at the residence, written in a code only we would understand, as psion lawyers sharing the same brain.  It was short and to the point.  
	I then completed one more set of entries, and prepared to meet the ladies.  

	Cordozo – REAL Chapter Ninety-Three (from secret journal entries) – We leave our worries behind

	Upon the beholder’s insistence, we collected our reward and drank the potions, after much mucking about with Morwen.  I was as reluctant as her, but decided fighting them then would not be wise.  Leave that for the future.  
	After we drank, they led us out and they also violated my person, stealing things from me and messing with my memoirs in clear violation of subsections 1 through 197.  While it is always sad to have to deal with a violator of the law, it is always just to do so.  See earlier secret journal entries, special section.  
	Damek, of course, upon having his real memories restored, agreed to return to his obligations in the real world.  So we took him to his monastery.  
	We then returned to Cauldron, where all of us felt like there was something missing, our memories having been changed to us finding Damek on the road, with no Oblivion or even any landslide in sight.  
	We sought out Poseidon, the psion, to see if he could help us with what was wrong.  He agreed, though as it turned out, he lied to me.  He said he would fix my memory, but instead, he just changed it to include only the pixies and the landslide, and to leave oblivion out of it, thus again, violating subsections 45 through 194 of messing with my memoirs.  But, of course, I did not know it at the time.  


Cordozo – Secret Entries – War is declared, or rather, the lawsuit has been filed

	So, that is what really happened.  Not only did the denizens of Oblivion see fit to violate my person, my mind, and my memoirs, this Poseidon fellow has as well, for reasons still unclear to me.  I do not want to bring this up with my companions because I do not know the extent of the alterations to their minds.  Suffice it to say that I will keep a close eye on them.  And from now on, I will be sending off to random neutral planes each new set of memoir entries I create, along with monetary rewards for their return to Desbury.  And I will take advantage of the overlap of time with myself for as long as that lasts so he (well, me) will back them up that way as well.  I will just have to be sure to keep my dual knowledge secret from the others as long as that lasts.  
	Now on to consequences.  It was not right that they eviscerated my person, my mind, and my memoirs.  Such is an evil act, and as such, it must be punished according to the dictates of the judicial system.  Those evil beings in Oblivion will feel my wrath when the time is right.  They must be destroyed for doing this.  No other penalty is sufficient.  And this Poseidon as well is now in my sights.  I will no longer trust him or his ilk.  He isn’t even a lawyer.  
	They will all learn that it does not pay to violate section 194(IV)(e)(3) of the protections afforded my memoirs.  Justice will be served, even if it takes years.  The courts, alas, move slowly but steadily forward.  



Book X

	Cordozo – REAL Chapter Ninety-Four – Another missing daughter, Ur my

	After our encounter with Poseidon, we found ourselves another job to do, this time the search was for the daughter of a noble named Lord Ur.  Her name was Celeste and she was in her mid-20s.  She had hired a group to find a missing dwarf.  The dwarf, when found, was apparently not in his right mind, but she still took the journey to return him to his family.  She left for Portsmith, a town to the south four weeks ago and has not been heard from since.  
	“Here’s our standard contract.”


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## Brogarn (Jun 27, 2006)

Definitely one of my favorite story hours.


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## Altalazar (Jun 30, 2006)

Brogarn said:
			
		

> Definitely one of my favorite story hours.




Why, thank you!  It always feels good to be appreciated.


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## Altalazar (Jul 5, 2006)

Something I just wanted to add about the last post - a side note from the game that was another fun roll of the dice.  The Juggernaut combat was to be the climax of this little trek.  We spotted it 300 or so feet away.  We all started moving toward it, Cordozo moving not that fast, but still moving.  Finally, a Krynyn-made blade barrier does the first damage to it, and the next round, i think maybe I'm close enough, so I decide to try the only thing I think will work - disintigrate.  So I just roll to hit, figuring I can calculate it after I roll (my chances of hitting with a ray aren't even that great) - and then I roll a natural '20' - ok, so i hit, but then we're not sure if I'm actually in range, so someone plots it out and figures out that I'm 205 feet away from the thing, and my range is 210 feet.  I roll damage - crappy roll, but apparently enough, because it is disintigrated.  Combat over.  Anti-climacitc.  But a relief.  Later, we determine that I actually could only have hit it on a '20' (at least, that's what I think we determined - I think it's base AC was 28 (not sure what it was for touch) and my BAB was +5 with no modifiers, and there may have been range increments as well). 

What was funny was that the next week, in the Islands campaign, I just about ended another combat with another natural '20' (well, two in a row) on a hit-cleave, which caused the DM to mention that I "always" do that - which isn't quite true - wish it were.  I guess it tends to stick out in the mind - that very same combat I also rolled like five rounds in a roll rolls that never exceeded a '3' when I needed a '4' to hit.  Law of averages.  Anyway, just wanted to share that dice-anecdote since it was part of the session that generated the latest story hour entry here.


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## Brogarn (Jul 6, 2006)

Altalazar said:
			
		

> Why, thank you!  It always feels good to be appreciated.





No prob. Some bit of praise in exchange for at work entertainment is a small price to pay. 

You still planning on more updates? The last story post looks like a conclusion of sorts.


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## Wystan (Jul 6, 2006)

Printing it now to read....


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## Altalazar (Jul 6, 2006)

Brogarn said:
			
		

> No prob. Some bit of praise in exchange for at work entertainment is a small price to pay.
> 
> You still planning on more updates? The last story post looks like a conclusion of sorts.




Oh yes.  As long as the campaign continues, there will be updates.  As you may already have noted, the 'Book X' indicates that a new adventure is beginning.  (The tenth).  Some adventures take many sessions, others only one or two.  But we intend this campaign to last a while, into the Epic levels eventually.  Since we are all currently about level 11, it will take quite a while for us to get there.


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## Brogarn (Jul 7, 2006)

Oh, hey, lookit that. Book X. Read right past that. Way to be observant on my part! I blame women. There wasn't one yelling at me while I was reading, so of course I didn't notice it.  Or if you had asked if I noticed your new haircut. I got that one down pat.


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## Altalazar (Jul 11, 2006)

Cordozo – Chapter Ninety-Five – Shopping for necessities – for the adventuring “profession”

	My companions spent the day after our hire going about town, looking for adventuring “necessities” of magic, including strange brews, mystical writings, and items of power.  Morwen suggested I look for rings – she said one could wear one on each hand, rings of magic, no more, but obviously much less, because I had not a single ring on my finger, mystical, magical, or otherwise.  But I could not afford to spend vast sums – I had a lifestyle to maintain.  
	I picked up several strange and wondrous brews to protect my person should I ever stoop so low as to be engaged in a brawl.  And I selected two quaint rings, one of which, so it was claimed, would keep brawlers slightly at bay, and the other, even more fantastically, promised to turn any fall into a soft, safe, feathery fall leaving one totally unharmed.  Thus equipped, I went about much more important business.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Ninety-Six – Shopping for necessities – the REAL necessities

	I set about looking for what was most important in town – the best restaurant with the best company.  Unfortunately, to dine in such a place required joining an exclusive, noble club.  And to join required dues and noble sponsorship.  Utilizing my contacts, I found the family of Vanderborn Manor to be most helpful in this regard.  For a very reasonable sum of two thousand pieces of gold they not only sponsored me, but they also paid my one thousand gold piece membership fee.  The club was so exclusive, once joined, no badge of membership was required – they knew all of their members on sight.  Thus, I became the newest member of the “Cusp of the Sunrise” and hobnobbed with the nobles of Cauldron.  
	Thus ennobled, I joined my fellow nobles for an early dinner, the royal buffet (for one), for a very reasonable price of twenty-five pieces of gold, twelve satisfying courses filled out the afternoon and evening, as well as my waiste-line.  Not entirely unmindful of my less fortunate companions, I asked for another full meal to be packed up for travel, which they did for a very reasonable fee.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Ninety-Seven – Road-worn travelers, we

	We entered the road in pursuit of Celeste.  From what we knew, she was traveling with an old dwarf and his son to the City of Portsmith, part of the Metropolis of Dunkirk, a large enclave to the south.  I mounted my trusty horse, as yet unnamed (a good name should be earned or at least legally codified) and headed south with my companions.  
	For our first stop, I surprised my companions with my packed up royal buffet.  While the club frowns on distributing food to non-members, I knew such a frown was not legally binding, and what they do not know they cannot complain of.  My companions were appropriately grateful for the food that was not of the iron-ration variety.  Unfortunately, I only had one meal packed.  I did not think it would have lasted longer than one day in preservation, in any case.  But at least we started the journey right.  
	We traveled for two solid weeks, stopping every so often at thorps along the way to ask villagers if they had seen our quarry.  We had no luck in that regard.  Finally, our travels brought us to a thorp of reasonable size, known as Twin Oaks.  Happy farmers played with their families and readied themselves for the harvest.  Birds were singing, the crops were swelling, and they were very friendly.  X-shaped wooden fences held together with fire-hardened wooden staffs ringed the crop-land.  Eight buildings made up the Thorpe, including the Plough Tavern, whose innkeeper greeted us with a smile.  I was immediately suspicious.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Ninety-Eight – The Thorp of Demon Oaks, er, Twin Oaks

	Bumone, the innkeeper owned the Plough Taven and ran it for his wife and three children.  I immediately asked him for his nicest room, which cost ten silver.  I held my tongue when he announced the price, not pointing out that he should simply have said that the room cost one gold.  Perhaps no one in this small town had any gold, to speak of.  That would soon change.  Cordozo was in town!  I tipped Bumone an extra gold for the night.  
	Morwen also took one of the three nice rooms in the inn, while Krynyn and Marcus sought to bilk an old lady out of free lodging by giving her healing for her pained joints.  Why they seem to need to use the legal fiction that it is charity offered for charity given when it is really nothing more than a standard commercial exchange of bartered services for lodgings is beyond me.  But then I have always found the holy ones perplexing.  
	In the morning, we had our breakfast and then moved on, traveling another week on the road until we came across something unusual.  

	Cordozo – Chapter Ninety-Nine – Roadside interlude

	Another week of travel on the road led us through many more tiny thorps, none worth mentioning, but what was most interesting was between thorps.  We saw heading down the road toward us a fancy, noble carriage traveling at a good rate of speed.  As it passed us by, heading north, Morwen spotted a regal young lady in the rear of the carriage.  She was probably eight to ten summers old and very well dressed.  
	I got a peek at her as well.  So there goes another demon off to kill all of the nobles, this time perhaps in Cauldron.  Either that or she’ll feed in Demon Oaks.  Our return trip is sure to be an interesting one.  

	Cordozo – Chapter One Hundred – Days in and out

	Six days more travel on the road, we found ourselves in a town on the outskirts of the Dunkirk metropolis.  We made it to an inn at dusk known as The Day in, Day Out Inn.  This place had a somewhat decent room for the peasant-busting price of two gold per night.  So, of course, I paid four.  My coin gave me first use of the bathwater for the evening, a luxury I took full advantage of, cleaning off the sticky dust of the road before heading down for the evening’s meal.  
	As I enjoyed my somewhat bland meal, I inquired of the innkeeper any word about Celeste.  
	“Yes, my lord, we did see her come by about two months ago.  She was accompanied by an old dwarf and a strange grey furry creature in a cage.”  
	This was interesting.  Further inquiry led us to discover that this creature was most likely a “sloth,” something not seen in these particular parts outside the conjuration circles of those trained in the mystical arts.  
	“Two days later, my lord, she returned, heading north and traveling alone.  She looked highly agitated.  She stated something about going to talk to the Lord Mayor to give him a piece of her mind.”  The only Lord Mayor north of here would be that of Cauldron.  Curious.  
	We finished our meal, retired for the night, then headed south in the morning.  

	Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred One – Something rotten in Dunkirk

	We arrived just before dark in Dunkirk.  Morwen and I spent coin freely trying to loosen the tongues of anyone who might have seen Celeste or the old dwarf and the sloth.  Inexplicably, we could not find a single soul who could recall seeing any of them.  Stranger still, their destination, the dwarf’s manor known as Splintershield Estate, was also unknown to anyone, but there was a place in the same location known as Carpenter’s Manor that had not been used in years.  
	Immediately, I began to wonder if angels or demons or both had once again moved us or perhaps Celeste and this dwarf to another time, just to make life difficult.  Appropriately, Carpenter’s Manor, once the home of a very successful merchant named Carpenter, was rumored to be occupied by spirits.  Morwen wanted to go there immediately.  I looked at the sun going down and announced we would wait until morning.  Why give the demons any advantages?  

	Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Two – At least one thing not so rotten in Dunkirk

	I finally found an inn suitable for my standing as an attorney.  It cost a respectable twenty-five gold per night, so of course, I paid them fifty, just to make sure they got the message that I want the best.  
	We all retired to our respective inns (my companions stayed somewhere much cheaper in a less respectable part of Dunkirk).  I was about to drift off when I heard a knock at my door.  Ever alert for an ambush, and worried that I was alone, I quickly sent a call through the mindlink to my companions and warned them that someone was at my door.  I queried who was there.
	“My name is Candy.”  
	“Of course you are.”  
	She apparently was there to offer her “services” to me, courtesy of the inn, but also for a charge of five gold coins.  This was unexpected.  I guess they know how to treat their guests well.  Of course, I paid her ten.  
	Just in case, I kept my companions apprised through the mindlink as to what was happening.  Once Candy was more comfortable, I heard Marcus over the link implore, “Can you terminate the link now??”  
	Fortunately, I was safe.  I guess nobles do well, as one should expect.  Two thousand gold well spent.  Membership has its privileges. 
	Just before I drifted off, I sent one last message through the mindlink.
	“Krynyn or Marcus, might I trouble you for a ‘cure disease’ in the morning?”  

	Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Three – Breakfast and Carpenter’s Manor

	The morning found Candy departing, but asking me how long I would be in town.  We then left for Carpenter’s Manor, the full light of the sun leading the way to clear out path of demons, ghosts, and vampires.  I was sure we’d be seeing all three at the manor.  

	The entrance to the manor was hidden from the street, allowing Morwen to more stealthily determine that the gate was already “unlocked.”  The house itself had a double wooden door, but we found that the entrance from the stable actually really was unlocked, causing me to remark to Marcus, “See, they left the door open, just like the gate.” 
	Inside, there was a lot of dust, though some rooms had less dust than others.  It looked like the house was generally abandoned, but perhaps it was used by someone in some rooms more recently.  But there was no sign of them, beyond the disturbed dust.  
	The manor was a dead end, so we returned to the city to look for more information. 

	Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Four – More information, less sense

	Talking around town, spreading a few coins around, I determined that the young lady / demon / vampire spawn / evil double of a little girl that we saw on the road was the niece of the king of Bellanon who had come to Dunkirk to stay at the King’s Manor.  Her name was Princess Perstefanie.  
	Since the last time we saw her was a week prior, we figured she was at the Demon Oaks Thorpe by now.  So either she is a demon and she’s eaten them all, or she’ll be eaten by one there.  That was my prediction.  
	We quickly headed back north.  We determined that since Celeste had gone north, and she was the one we were paid to locate, that was the direction we would go.  Though it was strange that no one in Demon Oaks (Twin Demon Oaks?) had seen her in either direction.  

	Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Five – Back to Demon Oaks

	Two weeks later, we walked back into Demon Oaks.  As expected, the fresh crops were still ungathered.  And now there was something different.  There were no children out playing.  And the tavernkeeper seemed eager for us to leave.  I could read the fear in his mind just by looking at his face.  
	Two patrons sat at a table in the inn, watching us while pretending not to.  I knew the innkeeper would never talk to me, so I linked with his mind and asked him what was going on – I assured him it was safe.
	“No, go!  They’ll kill our children!  Go!  Go!”
	“No, they will kill them if we leave.  Trust us.  We’re here to help.  You have nothing to fear.”  
	I passed on our conversation through my mindlink with my companions.  
	Krynyn went out to the outhouse and cast a spell in view of the flies, but no one else.  He then scanned the area for evil, finding, unsurprisingly, two weak evil auras in the inn, and then two more just outside one of the houses.  But what really stood out was the moderately strong aura under the inn.  
	Meanwhile, the innkeeper seemed impossible to convince, so I decided we needed a plan.
	“I can control these two goons here.  Then we still have the two outside, and then there’s the evil in the basement of the inn.  We should take that out first, and maybe the rest will scatter.”
	My companions disagreed, and wanted to save the children first.  
	“But we can always raise them from the dead if that is a problem,” I suggested helpfully.
	Morwen, in her infinite wisdom, pointed out the high cost of the materials required for a raising.  So off to the children we went.  

	Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Six – I gain some new “bodyguards” 

	I went over to sit with my companions at a table.  Marcus asked for some supplies, to give us an excuse to not have left yet.  Then I reached out the tendrils of my mind to the two rough-looking types sitting at the table nearby.  I quickly crushed their wills beneath mine, taking it over and making them my personal bodyguards.  Then I tried to explain this new situation to the innkeeper, who took a while to finally understand the concept that they were now not a threat to him.  
	Meanwhile, Morwen went out invisible, scouting out the building with all of the children in it.  She reported back to me in the mindlink that she saw some of the children plus two more thugs inside added to the one at the front and the one at the back of the building.  She snuck around the back of the building and stood behind the thug back there.  
	I then began phase two, walking outside with my new bodyguards flanking all of us, as if they were escorting us.  It was enough to get us right up to the one at the front.  Morwen quickly dispatched the thug in back.  Krynyn quickly slayed the one in front, and then Krynyn, Marcus, and Morwen ran inside and dealt with the two inside.  
	I stood outside with my “bodyguards” waiting until I heard the all clear inside.  I was already starting to wrap the tendrils of my mind around my two new “friends,” waiting for the word that would allow me to crush their tiny little brains.  Wait for it…


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## Brogarn (Jul 11, 2006)

I'd express glee for seeing an update, but I'd hate for you to be suspicious of my intentions. Instead I'll just glare a bit, repeated in my mind of course, and move on.


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## Altalazar (Jul 23, 2006)

Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Seven – Children Saved – Bodyguards Retired

	In my mind, I heard the “all clear” from my companions inside the house.  The children were safe.  The children were secure.  And my new bodyguards were dead before they hit the ground as I crushed both of their brains simultaneously, leaving their bloodless, unmarked corpses in the street.  
	I signaled the innkeeper over my mindlink with him that his children and the other children were safe.  He immediately expressed his worries about the evil in his cellar.  
“He’ll kill us all!” he said.  
“We’ll kill him first,” I assured him.  “We’ll take care of it.”  
The innkeeper did not have to be told twice to get him and his wife out of the inn and with the children. 
We also discovered the royal Princess Perstephanie was with the other children.  Her guardian had been killed by the evil below.  We sent her with the rest of them, but we told her we would be back for her.  
The innkeeper was now much more willing to talk.  He described the evil one in his basement as looking like an ordinary human.  Given what the clerics detected, either he was an evil cleric or he was a vampire.  
I’d never seen a vampire before (aside from the more garden-variety found within court rooms – “bloodsucking lawyers” was a term of art) but I heard the same stories everyone had heard.  They don’t like garlic.  They are destroyed in sunlight.  They can turn into mist or bats.  They suck the life out of you.  They can charm the weak-minded.  I was assured that the latter danger would not apply to me.  I was not so sure of my companions.  In any event, I was last in the line down to the cellar.  Just before Morwen checked the door, I focused the power of my mind to give myself a second chance, should I need one, against the wiles of the vampire.  
Ee expressed his hesitation to face the vampire.  “Me not want kill vampire.”
“You mean you’d let Cordozo steal your kill,” asked Krynyn.  
Morwen added, “you don’t have to be scared, Ee, we have a psion to take care of us!”
Ee did not appear to like those remarks, but did not change his mind, as Ee seldom does.  “Me still not want kill vampire.”  
We then prepared ourselves for our journey to the depths of the cellar.  
“Turn back so you don’t have to face the power of Cordozo,” Ee shouted helpfully at the cellar door.  I idly noted how his intonation of “cellar door” sounded like the nicest phrase in the common language.  

Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eight – Unlocking the door Cordozo-Style

Morwen carefully checked the door for tricks and traps and found none.  She did find it was locked and she was unable to see an easy way to unlock it.  While she dawdled with that, I offered my expertise in that area.  
I looked at the door very carefully, summoned all of my accumulated knowledge about locks and doors, thought carefully about it, and then I just disintegrated the entire door.  
“Ok, it’s open!”
Morwen looked at me with a strange look, thought some thoughts I’d rather not repeat, and then she went forth into the darkened cellar, pausing only to quaff a potion of darkvision to aid her human eyes.  

Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Nine – Charming to the last crack

Morwen cautiously walked down the stairs, around the corner, and out of my sight.  Ee and Krynyn were close behind her.  Then something happened.  Her commentary over the mindlink suddenly shifted from concerns about a vampire to a search of the basement.  Something was not right.  
Ee moved down next, followed by Krynyn.  I cautiously poked my head around the corner, brining a small part of the cellar into my view.  Krynyn was the only one of my companions I could see.  Which was fortunate for him, as I saw a dark form come out of the shadows behind him and attempt to latch its fangs into Krynyn’s neck.  Krynyn quickly spun around and the foul fiend missed his mark.  Objection sustained!
Now that the vampire was in better light, I looked closely at him to see if he was, indeed, one of my former colleagues from the ranks of the barristers.  I did not immediately make his face.  Then again, as I thought about it more fully, how successful a barrister could he have been if he was forced to hide in low-class inn cellars and kidnap the children of a bunch of peasants to make ends meet.  I felt my mood lighten as I realized that this beggar of a vampire could not have been a lawyer.  
My mind divided in half, I sent forth two balls of flame to engulf the foul demon, a larger ball from the stronger mind, and a smaller ball from the lesser mind.  Both balls found their mark and the vampire screamed in otherworldly agony.  Ee and Krynyn quickly dispatched it, turning it into a noxious gas that floated up near the ceiling of the cellar. 
“Wait, a dimensional twister!” I shouted down.  I quickly ran down the stairs to get a clear view of it, cursing myself for not thinking of it earlier.  I could suck the bloodsucker into the vortex and expel him into the waning sunlight of the day above.  Both of my minds attempted to trap the beast in the vortex, but to no avail – he slipped by just as the ground ripped open in a massive tremor, nearly knocking me from my feet.  
The fissure then widened into a deep crack in the ground, noxious fumes rising up as the vampire’s fumes fled downward into the earth.  I thought it would be a good idea to be on the surface, and so to no one’s surprise, I found I was on the surface.  My companions followed me in a less dramatic fashion.  They got outside just in time to see a large display of fire in the distance, two weeks travel to the north, where Cauldron lay.  The past had caught up to the future.  There went my grand plans to short volcano insurance stock.  
The tremors continued for two more hours.  We took the time to gather up the villagers and children and make sure they were in safe place.  After they subsided, we searched the cellar and found the belongings of the vampire – full plate, a steel tower shield, a longsword, a composite longbow, 25 arrows, a potion, and a cloak – everything was magical.  Krynyn took the plate, Ee took the bow and arrows, and we resolved to sell the rest.  
Strangely, we also found five golden bird statues, each of great value, fetching 10,000 pieces of gold a piece.  I took the Falcon for myself.  

Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Ten – Strange beast in our way

We traveled half the remaining two weeks to Cauldron, princess in tow behind me.  I linked with her mind and we traded stories of court.  My court filled with lawyers and judges, her court filled with princes and kings and lots of palace intrigue.  She seemed rather worldly for a twelve year old, but then I suppose that is what one would expect of nobility.  
We came to a bend in the path and saw a large creature in front of us.  It had two large heads, much like elephants, and carried two massive morning stars and a large stock of javelins.  It charged forward straight at us, swinging wildly away at Morwen, who was unfortunate enough to be directly in its path.  
Morwen jumped up and slipped her blade right between its massive ribs, causing it untold pain.  It retaliated by smashing her over and over with its morning stars, fists, and feet, until Morwen was thrown to the ground in a puddle of her own blood.  Ee and Krynyn leapt to her aid, and found themselves equally pummeled.  
Krynyn called upon the power of his god and made himself as large as the beast.  Ee, however, was beaten down hard and so he withdrew to quaff a healing brew.  The beast responded by charging him and running straight over him, ignoring the blow dealt by Ee as he ran forth.  
Meanwhile, I kept my distance, holding the princess on my back and attempting to crush its foul brain with my own.  It seemed to throw off everything I tried.  I finally sent forth rays to disintegrate it, the first one missed, but the second two did not – and finally, with my last ray, it vanished in a puff of dust.  
This single foul beast nearly beat all of us to a pulp.  The roads just simply are not safe to travel anymore.  

Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eleven – Flaming Cauldron – Grateful King

	A further week’s travel found us back inside the smoldering city of Cauldron.  By the time we reached it, it was in a state of organized chaos, which buildings being rebuilt, hospitals overflowing, and legal matters untended.  
	But we had a princess to tend to, so I inquired about the first available teleportation ring back to the Capital of Bellanon, where the King was anxiously awaiting the return of this princess.  Krynyn wanted to stay and help out here.  I offered to take her back myself with Morwen.  We compromised with an agreement to take her back then to seek a way to return quicker than the normal four day round trip wait.  
	The King was ecstatic to have his niece returned.  He offered all of us a reward, either monetary or non-monetary.  I already knew what it was I wanted.  I made my request, and the King said he would think on it.  
	Morwen and Ee took the cash, 10,000 gold coins each.  Krynyn asked for assistance in his own great project – the construction of a temple to his deity in Cauldron – the first such temple to grace its crater.  
	The princess safe, we found an enclave outside the city that quickly teleported us back to Cauldron, figuring our great skills would do the city well.  

	Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Twelve – Cordozo meets his Pro Bono Quota

	Back in Cauldron, I generously volunteered my services, pro bono, to help with the city recorder’s office and a mess of deeds that needed to be searched, organized, and potentially seized by eminent domain as part of the rebuilding effort.  My legal skills proved well suited to the task, and I helped translate some of the legalese into more plain common for the benefit of the locals tasked to the deed situation.  
	Krynyn helped with the wounded and began the foundation of his temple, intending to add a hospital wing to its walls when it was completed.  
	Ee found himself some truly magnificent armor, armor he called Celestial, whatever that meant.  I hoped it did not involve any more angels of questionable repute.  We had already almost caught up with the present from the past.  
	One thing we had not found was Celeste.  We turned our attention to her whereabouts next. 

	Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Thirteen – Strange

	We learned Celeste was last seen heading toward the Lord Mayor’s residence.  We learned that the Lord Mayor was slain by the Noble Five and the Mayoral home was looted by the same.  We learned there was a new Lord Mayor named Jenya, High Priestess of St. Cuthbert.  
	Through my contacts on the street, I learned that Celeste sponsored Yukiko and Poseidon to join the Cusp of the Sunrise.  Inspired, I returned to the traitor Poseidon and asked him if he could link with Celeste – I figured he must be able to and must have had some physical or mental contact with her.  Alas, he could not.  But I could.  Knowing his skill at implanting fake memories, I asked him to transplant to me his memories of his contact with Celeste so then I could attempt to contact her.  He obliged, and I attempted to contact her, but received no reply.  
	While my mind was active, I reached out to Twin Oaks and asked the tavern keeper how things were there.  He said they saved eighty percent of their harvest and were scraping by, but that they were all generally well.  
	My mind thus otherwise at a dead-end, Krynyn asked his god for help.  Instead of strange tales of water, he got a straight answer.  He was told to ask the Brawler, which we understood to mean the deity Cord.  We found his priest to be a strange fellow with a very strange disposition.  He strained his brain and then told us “She hangs in threads, but dominates a noble hall, but just as a mere image of herself.”  
	He then asked Ee if he wanted to do some pounding with him or brawl.  Ee declined, but I did see in his eyes that he would have enjoyed it.  
	A noble hall and threads made us think of the King’s palace and of rich tapestries.  But we first checked to see if any tapestries from the Lord Mayor fit Celeste’s description.  None did.  

	Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Fourteen – Stranger and Stranger

	I reached out my mind to the princess and asked her to examine her own noble halls for a tapestry fitting Celeste’s description.  Wonderfully, she found one, and she also inquired and discovered that it was of relatively recent vintage.  
	We gathered up Celeste’s father and returned to the Capitol so he could see for himself.  He confirmed it was her.  Krynyn broke the enchantment upon the tapestry and freed her.  She told us it was the Lord Mayor (former) who put her into her predicament.  She was most grateful, as was her father, who paid us all a thousand pieces of gold for completing our task.  Thus completed, only one more small piece of business remained.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Fifteen – Cordozo is finally properly recognized

	The King then summoned me back before him with his decision about my request.  He had me kneel down and he pulled forth his massive, jeweled sword of a lineage as royal as his own and then touched it to my shoulders, declaring that I was now Knighted, now to be known as “Sir Cordozo,” the newest member of the nobility.  It was a minor noble title, to be sure, and not one normally inherited, but it was the first step toward what will eventually be my recognition as one of the top ranks of the nobility.  
	Now there were more plans to make!  I had to put together a proper party at the Cusp of the Sunrise to both celebrate and announce my enoblement.  I wonder where one finds a party planner in a city recently shaken by an active volcano?


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## Altalazar (Aug 6, 2006)

Book XI

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Sixteen – Rumors and Landlords

	Bellanon’s streets were full of commerce.  I located no less than five different large shoppes of magic, carrying all sorts of strange and wondrous things.  I found a gem that improves one’s social standing, which I just had to have.  It set me back nine thousand pieces of gold.  I also found some gloves to aid my writing and poise.  What interested me most of all was a store were I could take items of magic I had found in my career as an ‘adventurer’ and they would hold and sell them on consignment, giving me far more gold that most shoppes in the town of Cauldron ever did.  I knew I would need to raise a lot of cash to gain my rightful place as a high noble, so I placed several items I had seldom used for sale there.  
	Strangely, while I walked the streets of Bellanon, rumors of Cauldron were the main topic of street conversation.  I heard that the Noble Five would rebuild the city.  Further inquiry led to the root of the rumor – they had pledged to pay a good portion of the rebuilding costs.  They must have lots of ready cash for that.  I need to improve my own prospects if I’m to make an impression!
	Morwen informed me, via mindlink, that she heard the the Last Laugh was destroyed during the eruption.  
	Ee spoke as well, “me heard rumor new group coming to town to replace Noble Five.  Me think that us.”  I wondered if that could work to our advantage.  

	Our business in the Capitol complete, we returned to the streets of Cauldron by teleportation circle.  Krynyn was there waiting for us, eager for our return. He looked downright distressed.  Could I not read his mind, I could easily have read his face.  All was not well.  
	“My new lands are under draconic assault!” he said.  Apparently the lands the King had given him as his reward, to supply him income to support his temple, were not quite the windfall he had originally thought.  
	“The citizens there are abandoning their farms and leaving the area because of dragons residing there.  They’ve had reports of a blue, black, white, green, and even a red dragon.”  That sounded serious to me.  I remembered that even one dragon, of the black variety, was a tough opponent.  I wondered if we could safely face five (or more)?  And yet five dragons seemed unlikely, especially five different dragons of different species.  Perhaps it was a marauding practitioner of illusion magic.  Or perhaps it was something else entirely.  
	Distracted by Krynyn’s outburst upon seeing us, I did not notice until we were leaving the teleportation entry point that Krynyn was now being followed by a rather large creature he called a rhinoceros.  I asked if it was his new pet, and he said, “no, this is my cohort.”  I decided not to probe deeper.  I really did not want to probe his mind to figure out just what Krynyn wanted with a “cohort” that was a two ton animal with a large horn on its face.

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Seventeen – Paid Teleportation to the middle of nowhere

	Poseidon and the Noble Five were unavailable – they were out of town hunting down some horrible demon.  I figured that explained why Krynyn was our only potential employer.  The usual demon who would hire us while pretending to be good was probably busy fighting the Noble Five right at that moment.  But that meant we had to find someone else to make a teleportation circle for us to travel the nearly 125 miles to Krynyn’s lands, which lay almost exactly halfway between Cauldron and Bellanon, in lands that were seldom traveled by anyone.  
	Poseidon’s assistant Gwygwyn led us to meet a mage at the Tip Tankard, who was apparently the backup when Poseidon was out of town.  Only six souls were in the tavern when we arrived.  I bought three rounds of drinks for everyone and then tipped the bartender double the price.  I made sure everyone knew it was Sir Cordozo they could thank for their libations.  I had to start small, having determined that it would cost me over ten thousand pieces of gold to throw a party just for the nobles at the Cusp of the Sunrise.  And then I had to raise an equal amount to pay for a party for the entire city of Cauldron’s commonfolk.  I’m sure a dragon’s hoard or two would do wonders toward my announcement.  
	Morwen secured a deal for the mage to teleport us, and no sooner had we paid then we were standing in the middle of a dirty farmer’s field in the middle of nowhere.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighteen – Dirty Farms and Cold Caves

	The first farmer we met was quick to regale us with tales of the dragon he saw.  I probed his mind and found that his description was accurate, as far as he remembered.  It was a black dragon.  The next farmer’s mind held images of a blue dragon stealing away his cow.  Clearly, there was something amiss.  
	It did not take us long to find a cave, following the general direction every farmer said they saw the dragon fly off to.  Cautiously, we approached the entrance, and went inside. 
	The air was cold, its walls were covered in ice.  The inside of the cave was dark.  Morwen downed a potion of darkvision and then scouted ahead, reporting back by mindlink all that she saw.  She had little to report.  
	The cave was not terribly large.  It was half filled with a pool of deep, near-freezing water, small chucks of ice floating on its surface.  It was far colder than it should have been and the whole place, according to Krynyn, had an aura of enchantment about it.  
	Morwen said, “It’s cold in there – looks like the lair of a white dragon.”  
	“Did you kill it?” I asked.  
	“Not yet – it is not there.”
	“Let’s say ‘hi’ and get it to come out,” Ee helpfully added.  

	Morwen walked out and asked if I could take her over the water.  I really really really did not want to do that.  It was a horribly stupid, bad, unwise idea.  It was an idea only Morwen could think of.  There was no way I was going to walk out in front, on top of the water no less, into the lair of one or more dragons.  

	Five minutes later, I was out walking on the water, Morwen on my back, wondering just how I got there and briefly searching my mind for any altered memories or mind control.  Before I could come to any conclusions, my reverie was broken by the large white dragon claws that broke the surface of the water and grabbed both myself and Krynyn and started to pull us down into the water.  
	“I’m waiting for you to do something,” Morwen screamed helpfully from my back.  
	“Me too,” shouted Ee from the safety of the cave entrance.
	A few heartbeats later, I was standing outside the entrance of the cave, Morwen still on my back, my mind ahead of itself in getting my body the heck out of the grasp of a dragon’s claws.  Only then did I notice the almost physical presence of the dragon’s aura of fear.  It was not a pleasant sensation.  It reminded me of being in court with a judge who you know has already been bribed more than your client can afford to counter.  

	Safely out of the cave, I turned to Morwen and said, “I told you walking on water was a bad idea.”
	We stood in the entrance to the cave, dripping wet in the cold, kept warm only by the power of my mind that had engulfed my body in a protective aura against the elements.  
	Just as I got to the entrance, the dragon, definitely white in color, reared its head from the water and expelled its noxiously cold breath over all of us.  I tried to protect my companions as best I could, but my power seemed to have no effect.  We quickly exited the cave and headed back toward the farmland.  
	The dragon having touched me, I reached out and touched it with my mind.  I asked it what it wanted.  It told me, “to be left alone.”  I told the dragon that was what the villagers wanted as well. But the dragon denied attacking any villagers and claimed there were no other dragons in the area.  That last part, at least, proved to be true, as I would discover later.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Nineteen – Farmers testify – I have a cow

	Morwen thought it would be good to question as many farmers as possible to determine what was going on, see if there was any pattern to the cow snatchings, and to learn as much as we could about the nature of the dragon or dragons.  
	Just to mess with the dragon’s mind, on occasion I would contact it and warn it of an impending attack (that never came).  
	We learned that a cow was taken about every other week and that dragons began to be spotted six months ago, though cows had disappeared before then without any clue as to how.  
	We eventually ended up at William Robert’s farm.  He offered to let me stay in his bed for a gold piece, so I paid him two.  I paid him thirty gold for a cow he offered to sell me for twenty.  We left the cow outside as bait for a dragon, taking watches through the night.  
	My noble self spent the night in William’s bed while my companions slept outside.  They came and got me for my watch.  To no one’s great surprise, nothing happened during the night.  
	I hired William to lead the cow with us to the next farm as Ee could not get it to budge no matter how hard he pulled on the cow’s rope.  
	William brought the cow to the vicinity of the cave and then returned to his farm at my urging.  I did not think he would stand up well against the dragon.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Twenty – True Sight Sees White

	We camped outside the dragon’s cave.  I longed for a nice, noble bed, but settled for the ground.  It did not take long for the dragon to appear.  Two hours past sunset, a black dragon took to the sky from the cave.  Morwen woke me up just in time to see it before it vanished from view.  I concentrated my mine and my vision was made true – I saw that the dragon was not truly black, but was white at heart.  This wily dragon was changing its color every time it ventured forth just to confuse hapless adventurers.  Fortunately, we were far from hapless.  
	The dragon gone, we ventured more boldly into its lair, hoping to clear it out and set a trap for its return.  Krynyn cast protective magics on Ee and Morwen, keeping the cold out of their bodies, and cast a spell on all of us allowing us to breathe the water.  We stepped beneath the surface and onto a ledge, exploring the inner sanctum of the dragon’s lair.
	It did not take long for us to find trouble.  
	My vision still true, I could make out the watery forms of four elementals of water beneath the surface.  They caught my companions by surprise, but not myself.  I quickly sent four missiles of flame into their forms, hoping that the flames would burn them away.  Unfortunately, not one of them fell. 
	They then moved to pound Ee and Morwen and, most distressingly, me.  Instinctively, my mind grabbed my body and moved me out of the path of its slam, causing one to narrowly miss smashing me into oblivion.  
	Before it could take another swing at me or my companions, I sent four more missiles of fire, and this time they all dissolved.  Even empty, traversing this dragon’s lair would not be easy.  I wondered what lay ahead.  And I fervently wished that the dragon would not now be standing just behind us.


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## Altalazar (Aug 27, 2006)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Twenty-One – Searching the Cold

	As the elementals of water faded from sight, wisps of water melting back into our surroundings, I noticed a macabre sight.  Many bodies floated around us, frozen in chunks of ice, their death-throes chiseled into their faces in unmoving horror.  Suddenly, a shape moved behind me and I nearly fried it with my mind, but it was just “Tiny,” the rhinoceros that, along with “Larch” the gold finch, began following Krynyn for reasons unclear to me and even less clear to him, from what I gleaned from the surface of his mind.  The rhinoceros and the bird were no less strange a sight floating and breathing under the frigid water than they were walking behind Krynyn in the streets of the city.  
	We quickly took stock of our surroundings, and discovered there were three tunnels in various directions heading below us and another tunnel headed straight up.  Morwen suggested we explore the lower tunnels first, making me conclude that the upper tunnel was where our efforts should begin.  She swam up to the surface there (and surface there was) but was unable to determine what lay sixty feet above her there and the walls were too slippery for even Ee, with his sticky slippers, to climb.  We turned our attention downward.  
	I almost started again when a large shape moved behind me in the water, but this time I was used to the movements of “Tiny.”  Unfortunately, this shape was a little bit larger than Krynyn’s erstwhile rhinoceros.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Twenty-Two – Dragon of White Fight and Fright Round Two

	I felt a wave of fear come over me again, like a thick blanket that attempts to smother you.  But this time, it bounced harmlessly off of my iron-banded mind, and then quickly faded.  No dragon would get the best of my mind more than once.  The dragon yet again attempted to take me into its grasp as its only introduction to me.  I looked ahead at all of the heavy armor covering my various companions and wondered how, yet again, I was the front-line against this reptilian beast.  Did this dragon not know that it was a crime to accost a noble?  
	The dragon’s teeth sunk into my flesh, only partly deflected by the armor of my mind.  And yet it faltered, weak at the jaw, and I by sheer strength of my puny body pulled free of its grasp.  With my next thought, I was far away from its talons, floating beyond a rocky escarpment under the water, my well-armored companions now between me and the beast.  I grabbed a potion off of my potion belt and drank it quick, feeling my wounds mend.  
	I watched with amazement as my companions all charged the beast and faced it in single combat.  What amazed me most was that the most heavily protected, toughest of my companions, the ever-simple Ee, was the only one NOT to engage the beast, instead standing back and firing small flaming arrows that then bounced harmlessly off the dragon’s thick hide, even though they lost momentum under the water.  
	“You are the fighting one, Ee!  Why don’t you engage?” my companions all shouted in our minklink.  
	“But arrows have fire!” Ee shouted back in dismay.  “Fire hurt bad dragon!”  “Me shoot fire!”  
	Fortunately for all concerned, Ee soon abandoned his bow and swung his axe hard and true as Morwen’s blood began to cloud the water a rather deep crimson.  Even the rhinoceros looked better than she as the fighting wore on.  
	I took a moment to concentrate, splitting my mind into two halves, one strong, the other weak, but both ready to take on a dragon.  
	As I gathered my mind for attack, I was momentarily startled by the appearance of three crocodiles of a size I’d never before imagined.  They each were as big as the dragon, and they surrounded her on all sides.  The dragon’s blood had, by now, started to create a cloud of its own, especially after both halves of my mind sent large globes of fire to roast its hide.  The dragon seemed to contemplate its fate for a moment, and then in the next moment, it was gone, leaving nothing but a whirlpool of displaced water mixed with blood in its wake.  
	I took a moment to focus my mind outward, searching, until it linked, yet again, with the dragon.  
	“Panzy!” I shouted at her mind.  “Loser!”  “Are you sure you ought not change your color to yellow the next time you leave your cave?”  “That will teach you to mess with a lawyer!”  
	The dragon offered no reply, but I felt more satisfaction from the damage my words had wrought than from any of the fire I had sent.  
	My companions took stock and healed as well.  Morwen congratulated Krynyn on the summoning of the crocodiles.  Krynyn looked puzzled and told her, “I did not summon them.  I don’t know where they came from.”  Several moments later, they vanished, leaving us in wonder.  
	“Time to look up, perhaps the dragon’s lair is there,” I said, and I swam toward the upper passage.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Twenty-Three – Melting Ice Falling Free For Reasons Well Known

	I looked up and could not see much beyond the ice.  My vision was still true, giving my eyes good purchase in the dark, but all I could see was large stalagtites of ice above.  With a thought, I cleared them from the room, great balls of fire melting them all.  Unfortunately, they all came straight down onto me.  Bruised and battered, and quite mad, I transported myself to the top of the cave with a thought and took a good, long look as I then fell sixty feet back toward the water, my mind only slightly softening the hard landing in the ice-choked water.  
	“There’s another tunnel to a cave up there,” I informed my companions, just before I informed Krynyn, “Uh, I could use some healing…”

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Twenty-Four – Charging a Wall Unseen to Hard Trouble Beyond

	Healed again, we turned our attention to the lower passage, swimming until we came to a narrow pass.  Just beyond, we saw the dragon, floating and watching.  Morwen charged full speed, slamming face-first into an invisible barrier of force.  Ee slammed into it behind her.  The dragon then vanished again.  
	I swam up to the barrier and studied it for a moment before pointing my finger at it and seeing it disappear with an audible “pop” heard through the murky water.  
	Krynyn headed through and looked about, finding many weapons frozen into the cavern’s walls.  He also found five recently emptied potion bottles, no doubt emptied by our dragon friend.  
	“Hey, the dragon is using up our treasure!” someone shouted with a thought.  
	I began mental dictation of a summons and complaint to be filed against the estate of the dragon, payable by the heirs, to make up for whatever treasure the dragon had used from its horde before we have slain it to claim it as rightfully ours.  
	As I finished the final paragraph, a large statue of stone swam out of the wall above Krynyn and began slamming him with its fists.  Krynyn attacked back with his sword, but the blows glanced harmlessly off of its stony body.  I put forth a ray to disintegrate it, striking it dead center, to no effect.  Curious at what foul trickery could make even the inanimate resist, I sent a small globe of fire at its body to see if it also would be equally ineffective.  It was.  I then moved back and watched my companions slowly slice it to pieces using weapons made of that hard metal known as adamantine.  I wondered where one could find the mental equivalent.  
	Beyond its fragmented corpse, we found three weapons of masterwork quality worth salvaging, along with two more passages, one up and one down.  Again, I opted up, and this time, Morwen was able to fully scout it – it was full of water.  
	I heard in her mind her struggle to locate and then disarm a trap made of powerful magic.  It took her some time, but she was finally successful.  She found in the room strange glyphs on the wall praising the dragon.  And a small box, its lid open, its interior empty.  
	The magical among us determined that the box created the unnatural cold of the cavern.  Once it was closed, the magic that permeated the walls vanished, though the cold lingered still.  My mind gurgled with possibilities.  Oh, the nuisance complaints one could file against the use of such a device from a neighbor.  But then there could be viable commercial applications as well.  Most immediately, I assumed it would annoy the dragon no end if we eliminated it.  I pointed a finger, but then visions of expensive parties with lots of nobles in attendance stayed my hand, and I simply watched as Morwen put the box into her handy sack.  Instead, I sent a taunt through my mind to the dragon about what we’d done to its precious box.  Let her sit and stew.  
	Moments later, she pulled it back out, suddenly realizing the box itself had something written on its exterior.  Translated, it showed us a map of the cave system we were in, including a hidden cave, unconnected to the rest, about 100 feet through solid rock from our current position.  It became obvious this must be where the dragon kept its horde, and its hide.   
	We took stock of our selves.  Much magic and mental energy had been expended by us all, but the dragon was also, I’m sure, fatigued from our three encounters.  Somewhere, I know I heard the saying that fortune favors the bold.  Taking a few moments to cast enhancements of magic upon ourselves, enhancements of the mind upon myself, and several potions down my throat (plus one tossed to Morwen through the water), I joined hands with my companions (all but the rhino) and with a thought, sent us over 100 feet from our location toward the belly of the beast.  I hoped we found a cave and not solid rock…


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## Altalazar (Sep 4, 2006)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Twenty-Five – White Dragon Fight – Round Three, Three Rounds

	Much to my relief, there was solid ground beneath my feet and an absence of solid ground directly above them.  We found ourselves in a large, perfectly round dome of hollowed-out rock.  It was frigid, as expected, and the only water was found in the ice coating the walls.  Sitting in the middle of the cavern, on a pile of coins and trinkets, was our new friend, the white dragon.  She was surrounded by six armored figures, all unmoving.  
	Silently, I hoped this third round of our match up with her would last three rounds, to use a boxing term.  My mind was all but spent from our previous encounters, and after three solid assaults against it, I doubted I’d have much left.  To my companions, I said, “she won’t last three volleys against the likes of us!”  without adding the additional comment that, if she did, we were in deep trouble.  
	My reflexes true, I moved right after Morwen, who charged toward the beast full speed before loosing a volley of arrows.  All of the arrows bounced harmlessly off of the dragon’s thick scales.  But the dragon’s hide did nothing to protect it from the two large balls of fire I send sailing her way.  She roared in agony and hatred, and then engulfed me in a large, solid cloud of frozen fog, obscuring my vision.  I slipped on the ice and fell prone, blinded by the thick soup despite my vision-true.  
	In the mists, I dimly heard the sounds of Kyrnyn voicing a spell from his god, and then I heard the familiar report of Ee’s bow followed immediately by his frustration at the thickness of the dragon’s hide.  It did not look good for our first volley.  
	For her second volley, Morewn let loose more arrows, all harmlessly shed by the dragon’s scales.  Then with my next thought, I was outside the fog and standing by the far wall of the cave, quickly locating the dragon in her new perch, standing on the ceiling of the cave, some 100 feet high.  As soon as I caught sight of her, I sent another ball of flame into her frosty scales, causing another roar of pain from her jagged-toothed mouth.  
	The dragon, having quickly determined that I was the only immediate threat, climbed down from its perch to a spot only 50 feet from me and then let loose with its frosty breath, engulfing me completely.  Alas, poor stupid dragon, she did not realize that her breath was all but harmless against my energy adaption coupled with the divine elemental resistance granted by Kyrnyn.  
	In the corner of my eye, I saw said Kyrnyn turn himself to mist and then slowly ooze his way toward the roof of the cavern.  Ee sent another volley of arrows at the beast, all of them helplessly and hopelessly breaking on the dragon’s thick scales.  
	I searched the deep recesses of my mind and realized I had only one strong volley left, my third and last, against the beast.  I sent yet another ball of flame at its hide, and with the second half of my mind, the lesser half, I tried to lock its brain, to no avail.  Thus spent, I had barely enough mental strength to get us out of this frosty subterranean tomb.  I hoped it would matter.  
	The dragon jumped down from the ceiling and almost right on top of me.  Fortunately, the potions I’d consumed saved me from her grasp.  For I was surrounded by three identical images, all blurred.  Her bite found one, and it vanished, leaving me unharmed.  I wondered how long I could last, standing alone against a dragon.  I thought of the tales I could tell if I were to survive.  The nobility ought to be impressed!  
	Kyrnyn’s mist moved back toward the beast as Ee dropped his bow, grabbed Big Bertha, his Axe, and charged at the dragon’s back.  With one mighty blow against the dragon’s already charred flesh, the dragon’s spine split open and she fell to the icy floor, her scaly head landing inches from my feet.  With her last, raspy breath, she proclaimed, “May the curse of Charasta be on you all…” 
	Cursed, however, was furthest from what I felt.  I felt blessed, in that three volleys was all we had, and three volleys was all it took to fell the beast.  As it turned out, I had plenty of opportunity to feel cursed two night’s hence.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Twenty-Six – Skinning the dragon and her horde

	We were much the worse for wear.  Though I had not a scratch on my body, my mind needed rest and the cold cave did not seem very inviting.  It was made worse when a large beast burst through the wall of the cave soon after, sending a torrent of water flooding in from the other cave.  
	“Ah, there you are Tiny,” Kyrnyn said as one of his strange beasts arrived in yet another form, Rhino in tow.  
	Morwen dealt with the tricky dragon’s trapped chest and we all gathered up the spoils of our victory.  As it would later turn out, the dragon’s means of egress was facilitated by bracers that allowed it to do what I did with but a thought – traveling through dimensions to locations unseen, though within a short distance.  
	Morwen found a key and suggested we search the hidden cave I found earlier.  We all joined hands and, with a thought, we were there.  As she began hear search, I lay down and slumbered, resting and rejuvenating my mind in the small cave above.  
	When I awoke, my mind felt not only refreshed, but renewed, and I realized, stronger than before.  As I restored the protections of my mind for the long day, I felt my mind close in on itself like an iron fortress, impregnable and unbreachable in a way I had never felt before.  
	Morwen showed me a giant white diamond she had discovered in her search.  It was the most beautiful gemstone I had ever seen.  
	My mind restored, I transported all of us out, taking along the corpse of the dragon for good measure.  Ee spent the whole next day skinning the dragon and making his trophy.  For once, Ee did not complain about my stealing his kills.  From a purely technical, legal standpoint, in fact, he stole my kill, but I did not point this out to him.  I know when to keep my mouth shut.  I’ve seen too many lawyers who do not learn this lesson, too many who, when the judge all but tells them that they’ve won their case and need say no more, if anything at all, then begin to speak and change the judge’s mind.  Let Ee have his glory.  As it turned out, it was fortunate that he had it, or else he may have taken the incident with the mouse that next night rather harshly.  
	All told, minus expenses, we gained three thousand pieces of gold each from the dragon’s horde.  Without objection, I took the dragon’s box of cold for myself.  I imagined it would be great help at chilling large quantities of spirits for a party.  That and so much more.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Twenty-Seven – On the road to Cauldron – Farmers Curse

	We stayed the next night in a farmer’s home, having paid one gold each for the privilege.  I, of course, paid two and stayed in his master suite, a room fit for a noble, or at least, nobler than sleeping on the floor of his common room.  Thus comfortably in bed, I slept and dreamt of my impending celebrations.  
	My slumber was interrupted with the sounds of a crash and then the sickening sound of flesh rended free from multiple blades.  It sounded like a small army of attackers had come into the common room and attacked my companions.  Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I willed myself to the far corner of the common room from my mattress and then beheld a terrible sight.  A large beast, scaly and black like a dragon, but shaped like a humanoid, was sending small webs against my companions.  And next to him, a large skeletal creature was ripping them to shreds, a blade in each hand, moving so fast I could barely see them.  This foul creature must have swung six blows in the space of a heartbeat.  Poor Tiny the Rhino was a slab of carved meat on the floor, and Kyrnyn fared no better, the life gone from his body as well.  
	Unsure of what might stop such foul beasts, I sent the tendrils of my mind out to them both and attempted to take over their wills and turn them against each other.  I felt strong resistance from the beast with the swords, but the black-scaled one’s mind folded like a wet parchment.  The bladed beast was in for a surprise.  
	Then, in the midst of this mess, a small rodent ran past my feet to Kyrnyn’s body and I saw breath within him stir once again.  Truly a miracle, I thought, though I found out later, it was truly a gnome.  
	Ee and Morwen stood against the bladed beast, barely surviving its blinding slashes.  And then, the turning point.  The black scaled beast finally moved, sending its webs against its former ally, sticking him to the wall.  Thus enraged, they turned on each other, sparing us all until I could finally lock the brain of the bladed beast, making him helpless as a babe.  Then the rodent ran from beneath my feet yet again and dispatched him, right from beneath Ee’s own coup de grace.  Truly a magnificent mouse!  
	The mouse transformed before our eyes to a diminutive gnome, who introduced himself as Larch, a Druid of Hieroneous, companion to Kyrnyn.  I’m going to have to pay more attention to the minds of rodents from this day forward.  
	Fortunately, no further curses came our way for the remainder of the two week journey back home.  We transported the carcass with us, magically preserved, in a wagon I purchased.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Twenty-Eight – Back home, time to rebuild, time to restock, time to party!

	I was quite happy to find that the items of power I’d left to be sold on commission had sold during the weeks of our absence.  That, combined with my other coins and the take from the dragon left me with the twenty thousand gold I needed to finance my enoblement party.  Knowing the sensibilities of certain nobles, I had the noble celebration first, at the Cusp of the Sunrise.  
	My coin bought a pavilion that was set up behind the Cusp where bands and bards sang noble songs as the well-to-do dined on food of the finest quality.  My companions came as my guests and we all saw the noble five (minus one, who then showed up to the commoner’s celebration).  Things went rather well.  I even saw the mayor of Cauldron there, along with four interesting bodyguards of far east persuasion whose minds were surprisingly disciplined.  
	From the random thoughts of the guests, I discovered, much as I suspected, that the shallow, uppity nobles enjoyed the party best, while the more worldly and practical among them felt almost disdainful at such a celebration when the city was in crises.  But I anticipated this, which is why I planned the commoner party.  I knew their minds would be changed when they saw how it uplifted the spirits of the people in this dark time.  
	And a wonderful time was had by all.  My new acquisition, my box of cold, was a tremendous hit, providing cold drinks for all, and providing the fuel for something never before seen in the crater of Cauldron – snowball fights between the children, snowmen on the banks of the river, and sculptures of ice.  
	The minds of the commoners collectively felt uplifted and restored and the morale of Cauldron reached a high it had not seen since long before the eruption.  Though it did not surprise me, I was disappointed to find that, despite my best efforts, almost half of the town had no idea what the party was even about, but my status within the town was cemented and now my reputation for generosity as a noble was assured.  
	Now I just needed to find more coin to build myself a noble residence.  An adventurer’s life always seems to involve chasing more coin.  And now I needed to work toward securing my next noble title.


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## Altalazar (Sep 24, 2006)

Book XII

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Twenty-Nine – Dragonslayers, Ugh.  

	Two months passed, and much was done constructing Kyrnyn’s temple, as well as my own quarters attached to the same.  I bought and sold items of magical power, the better to enhance my intellect and protect my body from the claws of ravenous beasts.  I spent many nights plying the lower ranks of the nobility with coin and drink, learning their secrets more from what they did not say, as I pried their thoughts.  Unsurprisingly, most of the petty nobles wore their titles more as “petty” than “noble,” more concerned with preening and palace intrigue than they were with real power, political or economic.  The sheep are ripe for fleecing.  
	One evening, much like the rest, my companions and I were enjoying some fine food and drink when a lad of tender years ran up to us.  Or rather, he ran right past us, saw us as he ran by, then almost ran right into the kitchen, knocking down several serving wenches before he stopped his forward momentum, turned around, and came back to us.  He read a prepared note from Tuvstarr, one of the noble five, the loremaster.  Amidst its flowery prose and irrelevant asides, it summoned us to her library to parlay about a service.  It also exhorted us to pick a name for our band.  I heard Ee, both say it and think it at the same time, “Dragonslayers!”  Before I could correct him, the lad was off, though I did impart the high-speak version of the name, “Dracos Mortis.”  Somehow I did not think that would stick.  
	On the whole, it is better to be named than not, but I rather thought it would have been good for this naming ceremony be cut short by an arrow in Ee’s throat as he tried to say it.  Ee would have appreciated that.  
	At least the name was accurate, if somewhat narrowly focused.  We had killed two dragons.  One Black, one White.  From my limited knowledge of dragonlore, we need only kill a Green, Blue, and Red to complete the five chromatic dragons of evil.  I am quite content to let that take a long time.  
	We arrived at Tuvstarr’s home within minutes, meeting many more of her young charges.  Surprisingly, they let not only Kyrnyn’s owl (druid) inside, but his newly minted dire lion companion as well.  She must like cats.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Thirty – A King’s Errand

	Tuvstarr was much as I remembered her: very studious, and very hard to keep on track as she found a thousand things to say about every small tangent of conversation.  I noted that her mind was sealed off from scrutiny, obviously a mindblanking effect, I suspected by magic, though very similar to the protections I afforded my own mind.  I was almost grateful for that, as I suspected her mind was probably going off in even more tangents than her unbridled mouth.  	Looking closely at her mouth, and at her fingers, I noted something else.  She was definitely a tiefling, as my stolen knowledge of things planar informed me.  Well, at least we know upfront we’re being hired by a demon.  
	Once the tangents dissolved, Tuvstarr informed us that there were villagers 800 miles to the west who were disappearing.  Not just villagers.  Whole villages of villagers.  She was clearly upset by this and wanted to take care of it herself, but the King had summoned the Noble Five on a task of his own, and had, in fact, recommended us to her to take care of her villager issues in her place.  
	Thus satisfied, she was kind enough to teleport us all to the location before departing.  Because I knew I could not contact her directly due to her mind protection, I instead touched the hands of her young charges, figuring a message to any one of them would quickly find its way to her, one way or another.  Assuming she survived the King’s other task.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Thirty-One – Village Depopulated, Animals Rule

	The first village we arrived in was empty of all people, clear signs of violent struggle everywhere.  The stains of blood were far less than one would expect from a massacre.  The tracks in the ground suggested they were dragged away in chains and ropes, for what purpose, we knew not.  Only the farm animals remained, standing mute, eating the grasses growing in the untended streets, eating the food untended in the open and empty houses.  I idly wondered if this was the fate that waited for us all, if humans and humanoids wiped each other off the face of the world in a magical apocalypse, leaving the animals to rule.  I wondered what sort of legal system they would create.  I wondered which animals would make the best lawyers.  Of that, I was not sure, but upon seeing the satisfaction of one rather large, fat cow sitting in the remains of a fancy chair, I had an inkling of who would make the best judges.  
	We left the village and followed the tracks, finally finding an abbey on a hill, surrounded by a large wall with a demolished gate.  We stopped there to cautiously evaluate our approach.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Thirty-Two – Stones talk, Demons stalk 

	Kyrnyn’s owl stood on the paving stones just outside of the smashed gate doors in the twelve foot high wall.  He began a conversation with one of those stones, trying to ascertain who walked past, and when.  To put it frankly, the paving stone was dumb as a rock and was not much help.  In the meanwhile, as our eyes focused on the stones, ten pairs of eyes stalked us, suddenly leaping through the shattered gate from beyond the wall.  
	Howlers.  Demon hounds with projectile spines, ten in all, nearly surrounded us at once.  I again thanked our prior demon employer for all the knowledge of such things I had taken from his mind.  It pays to know thine enemy.  
	It also pays to know one’s friends.  Ee did something I’d never seen him do before: he sailed sixty feet through the air, as effortlessly as walking, and flew over the heads of the demons to the one by the gate, hacking it with Bertha, his axe and best friend.  What was even more strange to watch was the way time almost seemed to slow down as he did it, though I think it was more my shock than his flight that slowed down the clock in my mind.  
	Just as it seemed dire, as they surrounded us, their large demon hides almost blocking out the sun from our view, I heard Kyrnyn behind me say a word so loudly and so powerfully, it made the ground shake.  I could not understand what the word was, and soon I heard nothing at all as it deafened me.  At the same time, almost all of the demons shimmered and vanished, banished back to their home planes, if I read Kyrnyn’s mind correctly.  The remaining demons stood unmoving, clearly stunned into submission by Kyrnyn’s holy word.  I dropped my own plans to protect myself with my mind and instead drew out my silver dagger, long left unused since I used it to solve the puzzle in the sewers so many moons ago.  I then proceeded to dig into the demonflesh with my hands, trying to cut toward its demon heart.  It took some time, even with Ee’s help, but I finally slayed a demon using my own two hands and a knife.  It was strangely satisfying.  I had never before killed anything using my own hands.  It had always been by my mind alone.  The demon blood smelled sweet and pungent at the same time as it dripped from my silver dagger.  I quickly washed it with a damp rag and placed it back into its jeweled sheath.  I expect it will be some time before I kill with it again.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Thirty-Three – Two deaths, one orc

	We entered the grounds before the abbey, finding a small structure to our right and another to our left.  We went right first, and entered the two story building that reeked of demons and brimstone.  Kyrnyn said it appeared to have been blasted by a fireball from some arcane user of magic.  
	Inside, there was much debris and there was a spiral staircase in the corner leading to the second story.  Morwen cautiously went up the stairs.  I heard some shuffling of feet, then I saw Morwen’s body drop down the stairs onto the floor below, lifeless.  Kyrnyn came to her first, but realized he was unable to revive her, that divine gift not having been prepared for the day, and he quickly ran up the stairs to face whatever foul demon awaited us there.  
	I ran toward her body, and quickly placed my hand on her forehead.  Before I knew what I was doing, I felt my own life-essence drain out of me, experiences long remembered slipped from my mind, and I felt her stir beneath my fingertips.  A vision of other places, other planes, swam before my eyes before slamming into my mind and everything went black.  When I opened my eyes, Morwen was standing alive before me, looking rather surprised.  Unfortunately, Kyrnyn was now laying at the base of the stairs, as dead as Morwen had been the moment before.  
	Before I could react, the owl, now a bat, had flown to his side and touched his still-warm corpse.  The air above the body seemed to shimmer, then another body formed.  A hairy, muscular body floated there in the air before settling to the ground beside Kyrnyn.  It was an orc.  Soon, an orcish voice asked “what happened.”  But looking at that orc’s mind, it was Kyrnyn’s.  He was alive, though now in a body not his own.  Unfortunately, he was also naked, his body still wearing all of his prior belongings, including his clothes and armor.  He was also angry, but I could not discern if it was from dying or from being an orc.  A small part of his mind concluded it was far better than being an Ettin, which was his curse for the many years that preceeded his joining our band.  (I can still not quite call us “Dragonslayers” – I will see if that name truly sticks).  
	Kyrnyn quickly rushed upstairs, leaving behind his body and his belongings, raging almost as surely as the barbarian as Ee ran up as well.  I felt it was unwise to run up those stairs, and instead appeared in a corner of the room above, my thought made real.  The first thing I saw was the bat turned polar bear charge some strange bald beast hiding behind an old crate.  I also saw Morwen, now blindfolded, walking toward the beast, her rapier out like a cane for the blind.  Unsure of what sort of beast it was, and knowing it was deadly, I pointed my finger at the beast and sent out a ray just as the polar bear grappled it.  For a split second, I worried I had struck the polar bear and not the beast, but my aim was true and the beast vanished in a puff of dust.  
	It was at that point that Morwen took her blindfold off and discovered the naked orc among us.  We all silently agreed we would never speak of this again.  In the fireplace there, we found a box with several potions, a magical dagger, and a magical javelin.  There was also a wand that Kyrnyn said would aid in our healing.  
	Kyrnyn gathered his belongings from his former body and, we left to examine the other structure.  There, we found nothing but smashed crates and barrels, with one exception.  A cask of fine wine worth between 50 and 500 pieces of gold remained intact.  
	The grounds thus scoured, we turned toward the path and looked at the abbey above.  I silently hoped we would not find as much death there as we had on its unhallowed grounds.


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## Altalazar (Sep 30, 2006)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Thirty-Four – Seeing the Forest for the Dracolisks

	We continued up the path toward the abbey, moving cautiously, spreading out on the old cobblestone road.  The land around it was very rough and untended, making us wary of ambush.  As we got closer, we saw the old white stone steps that led up to the entrance of the abbey.  Just before it there were trees from a long-untended forest.  Ee suddenly got the look in his eye that told me he saw something he could kill.  
	“Me kill!” Ee shouted and then ran toward the trees to our right.  Morwen followed him, as did Kyrnyn and his owl.  I found myself sitting in the middle of the road, our left flank exposed, when I heard from the trees to the left a low growling.  
	“Perfect,” I thought to myself.  “Leave the lawyer alone for melee.  I could really use a champion of my own right now to protect me while my companions run off.”  Then a stabbing pain shot through my mind, and I saw bright flashes of light filling my vision.  I worried what strange attack this beast was making on me, but the beast was not yet there.  I looked around in confusion.  Then the beast really was upon me, and I dropped and rolled, its long stream of acid breath narrowly missing me.  I turned around from my roll and looked up at the beast in the sky, a black beast that reminded me of the black dragon we had fought, and yet was slightly different.  From the mind of the owl came the word “Dracolisk,” a cross between a dragon and a basilisk.  The beast seemed to be surrounded by a halo of white light as it flew over me, and then I blinked and the halo of light took the form of a female warrior, a Valkyrie of good, a champion of light, flying in the air right next to the dracolisk.  
	“Where’d she come from?” I wondered aloud as she swung her mighty, shining greatsword again and again against the hide of the foul beast, matching its flight with her own.  
	I watched, open mouthed, as they fought, taking the time only to strengthen the shield protecting myself as the battle ensued in the sky above me until finally, the beast above fell to the earth below.  
	Meanwhile, to my right, my companions were slowly killing the other, similar beast, wearing her down as she slowly retreated.  My champion then landed before me, knelt and said to me with her mind, “My name is Valaria, and I am here to serve you in the fight against evil in all its forms.”  
	Her beauty was overwhelming, as was her strength.  I gazed upon her a moment and said, “go up toward that abbey on the hill, to its entrance.  Tell me of any evil intent you feel as you walk and especially as you stand before its massive doors.”  
	“It shall be done,” she said with a thought and she began walking the path toward the abbey.  It almost seemed as if her feet never quite touched the ground.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Thirty-Five – The path to the abbey ends with danger

	My companions slayed the other beast, and were beginning to search for its spoils as my Champion Valaria ascended the cobbled stone stairs to the abbey.  She reported back to me with her mind that there was nothing she could sense, right up until she reached the doors themselves.  Then she said, “I sense something, very faint.  It is almost as if…”
	Then the doors burst open and a mighty beast burst forth, almost knocking Valaria from her feet.  The beast had two heads and was quite large, seemingly covered in shiny metallic plates that glistened in the sunlight.  Valaria bravely engaged it with her mighty greatsword, while sending me another warning.  “There is another inside.”  
	True to her word, another beast stepped forth, a large, two headed humanoid twisted into a fiendish grimace of hatred.  He also engaged Varalria, who bravely stood against them both.  
	By now, my companions had realized that there was another fight, and put their searches on hold to charge into the fray.  I slowly walked toward the abbey as well, watching Valaria fight with undisguised amazement and pride.  
	Kyrnyn was the first to reach her, charging up the steps, the ground shaking with every move as Kyrnyn had once again taken on the might of his god, making him as tall as the ettin.  Kyrnyn reached the ettin’s pet and slashed it with a mighty blow, sending its entrails flying down the steps.  The beast roared a roar of agony, and then let loose its foul breath, enveloping Kyrnyn and Valaria in its fetid embrace.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Thirty-Six – Kyrnyn makes a handsome statue

	When the air cleared, Kyrnyn was standing still, his tone now brown and stony, his arms still raised in the triumphal pose from his mighty blow against the beast.  He had been petrified, solid as a rock.  Worried, I tried to see if Valaria had met a similar fate, but she seemed completely unfazed.  Her voice warmed my mind, “fear not, my master, such things cannot affect me.”  
	My reverie was broken as arrows from Ee whizzed past my head, finding purchase in the beast’s thick hide, sending it sprawling to the cobbled path.  It was then I noticed Morwen standing behind it, the beasts foul ichor dripping from her rapier.  
	Morwen and Valaria then chased down the ettin as he slowly tried to make his escape, finally cutting him down.  I could not take my eyes off the statue of Kyrnyn as I realized that the only one of us capable of restoring him was Kyrnyn himself.  I quickly reached out my mind to one of Tuvstarr’s apprentices, and informed her of our plight.  
	I asked her to either find Tuvstarr or someone who could teleport to our location and restore our petrified companion, and that we had good coin if that was needed.  Her apprentice said she knew exactly who to get.
	Ee pointed his rod of wonder at the statue of Kyrnyn again and again, hoping for a beneficial result.  Instead it rained, it made the air shimmer with color, and finally, it changed Ee’s entire form a rather startling bright green, but Kyrnyn remained what he was, a giant statue of an orc.  
	Meanwhile, the ettin gone, I suddenly saw appear from nothing a large, beautiful, white unicorn.  It bowed down before the owl, then walked up the steps, a scroll clenched in its teeth.  It murmured white words of magic and the scroll crumbled to dust.  Tendrils of magic wrapped themselves around the statue, melting into it and starting to turn Kyrnyns stone back to flesh, but then the tendrils suddenly broke and fell away like water splashing out of a broken pot.  
	At that moment, the air shimmered and Tuvstarr appeared.
	“Oh, I see what you need,” she said, and she began to recite words of arcane power.  This time, the tendrils of magic found purchase in Kyrnyn’s stony form, and he became himself, or rather, he became himself, turned into an orc, made twelve feet tall.  
	Ee asked Tuvstarr, “you fix me too?”  She nodded and spoke again, magic enveloping Ee, but he stayed stubbornly green.  “I’m sorry Ee,” she said.  
	“That ok,” Ee replied, “Me can hide in grass good!”  
	I suggested to Tuvstarr that she could undertake further research about this, and she readily agreed, excited.  I also offered her a copy of my journal with the promise from her that she would return it once she made her own copy.  Now she would know all about our travels and exploits.  That could be helpful some day.  She may see things in the weave of intrigues we call our lives that we do not.  She then vanished in a shimmer of light.  
	“I must depart now too, master,” Valaria said as well, and she too vanished in a shimmer of light.  As she faded away, her voice in my mind lingered, “call on me when you have need of me, I will always be there…”  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Thirty-Seven – Smelly, rotten, tall, golden throne

	Thus restored, we peered through the large open doors to the abbey.  Inside was a large room with a large golden throne.  It stank like rotten meat and statues that I suspected were something more flanked us in alcoves by the entry.  Morwen searched the room and found a hidden compartment on the east wall that contained a small pearl on a golden chain.  Doors faced us to the right and left.  I wondered what foul beasts would spring forth when we approached either of them.  
	“After you, Ee,”


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## Altalazar (Oct 8, 2006)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Thirty-Eight – Door on the Left, Columns on the Right, Screams down the Middle

	Ee went through the door before me, though it was after Morwen.  Morwen took a few cautious steps forward, listening intently.  I sensed that she heard something terribly disturbing down that hall ahead of us.  The hall quickly ended in a room with multiple doors that had another hall leading in the opposite direction, taking our path in a U-shape around a thick stone interior wall.  The unnatural screams of agony continued from down that hall.  Lining that hall were six female statutes, twice as tall as ordinary women that seemed to hold up the walls from alcoves.  The structure apparently did not need them, however, as was evidenced by their stepping forward, out of their alcoves, to attack us.  
	Moving quickly, Larch, still in bat form, said faint syllables of druidic magic and blended the stone walls over the alcoves of three of the strange statuesque women of stone, sealing them in.  The remaining three proceeded to bash on Ee and Morwen with wild, mindless fury.  
	From my experience with the earlier stone statute in the cave of the dragon, I expected that nothing I did could directly affect it.  My mind called out for help from beyond the outer planes, and Valaria again loyally answered my call.  She appeared amidst all three of the stone statues and attacked them with a fury of her own.  
	Ee suddenly screamed, “Bertha!” as he hit one of them with his great axe, his love, and watched her shatter into a hundred tiny pieces upon the statue’s hard, stony skin.  The cry of agony from Ee seemed to echo for a time in both Ee’s and my own head.  Knowing my mind would be useless in this fight, I left Valaria to fight them while I sent the tendrils of my mind out back toward Cauldron. 
	Somewhere in Cauldron, one of Tuvstarr’s apprentices responded, and I told her “I want to buy an axe…” and so things were set in motion… 
	Meanwhile, the pummeling continued.  A barrier of blades sprung up around them, but it had little effect.  Valaria’s own great sword shattered upon them, also to little effect.  Finally, she let loose with a rage all her own and in one strong, mighty blow of her fist augmented by her focused mind, she shattered one of the statues into a thousand small chips of stone.  
	One of the statues picked Larch’s bat form from the air and began to squeeze him in her stony fist.  Just as he was about to be crushed to a pulp, the bat suddenly grew to a form eight times the size of the large statues, into a bulette, which then proceeded to gore Larch’s former captor.  Valaria chose that moment to encase that statue in a sheath of ectoplasm, immobilizing it.  The last one, surrounded, was then finally beat down by my companions, followed by the ectoplasmically cocooned one.  Just as we were about to catch our breath, a demon appeared.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Thirty-Nine – Big Beefy Demon

	The demon seemed to appear out of nowhere, which would have been purely an illusion of its invisibility had it not, in fact, appeared out of nowhere.  My true seeing eyes saw him there and not there, but did not see him arrive.  Slippery.  He looked like he had the head of a cow and he was covered in scorpions, which he proceeded to exhale all over Morwen, though she deftly jumped out of their way.  
	Valaria charged him, as did Ee, and soon the demon was leaking foul ichor that resembled poisoned blood.  The demon, coward that it was, then vanished.  I put plans for our demon steak barbeque on hold.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Forty – Hall of Horrors 

	The hall thus cleared, we continued forward, Morwen and Valaria leading the way.  Without even seeing it myself, I felt the horror of what they saw ahead from both of their minds.  Then I felt Morwen’s mind  snap and then go slack and she ran back, past all of us, and down to the far room in the corner, where she cowered, her mind almost blank with terror.  I reached out the soft tendrils of my mind to hers and slowly pried away the strands of horror encasing her mind, restoring her balance.  She then quickly returned to the front of the hall, seemingly unaware of what had just transpired.  So much the better.  
	At that moment, Valaria again bowed to me and vanished, the fragments of her great sword vanishing off the floor as well.  I would be calling her back soon.  
	We all then moved forward to see what she had seen.  Five men, one woman, all held fast in alcoves by three chains running through the flesh of each of them, writhing beneath their skin, creating an agony unimagined.  They all seemed on the brink of death, barely conscious, always screaming and moaning.  Strangely, it had no effect at all upon me when I saw it, nor upon Ee.  I surmised it was because their moans of agony were nothing compared to Ee’s scream when he saw his beloved Bertha shattered into oblivion.  
	Larch and Kyrnyn were affected, however, throwing up their trail rations in an almost never-ending stream of vomit.  Kyrnyn was unable to do much but wretch, but he tried to help out the poor victims anyway.  Mostly he just got the innards of his stomach on their bare, scabbed feet, but perhaps that moisture was a blessing for their sufferings.  
	As I watched this, in my mind I heard from Tuvstarr’s apprentice.  A suitable axe had been found, one even more powerful than the admittedly barely-enchanted Bertha.  But one cannot discount the power of sentimental value.  
	I again summoned Valaria, handing her coin, and sending her off to the blacksmith’s shop, an image of its location implanted in her mind from my own.  She quickly returned, coin gone, an impressive, large, black gleaming great axe in her hand, crackling with magical energy.  Ee was almost in tears.  “Me have Big Bertha Two!”  
	I handed him his new axe and he immediately took a few practice swings.  He then turned and shouted “Me rage!” and charged down the hallway toward where the puking Kyrnyn stood.  I idly wondered if this was how Ee reacted every time he bought a new weapon.  It was then that I noticed our cow-headed demon friend (Daraka Demon, according to my stolen planar knowledge) stood, once again appearing out of nowhere to do us ill.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Forty-One – Demon with Scorpions and Demon Scorpion

	Just at that moment, another door to our rear burst open and another demon, this one not covered in scorpions, but instead resembling a large scorpion, a Gharros Demon, charged against us.  It would have charged me had not the massive bulk of Larch’s Dire Lion blocked its way.  With a quick thought, I dispatched twin globes of fire toward both demons, more than singeing their foul flesh.  
	Morwen charged forward and tumbled behind our cow-friend, just as Ee ended his rage-filled charge, Big Bertha II tasting flesh for the first time as he and Morwen disemboweled the demon.  
	Then Ee, Morwen ran back toward the Lion, and together, they three slowly wore it down until it, too, met the destiny of all demons we meet (and all of our employers) face – lying facedown in a puddle of demon-blood.  
	Looking back at the still-puking Kyrnyn and Larch, I said “We ought to rest for a little while.  Perhaps somewhere not surrounded on all sides by openings for demons to charge us.”  Kyrnyn seemed still to take some convincing.  I hoped his stubbornness at remaining in this exposed hall would not lead us to doom.


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## Altalazar (Oct 16, 2006)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Forty-Two – Two Hours Rest at the Orc Outhouse

	Kyrnyn, fortunately, saw reason, and agreed to rest at least until he no longer was decorating the stone floor of the abbey with his lunch.  With demons popping in and out of the air at will, I decided it would be best not to linger in the abbey while we rested.  I suggested we go to the building out on the grounds some 500 feet from the abbey, where we fought the Bodak and where Kyrnyn had a slight racial adjustment.  I dubbed the building the “Orc Outhouse,” and labeled it appropriately when we returned there.  Kyrnyn cringed when I said it, but he stoically held it inside, figuring his Orc visage, like his Ettin visage before it, was penance from his god.  For me, I just liked having a name to refer to the building other than “the structure 500 feet outside of the abbey on the abbey grounds.”  
	We rested for nearly two hours before Krynyn was feeling himself again.  Larch, his druid page, was still not feeling himself, and Kyrnyn, unwilling to wait a moment longer, summoned the awesome power of his god to alleviate his symptoms, curing him of everything else that ailed him in the process.  We then all returned to the abbey, back to the writhing agony of the chained humans in the alcoves.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chatper One-Hundred Forty-Three – Unchained Melody of Pain

	Kyrnyn, his head clear, studied the chains and the people intently, and determined that the chains needed to be carefully removed, which could only be accomplished if they stopped moving.  Morwen, her eye sharp as always, determined that there was a mechanism at the base of each of the three chains in each of the six poor souls strung up in the alcoves.  Working slowly and methodically, she stopped each chain, one at a time, until all 18 of them were silent.  As she completed each trinity of chains, Kyrnyn, Larch, and myself followed behind and carefully worked to remove the chains from each victim.  The scars left were truly horrendous, even after Kynryn healed their grievous wounds.  
	Unfortunately, his healing could not fix what was truly wrong with them.  Their minds were swimming in madness.  I was almost dizzy from reading them.  Of the five men and one woman, I settled on the woman’s mind first, carefully slowing down the swirling madness into a more leisurely spiral of fluid before settling it and smoothing it out like a small pond on a windless day.  Then a placed a single seed of sanity in the midst of that smooth surface, letting it slowly ripple out across her mind, slowly stirring her into conscious sanity.  
	I spoke to her quietly, and asked her name.
	“Christina,” she replied.  
	Not wanting her to think too hard on her situation, I began to ask her about her past.  She explained that she was a worshipper in this temple, a member of something called “The Cult of the Broken Word.”  Her mind, not quite still, could not tell me the name of who she ultimately worshipped.  She did provide me with detailed information of what led to her horrible state.  The cult leader, named Samuka, had summoned demons for some foul ritual that would bring about the end of the world.  
	At that moment, I began to wonder if our move to Cauldron from Desbury without making arrangements to forward anyone looking for us there to Cauldron had prevented this Samuka from hiring us, thus forcing him to turn to the demons.  Or perhaps it prevented the demons from hiring us as sub-contractors.  Or perhaps my cynicism has reached new lows.  I decided to have that debate with myself another time.  
	“Now what was that you were saying about Armageddon,” I asked her.  
	“The demons helped Samuka, but then they turned on us.”  
	Morwen interjected, “Demons – duh.”  
	I ignored her, and asked Christina, “What about the villagers”
	Christina continued, “We sacrificed the villagers, in the main hall.”
	I asked her to show us where that hall was.  Then I had her sketch out the entire floorplan of the abbey, as best she could, from what she remembered.  She was concerned about her five companions.  I truthfully told her it would take a lot of mental energy for me to save them.  I lied when I told her that I could not do it all now.  I could have, but then I would be well drained and would require rest.  Somehow, with yet another demon looking to destroy the world, I did not think we had many days to dawdle around a campfire, singing songs.  Also, she was clearly out of her mind long before the chains were put into her flesh if she participated in such a scheme.  I figured if we left her in the Orc Outhouse with her five insane companions, she’d be so busy looking after them, she’d not have much time to figure out some way to betray us.  She began to lead them, one by one, to the Orc Outhouse.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Forty-Four – Search, Rubble, Search, Sword, Search, Cool Disk!

	My companions and I spent the next minutes searching through the rooms behind the doors that, thus far, have only provided demons to ambush us.  One room was well furnished, except for the shed scales from the demon inside.  It also had a lovely, shining, golden disk hung from the ceiling.  That ought to be worth some decent coin.  And soon, I could feel from within the core of my brain, I would have the power to move it to market.  
	Morwen dealt with several nasty traps before opening another door, this one to one of the forward towers.  Or rather, what was left of it.  It was collapsed in a pile of rubble.  We searched through it without success until Larch made himself a mouse and crawled underneath the massive stone blocks and found a flattened corpse and its short blade.  It was a female human, dead at least four, not more than eight, days.  
	In another room, home to the demon cow, we found statues and potions, along with some holy water.  
	Thus out of rooms, we turned our attention back to the hall of horrors.  From the map we were given by Christina, we could tell there were three more rooms in the front side of the abbey before taking a hall that led us down the west side of the abbey to the rear.  We slowly and quietly walked to the door of the first room.  Morwen made short work of it and then we took a quick look inside before moving toward the next room.  There, we found more than just some horrid rat skulls inside.  We found a demon in the rafters.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Forty-Five – Vrock on a perch 

	Our semi-stealth paid off, for once.  The foul bird-demon above, a Vrock I could tell from the long-stolen demon-lore in my mind, was sitting in the rafters, sound asleep.  Through my mindlink with the others, I told them to move quietly in to surround it for the quick kill.  I also closed my eyes and called upon Valaria to once again offer me her sword.  
	As the others moved into position, Valaria appeared in the air by the demon.  Without waiting for word from me, she drew her massive great sword and swung hard into the Vrock’s leathery flesh.  
	“I guess now we attack!” was our battle cry, and Ee and Morwen charged into the room, followed by Larch and Kyrnyn.  Valaria’s sword left its mark, startling the Vrock awake.  Before it could move or even squack Morwen’s arrows, Ee’s axe, Valaria’s blade, and Kyrnyn’s magic had ripped its hide to shreds, knocking it from its perch to the floor.  
	Now that’s how you deal with a demon.  
	Looking it over, other information came to my mind about this species of demon.  I knew Vrocks can screech and stun those around it.  I know they can summon other demons.  And I know that they can dance as a trio of Vrocks, creating a sphere of destruction 200 feet in diameter that can spell ruin for all who are caught in its path.  I also noted that this Vrock looked rather emaciated.  Either he was fasting or he had run out of food to eat.  
	The room itself was decorated with a horrid altar and thousands of tiny rodent skulls decorated in demonic patterns.  It reminded me of a gift shop in the abyss.  We then turned our attention to the final room at the fore of the abbey.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Forty-Six – I know for whom the bell tolls – it tolls for me  

	The last room was actually the other front tower of the abbey, a bell tower, as I found out rather forcefully.  This tower was also intact, or rather, it was when Morwen opened the door.  It was also covered from floor to ceiling, as far as the eye could see, with thick spider webs.  I had a flashback to that very first night I met all of my companions after a happenstance dart game and we found a cave filled with webs.  Visions of Ee running away while on fire danced in my head.  
	“Ok, step back everyone,” I told everyone through the mindlink.  They all stepped back, some quite some distance.  “I will take care of this.”  I turned and saw my companions twenty feet behind me.  “Uh, you will need to step back further from that.  I recommend around a corner.”  
	Morwen, who noticed a cocoon within the silk in front of us that seemed to hold a humanoid, paused.  “We need to save that person!”  I assured her that my action to clear the webs would not harm him (or her), lying as only a well-trained lawyer can.  She seemed convinced of my bluff, though perhaps it was because even in my own mind, I was not bluffing – flames do not hurt a dead man.  Kyrnyn assured her that, from his vantage, the poor man or woman was already dead, and so they all stepped back and around the corner of the hall.  
	My companions thus safely out of harm’s way, I boldly stepped forward into the room, then let loose my mind in a massive explosion of mental energy, filling the entire tower almost to its roof far above with a hot, burning flame, searing away all of the webs, roasting all of the spiders before they even noticed their webs were gone.  Unfortunately, I also rather efficiently roasted the thin strand of rope that was holding up the massive bell above me.  As it crashed to the floor, bringing down half the tower with it, I had a flashback to the dragon’s cave, large stalactites of ice falling toward me.  I was beginning to sense a theme.  Fortunately, my experience with the ice saved me, my normally slow reflexes still managing to get my legs to roll me out of the door before the bell could crush me out of existence.  A few pieces of falling debris still hit me, necessitating Kyrnyn’s aid.  
	“Well, that room’s clear.  See Morwen, I told you my fire wouldn’t kill him” I said after my head stopped ringing from the bell as I gestured to the formerly cocooned body now buried in a large pile of rubble.  We knew we had much further to go in the abbey, and I and Kyrnyn contemplated resting.  Morwen suggested we press on.  Normally that sounded the rest alarm, but I decided that even low wisdom can be right twice a day.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Forty-Seven – Caught between a Vrock and a Dire Lion

	Down the hall we went, Morwen in front.  She carefully opened the first door along the wall, and out fell a body.  Just a body.  We still are not sure where the head is.  As it fell and hit the floor, foul green vapors came pouring out of it, filling the air by the door.  Kaurophan’s knowledge inside me told me instantly that the green vapors were demon spices that make a human corpse nice and tangy.  They were also fatal to just about anything non-demon.  Sometimes I wonder just where Kaurophan got all of that information from.  Do demons have cooking schools?  
	What was even more surprising was that Larch flew right into the vapors, and was seemingly unaffected by them.  I did not know if this was a function of bats or if it was because of some other innateness to druids.  It certainly bears further watching.  I wonder if this would make him valuable as a food taster for a king – or perhaps fatal if he does not even know when something is poisoned.  
	I did not have long to wonder.  In the next instant, after my companions had all entered the room, a large, well-fed Vrock stood before me in the hall, Larch’s Dire Lion standing behind me.  This was not good, and not in just the normal demons-are-evil sort of not-good.  Because another Vrock, just as well-fed, appeared in front of my companions in the room they were in (which turned out to be the kitchen, though now they are preparing human corpses to eat).  
	Given demon’s seemingly endless teleportation to places very inconvenient, and my own currently low reserve, I decided my mental energy would be better spent on longer term help, and my physical body would be better placed if I were standing in the rubble of the recently collapsed bell tower.  Thus, I found myself there again, and the next thought was a call to Valaria.  
	Valaria then appeared before me.  I explained the situation to her and described the hall, and then, just before she teleported herself there, I asked her, “Do you have any sisters?  And if so, how many?”  
	My mind almost tapped out, I called forth three of Valaria’s sisters in rapid succession, sending each one out to reinforce the other.  Through their mind link with me, they told me of the fight.  Fortunately for us all, they helped turn the tide, dispatching the Vrocks before any of my companions died.  Larch’s Dire Lion was not so lucky.  He certainly goes through a lot of animals.  From the surface of his mind, I felt his sorrow.  I also felt a strong desire for a hippopotamus.  
	When I walked back to the scene, I found my companions intact, though they did have strange vines growing out of their skin.  That was one thing I did not know from Kaurophan.  But I knew it now.  Ee eloquently explained it to me.
	“Ee breathe bad spores.  Spores bad!”  
	The headless corpse had a phylactery of faithfulness around its neck.  The kitchen had a tall wooden pantry.  I decided against looking in there for food.  Ee agreed.  
	“Spices bad!”  
	Ahead of us stood an open doorway.  I wondered if we should press on into that room or finally rest.  I had just enough mental energy left to prepare my mind for the next two days before resting.  The Orc Outhouse awaits us.


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## Altalazar (Oct 29, 2006)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Forty-Eight – Trapdoor Villagers and Outhouse Planning

	We quickly searched the kitchen storage and found nothing of interest, save a trap door in the floor underneath something I would rather not identify, except to say that demons seem to find it slightly tangy.  
	Beneath that trapdoor were huddled three men, three women, and four children – villagers who had not yet been had for dinner.  They looked scared, and their minds were more frightened than any minds I’d ever encountered that were still sane.  Summoning every last bit of rhetoric in my repertoire, and pulling a small token out of my pouch, I gave the best oration I’ve ever given in my life.  And it was not to win an unwinnable case at trial, it was not to convince the King to grant me, at long last, my Dukedom, it was not to buy my noble estate for a steal-of-a-price.  No, it was instead used to convince a handful of ragged, dirty, scared villagers to stay put in a cellar that has been their prison, in a demon-infested abbey, site of a ritual being used to bring about the end of the world, with assurances we’d get them later.  There’s something they don’t prepare you for in law school.  The room thus clear, we headed out to rest.  
	On the way, I suggested that perhaps we should have the villagers in the outhouse.  Morwen pointed out that they might not like the cultists too much.
	“Well, then the villagers outnumber them, and we can just let Justice take its course.”
	Morwen would have none of that.  But then both she and Kyrnyn had been the ones to suggest leaving the villagers in the trapdoor to begin with.  But then that was fine with me.  
	“But if they all die, its your fault” I said to them, satisfied that it ought to keep their consciences spinning all night.  
	We holed up in the outhouse, the crazy cultists huddling in a corner.  We rested for the night, and as we rested, my mind drifted off back toward the demon-infested abbey on the hill.  If the cultists truly planned to cause the apocalypse, and time was running out, we needed to come up with a plan to maximize our resources.  My mind, strong in the morning, quickly faded the more I used it, and each fight with demons drained a lot out of me, especially after I reset the protections around myself after each fight.  While it certainly is wise to be cautious and search each crevice (and talk to each rock) as we went, time would not wait for us.  In my ruminations of sleep, a plan began to form.  
	In the morning, just before dawn, I hurriedly explained my plan to Kyrnyn and Larch, and they both agreed it was a wise move.  Ee and Morwen may take a bit further convincing, but in the end, Kyrnyn and Larch were all I needed to convince.  And so the next morning, we returned to the Abbey and our plan was put into action…

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Forty-Nine – Morwen scouts, the stage is set 

	Morwen scouted ahead down the hall past the kitchen.  She quickly determined that the hall matched the map Christina had drawn for us.  There was a tower to the right, a hall to the left, leading to a further tower, and to a hallway that surrounded a central large room where I expected we’d find plenty of trouble.  Morwen also reported that there were two stone golems, reminiscent of the golem we saw in the water of the dragon’s lair.  This time, I would be ready for them.  My research since had pointed to a particular vulnerability of these creations that otherwise seemed immune to the power of my mind.  Morwen saw one finger twitch, but did they did not otherwise move.  I hoped this meant they would have the courtesy to wait until we attack them before trying to kill us.  
	To the right were two doors, really one double door and then another single door, presumably to the tower.  Now was the time to spring the plan.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Fifty – Plan Apocalypse

	“Ok,” I explained to Ee and Morwen, “this is the plan.  Our resources are limited.  Kyrnyn, Larch, and I can provide special protections and boosts to us all, but the most powerful of these take much out of us and last only a short while.  There are many foul beasts infesting this place, and if we are to avert this catastrophe, we will need to marshal our resources and make one big push.  So here’s what we’re going to do.  We’re going to boost everything we can have to last as long as we can make them last and we’re going to do it all right now, and then we’re going to clear every room here we can, moving non-stop from one to the next until either our resources are exhausted or this place is clear.  Sound good?”
	Ee said, “Yeah, sound good!  Let’s go!” 
	“Uh, no, wait a second, Ee”
	“But me ready go now!  We go!”
	“No, Ee, just wait, we’ll tell you when!”
	With some oratory not unlike that required to convince the villagers to wait for us, I convinced Ee to wait a few minutes for our preparations to be complete.  Kyrnyn and Larch began weaving their divine magic and I began weaving the power of my mind into strands of protection that surrounded me, protecting my mind and my body.  And I summoned forth Valaria and her sister Moira.  And everything I did I boosted to the limits of my ability and beyond, to the point where my tongue swelled and my eyes and nose began to bleed, which I remedied with a discreet drink from one of my potions.  
	Thus protected and escorted by my champions of light, we opened the door to the tower and entered, beginning the implementation of Plan Apocalypse.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Fifty-One – Ee is hit by more books than he’s read in his life

	Ee charged into the room, as did Morwen, Larch, and Kyrnyn.  I sent in Moira as well, leaving myself by the doorway and Valaria to guard our backs, keeping an eye on those golems down the hall from us.  
	The tower appeared to be a library, filled to the brim with books and bookcases, along with tables to read them.  Strangely, there was also another room for reading off the tower, through a wall that was both there and not there.  That would bear further investigation, but only after everything was dead.  Morwen quickly scanned the room, finally looking up at the staircase.  As soon as she did, her special goggles revealed a demon standing there, handsome in his demon-like way, though large, and equipped with large, leathery wings.  Were it not for the wings, he would have been a dead-ringer for one of the more popular judges back in Desbury.  It made me wonder…
	I did not have long to wonder.  The demon, an Aesthma demon, by my reckoning of my much-perused stolen planar knowledge, threw down an entire bookshelf on Ee, burying him in books.  
	“Ow!  Ee not like books!”  
	Morwen charged up the stairs and Moira flew up to meet him as well, ripping into him with a  powerful psionically-enhanced strike with her great blade.  Then the demon, having been charged by a large, hulking barbarian, a wily rogue, and a shining champion of light, jumped down from its perch to stand before Kyrnyn and then took a big jab with its spear against the rat nestled at Kyrnyn’s feet, which would have been somewhat amusing had that rat not been Larch.  
	“I wonder what he has against rats” was all that I could read from Larches mind before he was overwhelmed with agony from the bite of the spear.  A large, gaping wound that seemed unable to close sprouted blood from larch’s rodent back.  
	Morwen joined the fight then, jumping down from the stairs, tumbling across the desks and sending her blade right into the demon’s back, making it howl with pain.  Ee also took a chunk out of its demon-hide with a swing of his new axe.  Then everything went dark, at least for those of us whose vision was not enhanced, as mine was.  The demon then flew straight up, back in the range of Moira, who was still hovering above things herself.  
	Then the rat twitched its whiskers and the darkness vanished, only to return for the demon alone as Kyrnyn called upon the power of his god, looked up at the demon in the air above him, and shouted, “Blind!”  
	The demon, blinded, but not dead, lashed out with one last foul burst of demon-evil, burning my champions flesh as they were especially susceptible to this foul magic, hurting my other companions as well.  Then Ee flew up to the walkway by the demon, as did Moira and Valaria, and thus surrounded, Larch sent forth more magic, granting a swift attack from everyone surrounding the demon.  Four slashes all at once and the demon fell to the floor, lifeless, its demon blood permanently staining the mahogany desks.  
	We would have carefully examined the room at this point, but it was Plan Apocalypse, and so we pressed on!

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Fifty-Two – Waxing Room – Waxing hall

	I sent Moira to quickly scout the other room, and she did so, flying over Ee’s head as he also moved in that direction.  She found nothing there but a large puddle of candlewax on the floor, and two doors that must have led out to the corridor we had seen before.  They were locked, and rather than messing with those doors, we all left the tower and headed toward the hall of the golems.  
	It was then that I noticed that the hall of the golems looked strange, reminding me of the melted wax.  Walls didn’t just begin, they had pre-walls of translucence.  It seemed slightly sticky to walk in.  I adjusted my body to compensate.  
	Ee then reached the front ranks, as did Valaria, and I was close behind her.  Eager to see if my newfound power could truly harm them, I concentrated hard and pulled from the ectoplasm around me shards of crystal, and then sent them in a long stream to impact upon the hard body of the golem.  Success!  While it did not fall, it did falter, and large chunks of stone flew away from its body from the force of the impact of those razor-sharp shards.  
	The golem, perhaps waiting many years for a chance to move, quickly charged, swinging its large arm in an arc over Valaria’s head and straight at my own.  Fortunately, with all of my protections of the mind in place, it did not even come close to striking me.  
	Thus, the second battle of Plan Apocalypse was begun!
	The fighting was fast and furious.  Kyrnyn ran up beside me and called upon his god for ultimate power, increasing in size eight-fold and glowing with a holy might.  He then charged into the hall on the heels of Ee and Valaria.  The corridor was too narrow for Moira to join the fight beside them, so she flew above them, swinging her great sword at the head of the golem.  They quickly dispatched it, leaving the second golem to take its place.  That’s when we noticed the cultist behind him.
	The cultist ran down the hall and lit a sconce on the wall before he was hit with two arrows from Morwen’s bow.  I reached out to his mind and quickly crushed his will, taking him over completely, but before he could take another step, another shot from Morwen’s bow through his throat ended his short career as my dominated servant.  
	Down at the end of the long hall, where the last tower presumably lay, we saw another cultist run into a door and disappear.  I kept my eye on that door, waiting for the inevitable rush of demons.  I did not have long to wait.

	Sir Cordozo _ Chapter One-Hundred Fifty-Three – Moths from Hell – Chapel Hell

	Out of that far room flew three large moths from hell.  Or at least, I surmised that is where they came from, because the stolen library of planar knowledge in my head quickly informed me that they were “hell moths.”  Discerning that this meant fire would not harm them, I sent forth balls of lightning to them, blasting their bodies before they were even halfway down the corridor.  My surmise was proved true when from the door at the end of the hall flew forth a ball of fire which engulfed all of us, and probably the golem and moths as well.  Fortunately, our plan had us well prepared for fire, and so none of my companions were even made slightly warmer for the evil wizard’s efforts.  
	The second golem soon fell, and I took over the mind of the middle moth, sending it against its companions.  It and my own companions quickly finished them off.  
	Moira, from her vantage point up near the ceiling, could actually see the wizard in the room at the end of the hall, and she sent forth an ectoplasmic cocoon against him, but he deftly rolled out of the way… and unfortunately for him, he rolled right into the ectoplasmic cocoon spun by Valaria, who had herself flown up toward the ceiling after seeing the fire explode around us.  
	The last thing that wizard saw, as I could see in his mind, was nothing but ectoplasm around him.  Then he felt it slowly being smashed away by a rather large axe.  Then the axe slashed away a good bit of his flesh as well.  I saw him taste the sweet taste of freedom, just before he noticed the point of Morwen’s rapier sticking out from his chest, having passed through his heart.  He turned behind himself and saw Morwen standing behind him, rapier in hand.  Then he saw nothing at all.  
	We took quick stock of the room, seeing fine furnishings and a large mirror with strange shadows shown on its surface.  
	“Very interesting.  Ok, let’s run!  Plan Apocalypse!”  I shouted and we all ran down the hallway, or rather, everyone else did, as I lagged somewhat behind.  
	The hall was long, but we quickly made it around to the entrance to that final, massive room, two double doors of impressive construction.  Morwen began to look them over.  I quickly shouted “don’t bother with picking that lock if you can’t do it quickly!  I’ll just disintegrate them!”  Morwen said nothing, but simply pulled out her tools and then quickly picked the lock, which opened with an audible “click.”  
	We then opened the doors and looked into the room beyond.  There was an altar, stained with blood, dominating the front of the room.  I quickly surmised that that was where the cultists implemented their own “Plan Apocalypse” of a rather less benign nature.  There was a large red marble statue of a demon behind the altar.  And there were two balconies flanking the altar at the back of the room.  I sensed we would be in for a tough fight here.  But with any luck, our energies would be expended here in what would be our final battle to clear the tower.  Our enhancements still glowing with power around us, we charged into the chapel.  
	Looking up at the balcony, I made out a shadowy shape.  “There’s someone in the left balcony!” I shouted through the mindlink.  We would soon find out if Plan Apocalypse would be a success.


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## Altalazar (Nov 5, 2006)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Fifty-Four – Pigs will eat Anything

	The first of us in the door was Larch, in the form of an owl.  As soon as he was across the threshold, six fiendish, slavering boars charged from the pews and surrounded him, their foul tusks slicing through Larch’s owl-flesh.  I found this particularly surprising because Owl flesh is so gamey and not very good, especially raw.  (One of my former clients, Lestroud Tenniman, who of course claimed his innocence, had been quite a connoisseur of owl flesh.  He grew up on his family farm and he’d eat anything that was still breathing that he could get his claws into.  This did not upset anyone very much until the hired hands started to disappear.  After having so many innocent clients sentenced to prison or death because they were too poor to bribe a judge or a watchman, this client was my first lesson in the other side of injustice.  His family was quite rich and well connected and though it was clear the hired help was slowly making its way through his digestive tract, he was acquitted.  His family then moved him out to one of their further farming estates and I lost track of him.)
	Close on the heels of the boars, but really from the balcony, was a nightmare of a fiery horse that flew up and over the boars to just above Larch before letting loose with a hot, smoky breath that made my eyes water, but seemed to do little else.  Ee pushed himself in to where Larch was flying and proceeded to gut the boars one by one.  The last thing Ee heard for a while was Kyrnyn saying “Holy…” and then he was deaf, though not mute, as evidenced by his further swearing the way only a true barbarian can.  
	Kyrnyn’s holy word stunned the boars into a stupor and sent the foul nightmare back to the plane from which he sprang.  The boars did not last long after that.
	Meanwhile, the not-so-hidden figure in the balcony let loose with arrows against us and so I sent Moira and Valaria toward him to dispatch him.  As they flew his way, I pointed a finger at the balcony and the entire balcony and stairs vanished in a puff of dust, sending our attacker tumbling to the ground.  Impressively, he landed on his feet, but he was not without cover standing in a corner and he was quickly engaged by Valaria, Moira, and Ee.  He was not long for this world.  
	Thus dispatched, we stood alone in the Abbey, save the villagers awaiting rescue.  Plan Apocalypse had been a success.  We then went back to carefully explore all the rooms we had run through in our zeal to dispatch the demons and the cultists.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Fifty-Five – Talking to the mirror more fruitful than talking to the dead

	Kyrnyn asked questions of one of the dead cultists in the library, using the power of his god.  Unsurprisingly, the cultists knew even less than we did about anything of importance.  I suggested he try the same with the wizard, who may know more.  All either could say was the Apocalypse was “soon.”  They were lucky they were already dead or I’d have done some things to them that would have made Lestroud blush.  
	One useful thing the wizard did say was that he studied the strange melting of the walls around the altar using the mirror.  We took the mirror over to the altar and saw that the reflection shifted between seeing us and seeing a large carnivorous plant that filled half the chapel along with a very crazed-looking cultist, who we later determined was the cult leader.  
	According to the wizard’s notes, the whole section of the abbey was out of phase, and it seemed a dimensional anchor enchantment, cast on the altar, would rectify the situation.  For some reason, the wizard was unable to discern this, even though he helpfully had a “dimensional anchor” scroll in his drawer.  Of course, these cultists did summon a pack of demons who then tortured and ate almost all of them, so they aren’t exactly winning any awards for intelligence.  
	One concern I had was that when we did “fix” things, we’d find ourselves standing face to face with a lunatic and his pet demon plant, perhaps on the abyss.  Plan Apocalypse, as successful as it was, had drained nearly all of my mental energy.  I needed to rest.  
	Ee and Morwen, of course, wanted to charge straight ahead.  Surprisingly, Kyrnyn did too.  Of course, the main concern was that the Apocalypse would happen while we were sleeping.  And sure, it would be tragic if the whole world were destroyed, but there are other worlds and planes.  I was most concerned about being eaten by a giant plant.  
	Finally Kyrnyn saw reason after he consulted his god and determined that no, the Apocalypse will not happen tonight, though his god seemed rather uninformed on the whole thing.  So we walked the villagers back to their village and we rested at the Orc Outhouse.  
	While there, I questioned the one sane cultist, but got even less coherent answers than we did from the dead ones.  She did keep bugging me about fixing the minds of her fellow nut-job cultists.  I told her I could not yet take care of them, but it would be soon.  She bought it, but then, these people aren’t the brightest lanterns on the street.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Fifty-Six – Apparently Demonic Plants will eat anything Too

	We positioned ourselves in the chapel, Valaria called to be by where the cultist stood by the altar, Kyrnyn and Morwen in front of it, Ee and myself out the doors in the hallway.  Kyrnyn then anchored the altar with his divine magic, causing all of us to be knocked to the floor as the world shook.  For a brief moment we saw a vision of a scorched landscape behind the altar, but it quickly turned to a solid black portal, replacing the statue that stood behind the altar.  We also received one demonic plant and one extremely deranged cultist leader.  
	The plant sprang into action first, attempting to swallow Valaria whole.  Fortunately, she managed to squirm free of its grasp.  
The crazed cultist leader held an evil-looking dagger in one hand and a large red gem in the other.  His hair was all but gone, appearing to have been pulled out by his own hand.  He was screaming and bragging about how his powerful, demonic body would allow him to crush us all.  His body looked rather emaciated to me.  I guess he did not have any villagers to eat here, though he was human himself.  He held aloft the gemstone and shouted “I’ll swallow your soul!” and pointed it in the direction of the very large Kyrnyn, but nothing seemed to happen.  Either that gem can steal souls or this guy is as nutty as he looks.  
Not wishing to see anyone else swallowed by the Hellthorn (as my stolen planar knowledge labeled the demon plant), I pointed a finger in its direction in an attempt to disintegrate it.  I put all of the mental energy into it that I could, knowing that plants, especially demon ones, are particularly resistant to such things, but the Hellthorn must have been soft, because it failed utterly to resist me and the whole center of the plant vanished in a puff of dust.  Unfortunately, what was left also exploded in a rain of spores, hitting Valaria, Morwen, Kyrnyn, and Larch.  I, thankfully, was still out the door.  
Valaria quickly got to her feet and charged the crazed cult-leader, knocking the gem from his hand with her blade.  Insane or not, it is wise not to take chances with one’s soul.  At least, that’s what the priests usually tell you, but not in such a literal sense.  
Ee and Morwen quickly finished him off, leaving us once again alone in the abbey.  

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Fifty-Seven – Welcome to the other side

I knew, deep down in my soul (having kept it away from the red gem) that we’d probably have to cross through that black portal into some foul demon plane.  Kyrnyn and the others seemed to think all we had to do was destroy the portal.  I knew we’d not be so lucky.  
Kyrnyn finally agreed as well when he asked his god and his god, for once, gave him a straight answer.  What we had to destroy to stop the Apocalypse was on the other side of that portal.  Wonderful.  Morwen, ever-helpful with advice and suggestions, told me I should go first through the portal since I was so “eager” to go through it.  
“I never go first,” I replied and then stepped through.  
We found ourselves standing on a barren wasteland of a landscape, where it was so hot the air shimmered like a strange curtain of light or a translucent waterfall that seemed to stretch in all directions.  In the distance, we could see a large column of black smoke.  Given the lack of landmarks, I guessed that was where we would be going.  It looked like a long walk.  Only the special protection against fire and heat was keeping us from burning alive in this foul place.  I guess we’ll have to walk fast.


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## Altalazar (Nov 11, 2006)

Sit Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Fifty-Eight – Sick stomach – Sicker “Angels”

Walking turned out to be more difficult than normal.  The first step I took ended abruptly when I realized I was puking onto my boots.  A wave of nausea overcame all of us, but whether it was from the transition through the gate itself or from the transition to the foul air was unclear.  To add to the disorientation, two flying angles that looked like they were built by someone who did not quite know how angels were built swooped down over us and belched forth a foul fire-like pus that was not fire at all, but something that burned just the same.  I had the misfortune to be within the effect of both of the Angel Effigies that attacked us, and it nearly knocked the life out of me.  
Valaria, brave soul that she is, puking still herself, unable to defend herself, took to the air in front of them, forcing them to alter course and split, preventing them from flying directly over us.  
Ee and Valaria both took to the air in pursuit of them both, slicing at the unholy form of one of them.  Eventually, they forced one from the sky.  The other proved far tougher, until Valaria encased it in ectoplasm, and then it fell as well.  Surrounded and about to die, it made one last attempt to vanquish us, shouting its word of blasphemy.  The air shimmered around Ee, Morwen, and Valaria, and then they all vanished.  My planar knowledge (and my mindlink) combined to tell me that they had all been banished to their home planes.  
“Enough of this crap,” I said, using terms somewhat more colorful.  I had been marshalling my mental energy for the trip ahead, but now I knew that it would be some time before we could all gather on this plane, so I threw everything I had into a strong mental push against the remaining fallen angel effigy, disintegrating it into a fine dust.  
Looking to the sky, I saw many flying demons, and decided a quick exit was in order.  I gathered the hands of Kyrnyn and Larch and teleported us to the column of smoke with a thought, staying just long enough to learn the area by heart so we could return later.  Then I shifted us back to our home plane, landing unceremoniously in a large pile of hay in an outlying farm near a city I decided not to learn the name of.  Now I just needed to find Ee and Morwen.  

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Fifty-Nine – Ee, Hero of Chaos, Morwen, Family in Hiding?

By the time I received word from Ee exactly where his home village was, located several days outside of Desbury, and teleported to his location, Ee was already being hailed by the villagers as a home-town hero, covered in garlands, surrounded by banners, wreaths in his hair.  He was proudly displaying his demon-head to them, and they put it at a place of honor – at the old oak tree in the middle of the village, next to the five-foot mud-hut palaces of Ee’s kin.  
	Though his village was quaint and backwards, Ee was proud of it, proud of his kin, and they were proud of him.  Morwen, on the other hand, seemed rather reluctant to have us come to her home at all.  Through the mindlink, she said she was speaking with her dad, whom she had not spoken to in a long time, but it seemed like she was really reluctant to have me come to see where she ended up.  Since we had at least 24 hours before she and Ee could return to the Abyssal plane they were banished from, I let her have some time while we all enjoyed the hospitality of Ee’s village.
	Then we were off to Stromburg to get Morwen, and from there, to the Capitol.  We had a lot of items we had found in the abbey that were of unknown origin.  We had some errands to run.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Sixty – First, shopping, then, save the world  

	We really did not shop for much, save a few potions here and there.  What we did do was identify the items of power we found and then put most of them for sale on consignment.  So if we do manage to stop the apocalypse and save the world, we’ll have some coin due us when we return from the Abyss.  
	Two items, the soulstone and the soul dagger we took from the crazed cult leader, were of incredible value, but they were also of incredible evil.  To avoid a fuss, we just gave them both to Kyrnyn’s church to dispose of, with the understanding that we would greatly appreciate any “goodwill” they would give us for doing so, be it in the form of a true resurrection we may need in the future or in the form of something more noble.  
	Our shopping complete, per Morwen’s request, I transported us back to the abbey chapel so we could watch this side of the portal while we rested in preparation for the second trip through.  Though for the second trip, I had no intention of using the nausea-inducing black portal to hell (ok, to the Abyss, for those who know the difference).  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-One – Ruined Mansion, Vultured Vrocks  

	We appeared amidst the grounds of a fantastically huge and impressive mansion, at least in the former sense.  The rubble was smouldering and hot, much like the landscape.  It was readily apparent that the mansion was destroyed in a battle of epic proportions, a battle between the forces of good and evil.  Apparently, evil didn’t quite lose, because otherwise, why were we there?  Or maybe three would be a strange twist, and instead of unwittingly working for demons, we are unwittingly working for angels.  
We did not dally long, because we spied five Vrocks circling overhead.  Fortunately, the rubble provided us plenty of cover.  Morwen then started to sneak forward, with the understanding that Larch had the means to bring the Vrocks 30 feet up down to our level.  I kept an eye on them, my mind ready to grasp the furthest three at the first sign of trouble.  
	Sure enough, once Morwen cross half of the distance to them through the rubble, one of them spotted her and squacked to the others.  I then grabbed three of their minds and found purchase in their demonic grey-matter.  Their wills broken, I told all three of them to fly “thataway,” leaving us only two to deal with in the ruins.  They would be gone at least a day, which I hoped would be enough time to do whatever it is we needed to do.  
	I then slowly made my way through the rubble.  Valaria, valiant as ever, flew toward one of the two remaining Vrocks, ready to cut it down from the air.  Ee was close behind her.  
	Wishing to marshal my strength, I decided to crush the ego of the nearest remaining Vrock, and I found it quickly succumbed, taking but two whips before it dropped from the sky, dazed and helpless.  Morwen was on the vulture-like demon like a vulture, dispatching it in one of the most self-satisfied coup-de-graces I’ve ever seen.  
	The remaining Vrock was quickly swarmed by Ee, Valaria, and three summoned winged serpents, courtesy of Larch, falling from the sky to join its brethren.  
	On the ground near where they both fell, we found a large double door, made of shiny metal, and stamped with the impression of a smiling, demonic face.  As always, Ee was both succinct and elegant about what we had to do next.  
	“Ee go down!”


----------



## Altalazar (Nov 19, 2006)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-Two – On the Abyss, We get the Shaft

	Morwen, as always, examined the door for any surprises.  She determined that it used to have a massive trap.  As I looked around at the rubble that surrounded us that used to be a demon mansion, I wondered if the trap going off was what caused the destruction, but Morwen interrupted my reverie and said that it was the mansion’s destruction that set off the trap.  Oh well, it was a nice thought.  Morwen then spent a great deal of time picking the complicated demonic lock.  Then, with much effort by everyone, the massive copper doors were pulled open.  
	Looking down the doors, we saw a circular shaft 300 feet deep.  Valaria tried to teleport to the bottom of the shaft, where we saw some sort of grating, but she was unable to do so.  So I climbed on her back and she flew me down as Ee did the same for everyone else.  
	Once we reached the grate, we looked inside and saw a large, spherical room with lots of vents.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-Three – Sitting Spiders

	“Bebliths.  Why did it have to be Bebliths?”  I said to myself as I looked down through the grate and saw TWO of them, both sitting on the bottom of the 150 foot wide chamber.  Just when I thought it couldn’t be any more treacherous, one of the vents erupted with a blast of magma and then emptied out an opposite grating, filling the room with a searing heat.  The other vents, one by one, did so as well, every six seconds, in a rotating pattern around the room.  
	I foresaw a massive combat in that chamber, running between streams of magma, Bebliths rending our flesh into tiny pieces, Morwen screaming as her flesh was seared off her body, Ee screaming as his armor was shredded and melted into oblivion, Larch screaming as his body died in an unnatural place, far from his grove, and Kyrnyn screaming as his soul was snuffed out in a place his god could never find.  Then I looked down again and realized some time had passed and the Bebliths were too big to fit through the grating at the top where we were and they were still just sitting there like dumb rocks.  
	Twelve seconds later, where the Bebliths were there were two roughly Beblith-shaped piles of dust.  
	“Ee wonder what in next room,” Ee said as he picked his teeth with a toothpick.  
	“Ee see pattern,” he said, and then he flew down to the grate at the bottom, along with the rest of us, where we found yet another shaft downward. 

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-Four – My Nose Bleeds for Cold, Fire is Put Out

	In the next room we saw a fancy platform of concentric circles over a pit of lava.  In the center of it was a large cauldron.  But most immediately, I noticed the five large beings of fire that stood next to it.  
	“Ok, I’m going to take those fire beings out with a little blast of cold,” I said.
	Morwen responded, “Wait, are you sure they are evil?  What if they are guarding this room to prevent the demon from getting to it?”
	“Oh, they are definitely evil,” I said with the same cool, smooth tone I’d used a thousand times when declaring a dyed-in-the-wool criminal “not guilty.”  It wasn’t exactly a lie if I never asked the client if he had done it or not, and it was not exactly a lie here, since I figured they must be evil here – everything else is.  
	I split my mind in two, then readied my brain for a surge of power, overchanneling my mental energy in a dangerous feedback loop.  I told Kyrnyn to stand by to heal me, because it was going to hurt me considerably.  Then I let forth two blasts of missiles of cold energy, one to each of the beings of fire, the cold maximized as I pressed my brain to its very limit.  Blood surged out of my eyes, ears, and mouth, and my brain felt ready to explode as the cold missiles came forth, missiles of a size I never imagined possible.  Two each slammed into the fire beings, consuming them utterly, and snuffing their life-fires out in a single instant.  Larch helpfully healed me before I fell over from the pain.  
	“Ee wonder what in next room,” Ee said as he descended to the room to look around.  
Looking again at the Cauldron, I realized was the long lost Soul Cauldron, lost for eons, the greatest treasure of the Lord of the Damned, rumored to have the power to grant a demon his greatest desire.  It was rumored to have caused the god of love and peace to do evil only once, when it drained his consort of her soul without its consent, and then it drank from it itself, a major blasphemy.  The Cauldron of Souls contained a powerful elixir that contained the distilled essence of all of the souls within, melted to their trace components.  It was a horrid artifact of evil that had existed for eons.  
Three seconds later, the horrid artifact was slowly sinking into the magma, its platform reduced to fine particles of dust.  
I looked up and saw a portcullis leading to a passage that presumably led to the final chamber of this abyssal mansion cellar.  Morwen unlocked it, Kyrnyn and Ee opened it, and we began to walk down the long, dark passage.  

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-Five – Soul Engine Room – Come out And Fight You Pansy Demon

As we emerged at the end of the long tunnel, we saw a huge room, at least 500 feet across, that contained four large pillars filled to the brim with billions of screaming, writhing, trapped, doomed souls.  The Soul Engine came back to me from an obscure legend about how 10,000 demons working for an entire eon built it, and then were all slaughtered, and its existence was hidden from even the gods.  So we knew more than the gods.  Which would explain why when Kyrnyn asks his god for advice, he usually tells him things like “Follow your Hart.  Drink lots of Water.”  Because they don’t have a clue.  
There were three levels of platforms that had walkways between, above, and around the four massive pillars.  But other than that, the room was empty and quiet save for a gentle humming coming from the pillars and walls.  
I had a bad feeling about it, so I called forth Moira to aid me while I climbed on Valaria’s back so she could fly me forward, just in case those platforms were less sturdy than they looked.  
My companions all moved forward into the room, heading toward the center.  I hung back, slowly heading that way.  Moria then discovered our final foe, as he appeared out of nowhere and stabbed her through her heart, nearly killing her.  But she is one tough Valkrie.  She turned around and slashed into him with her mighty greatsword.  Valaria flew me up to the platform, and then flew down to flank him.  My companions followed suit and soon had him surrounded.  
Not wanting any more surprises from him, like a sword through my heart, I slipped the tendrils of my mind into his and then gently removed all traces of my presence from his awareness.  As far as he was concerned, I no longer existed.  Now if only I could do that for our whole party and for all of the evil demons in existence.  Then again, that might limit our opportunities for employment.  
The demon, rather than stand and fight, vanished into thin air, though Moria took a quick swipe at him as he did so.  We then began to carefully search the chamber, my valkries flying around, my companions walking around, looking for where the demon went.  Just when it seemed he was unable to be seen, Moira suddenly sensed his demonic thoughts within 30 feet of her position, as if he were standing right on the side of one of the pillars.  She quickly told me where he was in her mental, wordless way, and I quickly informed my companions using my own mindlink of her position, Morwen first.  
Valaria teleported to her position, she flew to the pillar, and I called forth Lileth, a third valkrie, to cut off his other avenue of retreat.  Morwen flew up above his position, her goggles removing the demon’s invisibility, revealing him standing horizontally on the side of the pillar.  Ee took position on the platform, his bow at the ready, and Kyrnyn took position on the pillar below him.  
Valaria noticed he had a wand in his hand, presumably of healing.  She tried to knock it from his grasp wither her greatsword, but he was just barely able to hold onto it.  But while he was distracted with her, Moira knocked it cleanly out of his grasp, and it fell right into Kyrnyn’s hand.  
Ee’s arrows, Morwen’s rapier, my valkrie’s greatswords, and Kyrnyn’s stonewand soon rended the demon into a slashed torso of demon flesh and he fell down onto the platform below him.  Morwen deftly took up his sword and Ee grabbed his body as the entire chamber began to shake and crack and fall apart around us.  
Moira, just barely held on to life, so I dismissed her as Valaria and Lileth grabbed me and we all flew out of there as fast as we could.  Not trusting my traveling magic within its walls, I rushed us up toward the entrance doors as fast as we could.  Pieces of wall, magma, and other things flew down around us.  It felt like we were going to make it.  Then I saw the huge copper doors sealed above us.  
Without even slowing down, I disintegrated the doors and we then all sailed up and out of the shaft onto the abyssal landscape, surrounded by demons, about to be overwhelmed.  My companions all reached out and grabbed hands around me and just before we could be torn to pieces, I had a vision of home in my mind, and we all vanished from the plane.  

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-Six – Home Sweet Home – And Coin Sweet Coin

He arrived in a lush, green meadow, a quiet place of contemplation and relaxation.  A place where we could spend days musing on the meaning of life.  We stayed there for about three seconds before I teleported us all to the magical consignment shop in the capitol.  
“So, have you sold anything yet?”  
We then looted the demon’s body, discovering rather a lot of platinum, a few items of considerable magical power, and we then added them to our consignment (after dividing them up amongst ourselves).  
In the end, after our abyssal booty was sold, we all had more coin than we had ever imagined.  With the addition of selling my own piece of the demon pie, I ended up with well over 100,000 coins of gold.  Now I just needed to determine how best to utilize my newfound wealth.  
Oh, and by the way, we saved the world.


----------



## Altalazar (May 13, 2007)

Wow, it is hard to believe it has been six months since I last played Cordozo... and so now finally, another update...  and it is a long one. 

Book XIII

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-Seven – The World is Safe – Time to Shop

	I spent lots of time and money over the next few weeks.  My most important acquisition, however, was not purchased with money and was not found in any store.  As befitting my noble station, I acquired what no self-respecting noble would be without.  A manservant.  Higgins.  We are a perfect match.  The interview was short and to the point.  
	“I require a manservant, Higgins,” I asked, my mind probing his.
	“Very good, sir,” he said in an accent that must have been perfected by manservants across the planes to sound something known as “brit-tish” making the “sir” sound like “suh.”  
	And that was that.  
	It also helped that Higgins was a master at his craft of serving, and could assist one with matters both magical and mundane, both arcane and divine.  And despite his lack of any psionic potential he appeared to be able to read my mind, bringing me what I needed without asking.  
	Higgins has a remarkable mind that is found underneath his balding, somewhat shiny head.  He always dresses impeccably, yet somehow always manages to never outshine whatever I might be wearing at the time.  Truly, he is a cohort among manservants.  
	Such a person is very valuable, so I spent nearly 50,000 coins on helping outfit him with further magic for his spellbook and with a few choice items to protect his person.  After all, one needs to protect one’s own.  The rest of my gold I saved for what I may need later.  
	My final purchase was one for my mind.  I found someone with powers like my own who could actually teach me powers, though at considerable cost.  I learned a particularly interesting power that I look forward to trying when the moment is right.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-Eight – An invitation

	Early one morning, when the sun’s rays woke me before the sounds of Kyrnyn’s temple construction could, I dressed (with Higgin’s assistance) and then, with a thought, I was sitting at my reserved table at the Cusp of the Sunrise for breakfast.  I waved hello to several of the regular noble patrons and they waved back, warm, practiced smiles hiding the usual jealousies, though occasionally one would represent genuine warmth.  Either that or nobles were particularly practiced at fakery that was deeper than most.  
	I was enjoying the lovely view of the garden while I ate when a small elf came over and introduced himself as Vidry.  He invited me, on behalf of Poseidon, to come see a play at Poseidon’s Palace followed by a dinner, starting at 5:30 p.m., please arrive 15 minutes early to be seated, semi-formal attire required.  A royal invitation to dine with an epic master of the mind.  How could I refuse?  
	“I accept,” I said, and then with a flick of the wrist to from my right toward the elf, “Higgins, pay the elf for his trouble.”  Higgins immediately produced a small bag of platinum and offered it to the elf.  
	As he did so, I idly wondered if this would include an offer for employment, and so I asked Vidry, “What kind of Demon are you, then?”  He looked surprised for a moment, then I explained, “Whenever someone offers I or my companions employment, they invariably turn out to be an evil demon, or at the very least a part demon (as was the case with the tiefling Tuvstarr), so I figured I might as well get that out in the open up front.”
	“Nobody said anything about hiring you,” he replied, still somewhat surprised.  “Poseidon said nothing to me.” 
	“Oh, so what kind of Demon is Poseidon?” 
	“He is no demon at all,” Vidry exclaimed.
	“Ah, well, perhaps this really is just a social call then.”  
	“Yes, it is,” said the elf, “and no need to pay me, I am well compensated already for my work for Poseidon.  I see no reason why you should feel inclined to give me money.”  
	“You obviously have no idea who I am, then,” I said, musing on my recent twenty thousand gold piece extravaganza for the city.  “Perhaps Poseidon has a favorite charity we could donate it to in his name then?”
	“I’m sure he would appreciate a donation to the Temple of Pelor,” Vidry replied.  
	“Done!”  I said.  “Now, what sort of play is this?”  I inquired.  I was particularly curious since it was my understanding that to put on a play requires payment of various permits and fees, and yet I had heard of no such legal applications being made of late, and in fact, could not recall ever seeing one for any of the plays put on by Poseidon’s followers.  But then Poseidon was held in high regard as one of the “Noble 5” who saved Cauldron, so perhaps that was the reason for the courtesy.  
	Vidry interrupted my thoughts with his answer: “It’s a surprise.”  He then took his leave and I finished my breakfast.  
	During the course of the day, after some light shopping, I ran into Kyrnyn and discovered that he had not been invited to see any play.  When I later crossed paths with Morwen, she likewise had no invitation, but she was very curious.
	“What play?  Why wasn’t I invited?” she asked me.
	“The invitation was delivered at the Cusp of the Sunrise, so perhaps that explains it.” I replied.  “And the play itself – that is a surprise.”  My information on the matter exhausted, Morwen went on about her business and I returned home to change into less formal attire to match the stated dress code.  I never did run into Ee that afternoon.  I found out later why.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-Nine – The Play’s the Thing – It’s Good to be the Noble

	At the appointed minute, I thought about going to Poseidon’s tower, and found myself at its base.  The tower was over two hundred feet high and was made entirely of ectoplasm.  It was on a small island out in the midst of the newly made river that ran from the center of the crater to the rim.  I walked in the entrance and found myself in a marble hall filled with statues to the noble five.  
	The reception specialist greeting us and then took us to a teleporter that we used to ascend to the top level of the tower.  Again, marble filled my vision.  There was a beautiful vista of the city laid out to the rear of the theater.  My seat was between Poseidon and Vidry.  Higgins took his seat somewhere several rows back.  
	“What play is this,” I asked Poseidon.  
	“This play tells the story of how I and the other members of the Noble Five traveled to the plane of Occipitus to defeat an imprisoned demonlord that was the head of the Cagewrights that infested our city.  One of my followers is a playwright of some repute.  Ah, here it begins.”
	The curtain raised, and thus began the play.  It was a good performance, though I could not help but note that the character of Poseidon in the play was really heroic.  He single-handedly bribed and persuaded a demon to locate where the planar prison was and then he jumped back in time with the information, back three seconds, to avoid having to give the informant any of the money.  What a wonderful loophole, I thought.  I made a mental note to do legal research on contract clause enforceability when time travel is involved.  I asked Poseidon for his opinion on the matter.  “Is that legal?”
	“It is if you can jump backwards in time three seconds,” he replied.  
	I somehow thought that such an argument might not impress a judge.  Not unless the bribe was then transferred to him, rather mooting the whole point of the time jump in the first place.  Best to settle out of court, I imagine.  
	The details I gleaned from the play were that the demon lord of occipitus, Adimarchus, was the one they defeated.  Sounds rather familiar, I thought.  
	By the time the curtain fell, the applause was thunderous.  I looked back and noted that every single mind here was totally devoted to Poseidon, save my own and Higgins’s.  In my row alone there was a pixie named TeoBryn, as well as Vidry and several others.  The director of the play, Gwaegwyn, came out and took a bow.  
	Gwaegwyn then came and said hello.  I shook his hand, then asked him if he had made any licensing agreements for others to perform his play, and offered to help with the paperwork if he had not.  He replied that he had no need.  
Poseidon interjected.  “If someone could put them on better than me, they are welcome to share my triumphs with others.”  It was then that I noticed all of the tattoos covering Poseidon’s body, including his feet, which were bare.  One tattoo seemed to cover his entire body, from what I could tell from what flesh was exposed.  It did not make sense that one tattoo of power could be so large, so I asked him about it.  
“Oh, I specialize in tattoos,” he said, “I can exceed the normal limits on such things.  And the large tattoo, well, that’s really three large tattoos.  It is very extensive.”  He smiled, but said no more.  
I then gave him my best, most diplomatic accolades on the play and on his role in it, both as portrayed and in actual existence.  He appeared appropriately flattered, and gave gracious thanks of his own.  The air was latterly dripping with sweetness by the time our exchange of flattery was complete.  
After the accolades, a group of us retired to a side room where there was a feast laid out before us.  I sat with about a dozen others at the meal, all of them psionically active.  It was a pleasant meal.  Most of them had some control over what leaked out of their minds, so for once I could enjoy the conversation without all of the usually, nasty, contrary undercurrents.  
	Unknown to me at the time, while I was watching a private showing as the only special guest of a premiere play and then feasting on a meal fit for a king, Ee was in the process of drowning and Morwen was facing a mortal fight of her own as well.  It’s good to be the noble.  





	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Seventy – Fine Dining and Gifts

	As I was sitting at the table, Poseidon offered me a gift.  It was a fist-sized crystal that seemed to have an inner warmth.  My mind touched it and it enveloped it and I determined that it gave me a slight boost to any power I manifested while holding it.  
	“Thank you for the gift,” I offered, my mouth full.
	“You are welcome.  You are my guest,” was his gracious reply.  
	During the course of the meal, I again complimented him on the play.  I also offered him my diary notes if he wished to put on other plays about my exploits.  
	“Well, there’s always the off-season for a new play,” he said.  Switching topics, he asked me, “where are you staying?  I understand you are living in a tent while Kyrnyn’s temple complex is completed.  Would you like to stay here instead?”  
	“Yes, that is right,” I said, “I’m staying in my noble tent until my own palace can be constructed.”
	“What are you going to build,” he asked, his lips wet from sour cream on his potato.  
	“Oh, do you know the supreme judicial building for the kingdom?” I asked.  “Something along those lines, only nicer and bigger.”  
	“That will require a lot of real estate in Cauldron,” he said as he finished off a succulent piece of ribs.  
	“Yes, and thus the delay,” I replied, wiping my mouth after downing a tasty slice of steak.  
	We continued eating and then Poseidon got to the part where we are usually hired by demons.  “Want to help the King?” 
	I nodded politely.
	“The King has a possible traitor in his midst.  Baron Damon Domino is suspected of treason.”  
	My first thought was that there will soon be a Barony open, and I knew just the noble to fill the position.  “When do you want me to mind probe him?” I asked.  
	“He will not likely sit still for a mind probe.  But the King  has been offered his customary invitation to stay with the Baron for an annual celebration.  The King himself usually does not to himself, but gives the invitation to one of his nobles and his entourage.  So the Baron will not be surprised if you are sent in his place.”  
	“When is the celebration?”
	“It is in one month.  The barony is about a month’s travel from here.  I assume you have suitable transportation?  One of my followers is about a week’s travel away.  Once he arrives, he will give me a sufficiently detailed description for teleportation.”
	“Perfect, and you will pass it on to me,” I asked, sipping some very expensive brandy.  
	“Of course,” Poseidon responded, as he finished a particularly delicious-looking bowl of soup.  
	Poseidon handed me the invitation with the royal seal on it. “So, are you ready to be shown to your room,” he asked me.
	“Yes, just let me contact my companions,” I said as I reached my mind out to Kyrnyn.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-One – Companions in their usual trouble

	After explaining the situation to Kyrnyn, I asked him if he had seen Ee.  He told me that he had not seen him today.  He saw his empty sleeping mat in the morning.  
	“He was probably kidnapped by demons,” I said.  “But then it is unclear who just hired us.  Was it Poseidon or the King?”  
	I contacted Morwen next.  At first I could just hear lots of screaming in her mind.  And cursing.  Words not befitting a noble, but entirely appropriate for her.  
	“What’s going on Morwen,” I asked, curious at the colorful tirade.  
	All she would say was “it’s personal” before the tirade continued.  
	“You were kidnapped by a demon?” I asked.  
	“Me?  No.”  Colorful language followed.  “Well, that happened to a … well, not technically a demon.”
	“What are you talking about?” I asked.  
	I then got a few more words from her mind.  “Revenge.  Mom and dad.  Fix this.”  
	“Are you going to tell me what you are talking about?”
	“It’s… personal,” she said, though she need not have.  “Something caught up to me that I did not anticipate.  Many years.  Opportunity for revenge.  I’m going to kill someone.” 
	“Well, will it take more than a month,” I asked, “We have a job.”  
	Next I got from her, “bad thing, very bad thing.”  
	“Ok then,” I asked her, trying a different approach.  “Who are we killing?”  
	“The man who made my face the way it is today,” Morwen replied, referring to her deep scar across her face.  “And what is the job about?”
	“Ok then, and our job, well, there’s a Baron, who’s a traitor.  So there might be an opening.  Do you need my help right now?” 
	“Yes,” Morwen said, and she then described her current location.  Then I got an idea, but first I had to contact Ee.  
	Unfortunately, I was unable to contact Ee.  And usually he was the clearest mind out there, at least in terms of ease of use.  I asked Morwen if she had seen him and she had not.  Then I turned to Poseidon.  
	“Do you have any way to scry?”  
	“Well, I do have a research lab that does have a scrying circle.  Here, let me take you.”  
	Poseidon then led me to the teleportation circle that led to his lab.  There, one of his followers handed me a large gem.  “This is a scrying crystal.  It will allow you to scry.  We’d rather you did it because you know your friends best.” 
	That made sense, and so I held the gem and scried upon Ee.  The circle of black fluid changed to show a view of, well, black fluid.  The fluid then cleared enough to show that Ee was in the fluid, in a what looked like a leaky casket, slowly filling with water.  Ee was trying to push his way out, but he had very little space to move.  And Bertha II was nowhere in sight.  My viewing was interrupted by a thought from Morwen.
	“Uh, if you could prepare for battle, we need to go back fairly soon.  There are 30 zombies and one live body to kill.”  Morwen said insistently.  
	“Why so urgent?” I asked.
	“Zombies should not exist,” she said.  “They need to be destroyed.”  
	“I’ll meet you soon,” I said and returned my attention to Ee.  
	Ee was freed from his coffin by a large half-orc.  At that point I suddenly was able to contact him.  Ee was, as usual, eloquent. 
	“Thief take Bertha II.”  
	“Why did you get wet, Ee?”
	“Me got stuck in cage.  Me find thief and kill him.  Me don’t have him yet but he dead.”  
	“Ok, Ee,” I said, “but for now, want to kill some zombies?”  
	Ee did not respond immediately.  I saw why.  He had reached the temple of Cord with his new friends.  They were all chanting how they kicked butt and “Cord rules, rah rah.”  Apparently they have the same sort of mentality as Ee.  He finally found a deity worthy of him.  I watched the High Priest of Cord offer Ee a shiny new adamantine axe.  That was all Ee needed to pledge his life to Cord.  And to brawling.  Which was really the same thing.  “Cord will guide your life from this point on,” they told him.  Ee nodded and smiled as he swung the axe around his head.  
“Bertha III!” Ee shouted.
“Ok Ee, if you want to help us kill zombies, go meet Morwen at the Temple of Pelor.  I will join you shortly.”  I then turned my mind to Morwen and told her Ee was on his way, along with a dozen friends, priests of Cord.  
Morwen responded, “I do not know if the criminal mastermind with the zombies has any extra means of escape.  He’ll look good with a blade in his belly.”  I then heard her tell someone to stay behind at the temple, but I did not inquire why.  
As I readied to leave, to teleport to Morwen’s location as indicated from scrying her, Roy, a powerful cleric of Pelor in his own right, another follower of Poseidon, offered to come along.  So I grabbed his shoulder and Higgins as well and then we were standing with Morwen.  
By the time we arrived at the stable where Morwen told me there were zombies, we had three extremely powerful High Priests, two of whom specialized in destroying undead, and about two dozen acolyte clerics from Cord and Pelor.  Needless to say, the interior of the barn was covered with zombie dust (and not much else) by the time I got in the door.  Not much else of interest as found in the barn itself, but Morwen found a trapdoor leading down.  That’s usually where the trouble begins.  

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Two – The Trouble Begins

Before Morwen went down into the darkness, I asked her to wait.  
“Higgins, magic,” I said, and then Higgins weaved several protective spells around her, hardening her skin to stone, protecting her with a floating shield, and making her vanish from sight.  “He’s helpful,” I said, referring to Higgins.  
Down below, we discovered a bunch of cages leading to an arena.  In one cage we found six orcs, who were happy to be freed by the orcish followers of Cord.  We also found a unicorn, a hill giant, two winter wolves, and an unconscious woman.  
I spoke to each in their minds, and then teleported the Unicorn to his forest, the hill giant to his village, and the unconscious woman to hers (after she was conscious). 
It turned out the woman was from the village of Twin Oaks, the lovely little hamlet run by a vampire not too long ago.  She did not know me, but I knew the place well, and she was suitably grateful when I sent her back.  Before she left, she warned us that the person who ran this awful place was tough.  “She’s powerful,” she said.  
“You mean he?” asked Morwen.
“No, she,” said the commoner.  
After we freed the would-be gladiators, we found a room filled with crude necromantic experiments.  Higgins informed me that the practitioner was but an amateur.  Morwen seemed anxious.  She asked me, “can you touch this objects and tell me where their owner went?”  
“Well, some with my talents can do that, but I am not a specialist in that area, I’m sorry,” I replied, and it did not take a mind-reader to know that she was terribly disappointed.  
Finally, we got a peek at the arena itself, and found it had large pools of blood.  But we had not yet found the audience.  We returned to the entry room and headed north, where we found a small tavern well-stocked with liquor, but empty of patrons.  What a huge underground complex this was.  
Looking over all the fine spirits, I asked Morwen if she would like a drink.
“I don’t drink,” she told me, somewhat haughtily.  
Adjacent to the bar we found the seating for the audience.  And there we found trouble.  
Morwen went in first.  As she parlayed later, she saw what looked like Tuvstarr standing in the bleachers, wearing strange clothing.  Then she was covered by a prismatic sphere and then the entire complex was filled with flying teeth, cutting into us all.  We had no way to penetrate the sphere, so I gathered up as many of us as I could and we teleported to the surface.  Morwen grabbed Ee and one of the priests who remained and used her bracers to similar effect.  
“Well, that could have gone better,” I said.  “You want that drink now?” I asked Morwen.  

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Three – Tuvstarr Confusion

My first thought was to contact Tuvstarr and see if she was she or if she had any twins.  Since her mind was presumably still shielded, I contacted one of her “children.”  I informed the child about what had happened.  Her first response was, “Tuvstarr doesn’t do prismatic spheres.”  I wondered if that was an artistic choice or an actual limitation on her power.  
Tuvstarr then soon appeared before us.  
“Do you have any twins?” I asked her.
“Well actually, yes,” she said.  
“Explain,” I asked.  “Is your twin evil?”
“No, she’s a gentle and kind person,” Tuvstarr told me.  
“Well… apparently not,” I said.  “Could you get in touch with your twin to see if she’s cast any prismatic spheres lately?”  
Tuvstarr then did a sending to her twin Sigrid.  Apparently whatever she said satisfied Tuvstarr.  It did not satisfy me.  But I played along.  
“I wonder who has been impersonating us?” Tuvstarr said.  
“Let’s go have a look,” I said, and we all returned to the scene below.  
We saw the teeth flying and so we waited until they expired, and then returned to the bleachers for the underground arena.  There was no sign of either sphere nor Tuvstarr twin (triplet?).  
This will bear further investigation.  
I spent the remainder of the evening plying the taverns for information.  I discovered that there had been rumors of an underground organization that has had gladiatorial combat, a group known as the Brawlers.  I spread the word that the rumors were true and detailed where the events were held, in hopes that this would shut down any further contests.  The barbarity of it all, holding such things without even inviting nobles, much less obtaining the proper legal permits nor retaining legal counsel.  Such a thing simply cannot stand.  
Morwen returned to the temple of Pelor to sleep.  Ee drank and then went to his temple of Cord.  Me, I returned to Poseidon’s offered bed.  I had much to sleep on.  
In the morning, a hawk flew into my bedroom, a noble bird.  Attached to its leg, tied with a golden ribbon, was a beautifully illustrated color invitation.  (I discovered later that my companions had received similar invitations, but theirs had all been in black and white.  It’s good to be the noble).  The invitation stated:

The honor of your presence is requested at the annual Demonskar Ball.  
Hosted by Lord Zachary Aslaxin I
At the Coy Nixie.
Costume Required.  

Looks like it was time to go shopping.


----------



## Altalazar (May 20, 2007)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Four – Preparations

The Demonskar ball was a week away.  I spent a little time asking around Cauldron about the celebration, and discovered that it involved celebrating the defeat of a demon army by a hero and his army.  I did not learn much else.  I probably ought to have dug further, but I had other things on my mind.
Tuvstarr.  Or her twin.  Or her non-twin twin.  I found out on the night of the ball that someone who looked like Tuvstarr but was not Tuvstarr paid a social call on Kyrnyn a week before the ball.  He discovered she wasn’t Tuvstarr when he asked her to again join him for breakfast and discovered that she had never had breakfast with him in the first instance.  
This only put further urgency on my plans.  Higgins explained to me some things about our last encounter with the Tuvstarr twin.  Then I gave him a large purse of platinum and then sent him shopping.  I also talked to Kyrnyn and Morwen and gave them a few “presents.”  
I had my own shopping trip to the costume shop.  Apparently they sell out quickly.  I was to dress as a “founder” of Cauldron.  Then I received another note.  This note indicated that I was actually to secretly dress as Nabthatoron, the demon leader of the demon army.  Immediately, I was suspicious.  Would this be a trick to turn me into a demon and then kill me?  It must be.  I mentally told Kyrnyn, Ee, and Morwen of my secret costume, so they would be prepared.  And so they wouldn’t kill Nabthatoron at the ball.  
Partway through the week, I took my companions on a day trip to the Capitol.  There was better shopping there and it would also give me a chance to talk to the King and his niece.  They apparently don’t let her out much.  From the King and his court, I learned that the traitorous baron was ambitious.  And so there were rumors that his Ambition might be as high as can be set.  It was also said of him that he was not a nice person, but that he pretends well.  His barony is the furthest one, which gives him the most autonomy, but also gives him the least influence.  That sounded like a good deal for me.  I’d rather be free to run my affairs than have constant royal meddling.  In an age of magic, distance does not need to lessens one influence.  It was also known that he likes to fox hunt and his yearly gathering typically includes a fox hunt.  I set out to find the two best fox-hunting dogs in the whole Capitol and then I purchased them.  Now I had an appropriate gift for the good baron.  And something for myself as well.  
Our shopping complete, we returned to Cauldron, denying a few coins to Poseidon in the process (as we need not use his teleportation circle service anymore).  And then I spoke with Poseidon and received the information from his agent sent to the barony that would allow me to teleport there as well when the time comes.  

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Five – Coy Nixie 

The night of the ball arrived.  I was still busy trying to figure out what evil demons were behind this ball and how many people were going to die.  I also could not help but wonder if this was another event where a small girl would turn out to be a demon who would feast on noble blood.  Fifty to seventy of the elite of Cauldron would be in attendance.  I would think that would qualify as quite a buffet for the discriminating noble-blood-eating demon.  
The Coy Nixie was the largest, nicest venue in town.  It was owned by the hosts of the ball, the Aslaxions.  Also present would be the Tuskerhills and the Venderborns, two other powerful families.  Of interest to me were the two adventuring companies involved.  The Noble Five were invited, of course, but then there was also the Stormblades.  I did not know much about them, but I was immediately suspicious of them.  
Morwen dressed as a Naga Demon.  Kyrnyn dressed as a general, a founder wearing a winged helm and en extravagant costume.  Ee was dressed as a big red-horned demon with small black leather wings.  And I came dressed as a noble general, though that costume would not remain for the final festivities as I already mentioned.  
As I saw all these nobles dressed as soldiers and demons, I wondered what others would think.  “Don’t worry,” I was assured by another guest, “just because we play a game where people pretend to be or kill demons doesn’t mean anyone is actually worshipping them.”  
“Well truly, who would ever think we would?” I asked.  
“You’d be amazed at the stupidity of some people,” this noble guest replied.  Given my mind-reading talents, I actually would not be, but I did not say this aloud.  
The entrance to the Coy Nixie was the site of a great spectacle as the noble guests arrived.  Most came in carriages, apparently a tradition I had missed.  No matter.  Protecting us from death by demons is more important than silly entrances.  Besides, my companions and I teleported in with a flash of smoke and fire (courtesy of Higgins).  Beat that for an entrance!  
As if hearing my taunt, a flying carpet drawn by demon horses came down from the sky, bearing the Noble Five.  “Scene stealers,” I thought to myself.  They all apparently had dates, with the possible exception of Tuvstarr.  I could have sworn I heard a thought from Kyrnyn that he wanted to bring her for a date, but I shifted my focus back to important matters.  Which of the guests were evil demon-vampires who were going to simultaneously hire us and betray us and then feast on the corpses of the elite?  
Inside, we showed our invitations.  Then we had an hour of drinks and mingling with other guests.  I spent my time scanning the room for the ambush.  I also made small talk with Ophelia, a noblewoman of some beauty.  She seemed smitten with me, and whispered to me a nugget of information.  “Don’t drink the bubbly Cauldron drink except for a mouthful for the official toast.  It is very good, but extremely potent.”  Ah-ha!  So that’s where they would poison us all.  I sent a mental message to all of my companions, passing on the warning.  Even Higgins heard it.  He was waiting outside in case there was trouble.  I kept mentally updating him as to what was going on so he could dimension door inside at a moment’s notice.  I looked around the room of bored-looking nobles for the inevitable ambush.  
Then it was time for the ballroom.  

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Six – Ballroom Dancing I

Something else missing from my information was the importance of learning special dance steps.  Though my small research put me well ahead of my companions, who did not research the ball at all.  
We all lined up to go to the ballroom.  We gave our invitations to the herald, who would then announce us to the room.  The ballroom was certainly grand.  The ceilings were high arches.  Stained glass windows provided illumination from both sides.  In between the windows on the right side were red banners standing for the demon armies.  On the lft were gold banners standing for the knights, commoners, and robed wizards that fought for the founders.  
I went through the receiving line, greeting Zachary and Margaret Aslaxion and their son, Zachary II.  I only slightly winced when my name was announced.  “Sir Cordozo, Knight of the Realm, of the Dragonslayers.”  I was ready to kill Ee.  At least the name for our group was accurate, if incomplete.  
	I was suitably charming when I spoke to the Aslaxions.  They were apparently unimpressed with my other companions.  Margaret in particular was taken with me.  “At least not all of you Dragonslayers are orcs – some of you are cultured and refined.”  I accepted her compliment gracefully.  
	Zachary II was not impressed, whispering to me, “I hope you have a fine time at the ball.  I’m sure the nobles will see your true colors shining through before you depart.”  So he must be the one who will try and trick everyone to attacking “Nabthatoron the demon” later tonight.  I whispered back to him, “when will you be changing costumes?”  I was sure he would be the one playing the leader of the founders.  Of course the hosts would save that for their son.  He looked at me quizzically and marched off.  I found out later that the Aslaxions are not quite so generous, even with their own son.  
	Once we were all inside, the “demons” were sent to the demon side and the “founders” to the founder side and then the dance began.  The winner of this dance was to be named “Mayor of Haunted Village.”  We all danced in a figure eight.  The goal was to be in the center when the music finally stopped.  We all danced badly, not having had any lessons.  I did the best, but I still did not win.  Some noble pair I had not heard of and never saw before one.  At least I was fortunate enough to have the Mayor of Cauldron as my dance partner.  Jenya was even a decent dancer.  
	During the dance, one of the others slipped and almost fell.  I caught her, but not before she damaged my costume.  Thankfully, later Tuvstarr danced on by and touched my shoulder, fixing the tear with some magic.  Always good to do when one’s costume is rented.  
	The next contest was one of singing.  Needless to say, none of my companions won that one either.  Someone named Anna won, as she apparently does every year.  She was also a Stormblade.  I would deal with her later.  
	Then it was time to eat. 

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Seven – Fine Dining, Pick your Poison, Our Foe Exposed

	There were eight round tables in the dining area in the lower level.  There was a ninth long table for the guests of honor.  Mostly that was for the Aslaxions to “honor” themselves for throwing the party.  At our own table, the furthest one back, sat the four Dragonslayers and five others.  
	Vordinex Wier was a retired wizard who did not say much during the meal.  
	Bolar Westbeg was a mapmaker.  He was shy and modest and quiet for a gnome.  
	Gendeh Talaarna was an elderly dwarf who claimed to be an art and furniture dealer, though his conversation revealed that he knew little about either.  Definitely evil, then.  I watched him closely.  
	Delmar Blandershend was a half-orc.  He looked very uncomfortable.  He was also very rude.  He challenged all of us to a contest of strength, but then demurred on arm wrestling and instead insisted on lifting carts of garbage in the alley.  So THERE’S the demon ambush, finally.  Only it turned out he couldn’t even lift the lightest cart, which Kyrnyn lifted easily, so he sheepishly came back inside and seemed to respect us more, even as he continued to boast.  
	Finally, there was Gwendoly and Sabastian, two semi-nobles from the outer villages who were about as snobbish as one can get without actually being banished to the elemental plane of boorishness.  Morwen told me that she overheard them talking about how they were worried us unwashed masses might actually touch them and get our germs on them.  Then Morwen leaned over and told Ee that they would appreciate it if he would kiss their hands.  Ee, in between wiping food off his face and down his chin, grinned and eagerly did so.  I’ve never heard such mental screams.  I needed to clean my ears out with a napkin after that.  
	Our next test was the dip.  Apparently there was dip in five colors.  There was some sort of etiquette in which dip to eat first.  Figuring that all were poisoned, I took the blue dip first, and did not eat any of it.  Apparently black was first.  I was too busy looking for the ambush to figure out what colors came next.  
	Then came the toast.  Out came the bubbly red drink with white smoke.  I pretended to drink that as well, using a subtle disintegrate to remove the liquid from my glass.  Morwen told me it was quite tasty.  I hope the poison won’t act too fast on her system.  
	After the toast, we noticed the Stormblades talking amongst themselves, and then two of them, Todd and Anna, left the table and headed toward the privvys.  Morwen and I jumped up from the table and followed them, sure this would lead to the ambush.  I got there just in time to see Anna use a scroll and make Todd vanish.  Quickly, I concentrated and made my vision see true.  Sure enough, Todd was still there.  Even more sure, he walked back into the room and poured liquid on the food headed to our table.  Then he went right up to my place and poured more liquid right over the food on my plate.  Ah-ha!  Demon ambush!
	I quickly told the others what I saw over our mindlink.  Kyrnyn was livid, and immediately told those at the table to stop eating!  I had to act fast, before Kyrnyn totally spoiled my fun.  Quickly, I grabbed onto Todd’s mind, utterly crushing his will with my own.  
	As Kyrnyn purified the food at the table and the poison in the guests there, I sent Todd a few mental commands.  By the time Morwen stripped his invisibility from him with her goggles of invisibility purge, the entire room got to see Todd stripping himself of his attire.  The noble guests were snickering and pointing.  Kyrnyn took the opportunity to take the (now empty) vials from his person and accused him of poisoning our table.  The Major escorted him off (after he dressed) and we returned to our meal.  Anna was nowhere to be seen, but we told the Mayor about her complicity.  
	Then came the main course, a large pig on a tray carried by four servants.  Then one tripped, almost spilling the boar on the ground.  But never fear, Alstalster grabbed the tray in one hand and held it aloft, saving them.  Surely, a distraction from another ambush waiting in the wings.  
	The last competition before the final showdown was a riddle, where apparently “longbow” does not suffice as an answer when “bow” will do more then well.  It might as well have been for a violin.  Then we moved back to the dance floor.

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Eight – Final Demon Dance

	The two armies of guests converged on the ballroom.  Now I’m told to switch into my “other” costume.  I tell my companions to be ready.  Surely we’ll all be transported to the abyss to do battle with a real army of demons, fighting for our very lives and for the existence of Cauldron itself!
	But no, it is just another silly dance, the steps of which I don’t know, so apparently the “demon lord” Nabthatoron is “defeated” again by the nimble dancing feet of, you guessed it, Zachary the elder.  I guess he did not want to give any glory to his son.  No wonder he was so unhappy to be here.  
	The party over, we dispersed.  Apparently we made a few friends.  The mapmaker told us about some secret treasure maps he would be willing to sell us.  Not much else happened of note.  Apparently there were no demons ready to ambush us.  It was just the nobility getting to feel all superior about itself.  I should have known that anything involving the elite would never involve any actual danger.  Even the poison used by the Stormblades wasn’t fatal.  It was just to make me clumsier for the dance competition (and to upset my stomach).  What a bunch of pansies.  At least Anna had the decency to slink away after the whole episode.  I’ll deal with her later.  
	I’ve come to the conclusion that the only worthy nobles are the adventuring nobles, the nobles who have seen the world and who claw their way to their position with skill and risk of life and limb.  These soft nobles know nothing of the real world.  I also have learned that my adventuring days have forever altered my perceptions.  I see demons and ambush around every corner.  When I hear metal clanging in the streets, I turn and look for battle.  I see it even in my sleep.  These soft nobles, these elites, they do not know what it is to truly feel fear and face danger.  They are weak.  They play games with dances and clumsy potions while the real nobles are out traveling the planes, conquering real demons (after first being hired by them) and rescuing the meek.  
	Enough play time.  It is time to claim my Barony.


----------



## Altalazar (May 27, 2007)

Book XIV

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Nine – Party’s Over, Party in the Streets, Party Reunited

	After the festivities wound down, we began to walk home.  I was walking with my companions and Higgins, winding through the streets of Cauldron.  We decided to walk instead of just teleporting to our various destinations so we could have the chance to talk and reflect on what happened at the Demonskar Ball.  Ee was particularly despondent.  
	“Me not like party.  Me not kill anything.  Me has new axe and me still has not bloodied it.”  
	After a few blocks of Ee’s complaints, we heard the sounds of combat ahead and to the right.  Ee, before another word could be said, took off into the air and flew over the buildings to our right, presumably right into the heart of the conflict.  “Me go kill!  Me so happy!”
	“No, wait for Higgins!” I shouted after him, but he was already over the tops of the buildings and out of sight.  By the time I looked forward, I saw that Morwen and Kyrnyn had also run off, though they hadn’t quite made it around the corner.  
	“See what I have to deal with, Higgins?”
	“Very good, suh,” was Higgins’s only reply.  
	At least Morwen and Kyrnyn slowed down after they apparently heard Higgins, so we caught up to them.  Higgins could still not quite see everyone, so he whispered a few words of magic, and then threw a handful of diamond dust onto Morewn.  Her skin instantly hardened to stone, giving her a rather severe look.  
	I decided it was time to practice my newly acquired discipline, and closed my eyes and began to concentrate.  I visualized a creature in my mind, thirty feet tall, covered in muscle, with hardened skin and fast reflexes, able to bash with its very mind.  Then I opened my eyes and saw my vision come to life, protoplasm flowing out of me and swirling around in the street ahead of me, until it solidified in a form as real as Poseidon’s tower.  Amazing!  
	And speaking of Poseidon, I could see now that he was in the street ahead, to the right, standing next to Tuvstarr.  Apparently they also took a nice stroll home from the ball.  Standing in front of them was a Demodand demon and a rather fiendish-looking Minotaur.  Both were standing rather closer to the pair than likely either would have enjoyed.  I also saw Ee standing in the street behind the minotaur.  It was then that I gave the signal to Higgins and he weaved more magic, encompassing all of us, including himself, and including my new ectoplasmic construction.  Suddenly the world seemed to slow down, which I knew was an illusion of the magic:  we had all sped up.  
	And just in time.  Two more demons appeared, perhaps summoned by those before us.  One appeared behind Tuvstarr, the other appeared directly in front of Higgins and I.  
	Fortunately, my new creation acted next.  He (She? It?) swung one of its huge appendages at the best in front of me.  With its naturally nimble reflexes, enhanced further by Higgins magic, its arms were a blur as it struck the demon four times in rapid succession, the last blow directly to the demon’s heart.  The demon staggered, but did not fall.  I took that moment to slip my mind into the demon’s, and thought back to oh those many moons ago, when I first slipped underneath the ground and left behind my lawerly life for that of an adventurer, and then squeezed as hard I could.  I felt its mind utterly annihilated by my strength, and the demon fell to the ground at my feet.  I looked up at Higgins and smiled.  
	Higgins, ever stoic, simply nodded his head imperceptibly, and then his features vanished from my sight altogether.  A thick fog had enveloped us all, seemingly from nowhere.  I then felt the air itself sting and burn.  I could barely move my arms through the fog, it was so thick.  
	“Higgins!” I shouted.  His only response was the weaving (or in this case, unweaving) of magic around us.  	In the next moment, I felt some of the fog dissolve around me, but this only revealed another layer of fog, one thicker and deadlier.  What strange magic was this?  
	“Higgins?” I shouted.
	I heard the sounds of combat for a while, but could see nothing.  I hoped my creation was giving a good fight.  I could sense it was still near me, but I could not see him.  I mentally leaped forward to where I last saw him.  Then I heard Higgins’s voice weaving further magic from behind me.  As his words faded, a wind began to blow.  It started as a soft breeze, but then it very quickly grew to a great roar, blowing away all of the fog all the way down the street, revealing the two demonic attackers standing right where we left them.  Only now they were engaged with Morwen, Ee, and Kyrnyn, Poseidon and Tuvstarr having departed further up the street.  
	Unfortunately, those two demons were now uncomfortably close to me.  I quickly raised my mental defenses, screening me from attack.  It was then that I discovered another, more potent defense.  In my mind, I imagined I was invincible, impenetrable, immovable, a veritable statue of iron.  And that was what I became.  I looked down and saw my arms and legs were now made of solid iron.  I felt powerful, if sluggish.  I felt like I could take blows that would kill an ordinary man as if they were nothing at all.  I felt GOOD.  I also felt my feet slowly sinking several inches into the soft ground.  Apparently I was also quite heavy.  
	Looking back at the matter at hand, I saw that my companions were slowly killing the demons.  I guess these two won’t be given the opportunity to hire us.  
	A huge splash of blood then hit my iron face, nearly covering me.  I glanced right and noticed that it was Ee’s blood.  Ee,’s massive body was nearly shredded, and he was about to fall.  I opened my mouth to call for Higgins, when a bright ray of light filled my vision as it passed from my left to my right, striking Ee in the chest.  Incredibly, his wounds all healed instantly.  I’ve never seen someone so grievously wounded healed so quickly, and from afar.  Then I turned left and saw him.  
	“Marcus!”  I shouted, “I’ve not seen you in ages!  Where have you been?” 
	“Well,” he said, as he send forth a flame strike from the heavens against the two beasts, “Life was a little on the slow side for a while as I did special work for my order.  But it’s good to be back!”  
	The combat only interrupted our reunion for a few more seconds before my companions finished off the demons.  Then we all gathered together to properly catch up.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty – Reunion for us and for the Noble Five

	We spent some time standing in the street, the warm corpses of the demons at our feet, the demon blood running between our toes, as we caught up.  
	“I’m a noble now!” I told Marcus.
	“How did that happen?” he asked.
	“I rescued the King’s Niece!” I said, and then flashed him a shining smile, made brighter by the fact that my teeth (and mouth and face) were still made of solid iron.  
	Our reunion was cut short by Poseidon and Tuvstarr, who told us about a reunion of their own (after Poseidon stopped vomiting from the demon stench).  
	“We know those demons.  Those are Cagewrights.  We’ve killed them before.  And we’ll have to kill them again.  I think we’re due to be attacked by the beholder next,” Tuvstarr explained.  
	“Oh, how terrible,” I said, silently grateful that the demons we usually meet are more interested in hiring us than in attacking us and then coming back from the grave again and again to repeat the process.  I idly wondered if the demons here would have offered us a job if they hadn’t been too busy attacking Poseidon and Tuvstarr.  
	After looting the demon corpses, we continued on our way home.  I again asked Morwen if she’d like to stay with us, and as always, she said, “Thank you, no.”  One of these days I’m going to figure out where she disappears to each night, no matter where we are.  Maybe she’s just paranoid.  But then again, given our experiences, anyone in our group who is NOT paranoid just isn’t paying attention.  
	I returned to Poseidon’s tower with Higgins and Ee and retired for the night.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-One – Wake up Call from the Moon

	Morning brought no birds or demons, but I did get a message from Kyrnyn when I contacted him after breakfast.  He told me, briefly, that Geneth the “art dealer” had sought to hire us for a job.  Funny, he didn’t look like a demon.  It turns out that he probably isn’t, because he is the middle-man in the deal.  Geneth said that he belonged to a group of Acquirers or Collectors who are hired by others to find things.  He would not say who hired him to hire us.  So HIS employer is the demon.  Well, at least we won’t have to deal with them directly.  They often smell rather bad.  
	Kyrnyn further elaborated that Geneth has told him about some sort of “Temple of the Moon” that only appears every 300 years or so when some secret moon appears, and then only for a night.  Apparently the temple holds a “Library of the Moon” that covers all sorts of moon-related subjects, from astrology to lycanthropy.  We were offered 12,000 gold coins each for the job, which involved “borrowing” the entire library.  It sounded like the hard part of this one would be the logistics of emptying an entire library in one night that may exist on another plane, or at least is not exactly easy to get to.  
	I had to make sure this job would not interfere with my Barony acquisition.  “Will this job be done within two weeks?” I asked?
	“Yes,” Kyrnyn answered.  “The window of opportunity is four days from now.”  
	“Fantasitic.  Ok, we can do the job then.”  
	I relayed the job offer to Ee, by mouth, and to Morwen and Marcus, by mind.  Marcus at first did not know what to make of this voice in his head.  
	“Is that you Pelor?” 
	“Why no, but I’m Pelor’s duly appointed legal representative,” I replied.  Marcus was not amused.  
	“While I appreciate the inherent goodness in humor,” he said, “I do not appreciate you impersonating someone who represents my god.”  
	“Aw C’mon, Marcus,” I chided him.  “You’re the one who gave me the opening.  It would have been criminal not to take it.”  But I did promise him I would not do it again, though I’m sure he must recognize what my voice in his head sounds like now.  
	Just in case there were special dances we needed to learn to get into the temple, Morewn and I (and the others as well) hit the streets of Cauldron to see what information we could find about this moon temple and library.  Kyrnyn went to ask Tuvstarr, though he tried to be diplomatic about it because he thought she might covet the entire library for herself.  I told him not to worry about that.  “At worst, perhaps she can give us a better offer.”  
	Kyrnyn then met with Geneth at the Cusp of the Sunrise to seal the deal.  Geneth told him that our mapmaking friend would have a map we could use and that we could discern the map (and its true path) using the reflection of a moonstone that Geneth gave us.  He gave us the stone when we agreed to take the job.  I asked Kyrnyn, via mind, to get the full parameters of the deal.  
	By the time I was done, we had it clarified that we would get the entire library, defined by what was clearly visible, so that if we missed a specially hidden book or two, we would still get our full reward.  (Though I wondered how they could even tell if a volume was missing).  I further stipulated that the library was “as is” so that if some books were decayed or damaged, we still got the full price and it was up to Geneth’s employer to figure out how to restore them.  Thus legally protected, we began our quest.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Two – One map, two map, three maps, Moon map

	Our first stop was at the map-maker’s.  We didn’t tell him what we were really after.  Why increase the price?  I talked to him and shared more tales of our adventures and asked him questions about his other maps to distract him while Kyrnyn looked through the maps with the moonstone.  It did not take long for him to find what we were looking for.  
	I haggled down the map-maker’s initial offer of 500 gold for the map down to 125.  Then I asked him about his three “genuine” treasure maps, which he offered for 500 gold each, one of which even showed an area near Cauldron.  I haggled him down to 490 gold each, then paid him 500 anyway, calling the extra a “tip” and leaving him with a smile on his face to accompany my bag of 150 pieces of platinum.  
	The map to the Moon Temple was an old one.  It showed the Demonskar to the west of Cauldron, and the river to the north of the Skar, with the temple just northeast of that, in the thick jungle.  We asked around town but could not find anyone living who had been anywhere near that area.  Not even Poseidon or Tuvstarr had been there. They had seen only the southernmost portion of the Demonskar.  
	Apparently the Paladin Alec Turval had been to that area, but he was long dead, a tragic death I’m told, and we would not be allowed to disturb his body, even if it were to attempt to raise him from the dead.  His life is no more.  
	To make matters worse, the place was at least four days walking away, through demon-infested jungle, and we had only four days until the celestial event of the moon.  Fortunately, Larch’s new noble steed was able to fly there within two days and from there, could describe for me where we could teleport there directly.  Given the dangers, Kyrnyn rode the steed and Morwen donned her flying wings as well, and off they went.  
	While they flew, I researched the maps I bought a bit further.  They seemed genuine.  I wondered if the treasure was still there for any of them.  But that is for another day.  
	At the end of the first day of Kyrnyn’s flying trip, I contacted him and Morwen so they could describe their location.  Morwen was very concerned about where to sleep for the night in the dangerous jungle.  I pointed out that she could sleep in Cauldron once she described the location, because I could just teleport there, then teleport them home and they could start from that same location in the morning for the second half of their trip.  
	“Oh,” she said sheepishly, and then I returned them to Cauldron.  
	The next day, they made it to an area close to our final destination.  Again, I brought them home, figuring we could start fresh in the morning.  Morwen told me that she saw huge beasts lurking in the thick jungle below her as she flew.  Some of the beasts even flew, but none molested them on their journey.  
	Again we retired for the night.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Three –A fresh morning start

	In the morning, we all prepared to depart.  I briefly wondered if we should not wait a day, so we don’t have to be in the jungle overnight.  Poseidon had been kind enough to offer to create a teleportation circle for us to the jungle so I would not have to make more than one trip to arrive there and further, so I would save my energy for the perils ahead.  I did not know if he would do this for us twice, and I did not think it would take us two days to find the base of the temple, or whatever might indicate where the temple was to appear in the night after this night.  
	Finally, I decided that we might as well gather as much information as we could in advance of the trouble.  So we entered the jungle that morning and began our search.  
	It did not take long for us to find something.  Or rather, something found us.  Two somethings.  Two gargantuan somethings that had huge scales, sharp teeth, and menacing claws.  
	They came crashing at us through the jungle, moving faster than I would have thought something so large could move.  Before we could even react, one of them ran right over Morwen, Ee, and Marcus, nearly crushing the life out of all three of them.  Even worse, this left Higgins and myself standing directly underneath the claws of both of them.  Higgins quickly weaved his magic to speed all of us up ,and then I grabbed his shoulder and quickly spirited him (and myself) away from the reach of the foul beasts.  As I did so, one tried to bite me, narrowly missing, while the other took a good chunk out of me, nearly stunning me.  But I recovered quickly, and before it could try and bite me a second time, we were gone.  
	Thus removed to safety, Higgins healed my grievous wound.  My companions stayed where they were and quickly brought down one of the beasts, having surrounded it on three sides.  
	The other one quickly followed as further hacks of blades and flames from heaven brought it down to size.  By the time I returned to the clearing in the jungle created by the divine fire and the falling beasts, the smell of well-cooked dinosaur filled the air.  It smelled like roast chicken.  Thus inspired, we ate our lunch, then we resumed searching for the temple.  Hopefully we will find it soon.


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## Altalazar (Jun 3, 2007)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Four – Colossal Herd 

	Our search was temporarily interrupted by an earthquake.  More like a herd of portable earthquakes.  I had never seen such large creatures before.  They dwarfed the gargantuan creatures we had just dispatched.  They were, for lack of a better word, colossal.  They had necks that were so long they made the trees look like short bushes and they were headed our way.  Fortunately, we were (almost literally) just small ants on the ground to these creatures, so they ignored us as they left a wide path bereft of vegetation.  Had we not flown out of their way, we may well have been flattened underfoot, scarcely noticed.  Ee wanted to take one down, but even Ee could not eat so much meat.  
	While I could fly myself now (thanks to my recent transaction) Ee was kind enough to take me up to the sky with a big bear-hug.  He looked at me and asked, “You want let go?”  
	“No, you can hold me,” I replied, and he then gave me the aforementioned bear-hug.  I did not mention my own ability to fly nor did I point out the fact that, had he dropped me, I would have floated to the ground as soft as a feather.  
	Soon after, we found a large clearing in the jungle, one that was at least a thousand feet wide and four thousand feet long.  There was no helpful sign to indicate this was indeed the place, but that would be soon rectified.  
	We scouted around until it started to get dark and then Kyrnyn used his divine magic to allow us all to walk on the wind back to Cauldron for the night.  It was strange and exhilarating to fly over the jungle as if blown like a cloud on the wind.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Five – Errands before Moonrise

	The next morning we decided to take care of errands before returning to the site of the temple at dusk.  Kyrnyn researched the temple with Tuvstarr and managed to find a map showing the layout of the temple.  Amazingly, it fit within a one thousand by four thousand foot space (if one included the twin temple to the Sun that lay with it).  I had the feeling we would be exploring that temple on another day.  
	I spent most of my afternoon scouting out locations for my soon-to-be planned law library and personal palace.  I know exactly where I’m going to put it.  Though I suppose my plans may change if I get a Barony.  Speaking of which, I noted that Baron Dominick’s Celebration was in eight days, on the summer solstice.  So much to do, so little time.  First I need to loot a 300 year lost moon temple, then I need to go take down and replace a baron.  
	Before we left for the temple, I had one last errand, which I completed, and then we returned to the site of the temple.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Six – Moons over Our Temple  

	It was dusk when we returned.  We looked up in the sky and then finally saw what we never saw before.  A second moon appeared, as if from nowhere, its dull light casting rusty shadows on the jungle floor.  And then the temples appeared.  Both of them.  Though the sun temple was ghostly and transparent, silent translucent figures walking its heights, the moon temple was quite solid.  By the time I looked up at the top of the ziggurat of the moon temple, Morwen was already almost to the top.  The rest of us joined her.
	But before I ascended, I took the fruits of my last errand out and planted it in the ground.  For I had a large sign made in Cauldron, artistically done.  Written on it was the following:
	“Future site of the Secret Temple of the Moon every 300 years.”  
	At the summit of the temple, there were two wooden structures about the size of large chairs that were broken into pieces.  There were also two large tarnished bowls.  We quickly got the idea that to open the door inside (which was solid stone down a passageway at the top) we would have to reflect the light of the secret moon onto the stone.  
	First, we held the bowls by hand, but only managed to light up the area a little bit.  Then I decided it would be easier to fix the stands.  
	“Higgins, mending.”
	“Very good, sir.”
	Unfortunately, he had only one prepared.  Larch was kind enough to fix the other by shaping the wood with some druidic magic.  Thus we could use the reflectors together, hands-free.  Still nothing.  Time to deal with the tarnish.  
	Kyrnyn waved his hand and magically, one of the bowls was shiny and clean, as good as new.  Unfortunately, he could only do that once.  We had but one night to accomplish our goals.  Thus, it was Higgins to the rescue.  
	After a lifetime of acting as a manservant for the truly noble, Higgins was a master polisher.  He carefully pulled out a strip of silky cloth with a flourish, then proceeded to polish the surface of the tarnished bowl with a skill and speed that rivaled that of the finest servants in the most lavish palaces on the planet.  When he was finished, the bowl was even clearer and shinier than the bowl cleaned by magic.  Higgins then returned his cloth to his person in some unspecified location with another flourish.  
	“The bowl is clean, sir,” he said with his usual aplomb.  
	When we placed the two now shiny bowls into the wooden frames, they reflected the secret moon’s light brightly into the dark hall.  Immediately, the stones began to fall and a spiral staircase heading downward slowly appeared, as if the stone itself melted into the steps.  
	We descended into the darkness, the light of the moon dimly lighting our way before our everburning torches were brought out.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Seven – Rough Passages to Mountless Beasts

	The passageways reminded Morwen of an ant hill.  
	“This reminds me of an anthill,” said Morewn.  
	The mention of ants made me think of the beasts that almost squashed us like ants in the jungle the day before.  I took heart in the low ceilings for most of the passageways.  We did not find much of interest down the many small dead-end passages, until we came to a turn that opened up into a rather large room.  Dimly we could see what looked like the front of a temple across its expanse, but that temple would have to wait.  
	Morwen stepped out into the large room and then was immediately eaten by a huge beast.  Its mouth came down and snatched her up, and then she was gone.  Fortunately, she was not swallowed before she dimension doored herself to another corner of the room.  I could hear her relief over our mindlink as she whisked herself away.  Those bracers from that dragon certainly are useful.  
	Kyrnyn waved his hands and then he was suddenly much larger, the power of his deity giving him great size and strength.  
	“Higgins, haste,” I said, and he did, speeding all of us up save Morwen, who was out of his sight.  I mentally prepared myself as well, increasing my personal protection with a shield of force.  Ee stepped forward, not quite into the room, but into the crevice that led to the room.  They tried to eat him, but could not fit within the crevice.  
	It was clear there were two of the huge beasts.  Strangely, they wore half-plate armor and had empty saddles.  I wondered how they remained alive so long, trapped in here.  Perhaps when the temple was closed, it put everything in it into suspension.  Or perhaps they had a food source unseen.  In any case, their riders were not so lucky.  
	Higgins cursed them both, making it slightly easier to penetrate their thick hides.  It barely helped.  
	I spent some time increasing my defenses, splitting my mind, and preparing to do battle with the beasts.  Morwen and Ee were both nearly swallowed before Morwen finally retreated from the room with a second dimension door (of her three each day) and Ee also pulled back from the room.  Larch then filled the room with three large elementals of fire to occupy the beasts while we prepared our next move.  
	Higgins was kind enough to grant great heroism to Morwen before we all joined hands (save Marcus and Larch) and I transported us with a thought to the opposite side of one of the beasts, putting Morwen, Ee, and Kyrnyn all within striking distance (Kyrnyn with his large arms somewhat further away).  Higgins was behind me, but we were both too close to the creature for comfort, so I quickly then transported Higgins and I even further away, almost to where the temple lay.  Then I began concentrating, to create rather more protection for us both.  
	These beasts were horrifically strong.  They took wounds that would have felled all of us and kept on fighting.  I sent a globe of fire into each, and while it did great harm, it barely slowed them down.  Then my final protection finally sprung from the ectoplasm.  A creature as large as they, formed up from the ground in front of me, between me and the second beast.  I made it very strong, with fearsome claws to attack with, leaving its skin relatively soft.  From the fight thus far, it was clear that armor was of little help against the razor sharp claws of these beasts.  
	Higgins helpfully sapped away some of the strength of the mostly unhurt one with a ray from his fingertips, but the beast still looked strong.  
	Finally, Ee and Morwen took down the first beast and Larch shifted his elementals to the second.  My new astral ectoplasmic construction ripped into its flesh, rending it some.  Then one of the fire elementals stepped forward and spewed out seeds of fire, courtesy of Larch, right into the beast’s maw.  They exploded with fire, fire that would have consumed the elementals, had they not been also of fire.  The beast, though hardly scratched, suddenly grasped its heart and collapsed from the shock.  The smell of burnt beast flesh wafted through the large enclosed space.  
	On the bodies we found nothing but the saddles, their armor, and fittingly, two very large moonstones set into each of their breastplates.  We then entered the temple itself.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Eight – Temple of the Moon

	The first room of the temple was basically a foyer with nothing in it.  The second was much more interesting.  There was a sphere in the center of the room that was mostly blue, but included large swaths of green and brown.  It had two smaller globes circling it.  It was when I looked more closely at those globes that I saw that they looked just like the moon and secret moon in the sky!  There was a glowing globe, like the sun, in the right near corner.  And then the rest of the room was dark, like the night sky, and like the night sky it was filled with an assortment of stars.  It was a truly beautiful sight.  
	The moons themselves were slowly moving around the central globe, just like they travel across the night sky.  Their position seemed to match what we saw in the sky outside.  Morwen and Ee quickly determined that the secret moon was moveable, though I don’t know what that means.  Perhaps moving it into a certain position allows entry and egress to the temple, something which happens on its own only once every 300 years.  
	I was slightly worried when Ee took the moon off of its location and put it down the back of his pants. 
	“Ee now really moon someone!”  
	Fortunately, he eventually put it back, so we never found out if anything bad would have happened if he had kept it.  
	In a room to the left of the globe room there was a large metal ring set into the floor, but little else.  To the room to the right was a room with a large, circular table holding fourteen valuable moonstones and a sign warning us to “always keep at least two.”  We later determined that having at least two moonstones allows more to “grow” though if only a dozen more were there after 300 years, they don’t grow very fast.  But since we also found out later that there are other ways into the temple, perhaps it wasn’t quite that long.  
	The next room straight ahead was a long room with mirrors covering the walls.  Each mirror had a moving portrait of a globe with a moon or moons, none of which looked familiar.  Beyond that, we found the library.  First, all we could see were tables and chairs to sit and read the apparently unseen books.  Then I concentrated and changed my vision to true vision and looked again.  Ghostly shelves held ghostly books along each wall of the room.  
	Much fruitless attempts to get the books followed.  Finally, we decided to search the complex.  Morwen found a door hidden between two mirrors that led to a hall and a large room with a pool of liquid moonstones.  She being more adventurous (and less wise) than the rest of us immersed herself in the liquid.  
	Then she found a trapdoor in the floor that led to a lever.  We pulled the lever, but nothing apparently happened.  As hours progressed, we searched every room and eventually found a new trapdoor to a new lever in each one, the new one visible only after the previous lever was tripped, until finally we found the last lever in the library, and when that was tripped, the books and shelves all appeared.  Wonderful, now we can get out of here.  Except that there are still a few tunnels left unchecked.  And then there’s the pool.
	Morwen finally confessed to us that something happened to her when she immersed herself in the pool, then she suggested that we all do so.  I was at first dubious, then I decided that we might as well try it.  Higgins decided to join me.  So we all immersed ourselves.  I felt no different.  Then I noticed that the light seemed so much brighter.  My vision was now adapted to the lesser light.  Adapted to moonlight, I would think.  
	Further, I felt a strange connection to the secret moon.  I suddenly knew that I would now be able to see the moon at all times.  I also knew that I could enter the temple at all times.  And this strange connection would have other effects as well that became apparent later.  
	With this new connection to the moon and the temple, suddenly I felt like I did not want that library emptied.  But a deal’s a deal.  Fortunately, there was no stipulation in our contract that the books could not be copied.  Thus, I contacted Tuvstarr and told her to prepare a bunch of blank books for copying with magic when we returned.  
	Our time thus extended, we explored the rest of the complex.  We discovered three more items of note.  
	First, we found a cave filled with smoke that held a man named Jack, apparently in suspension since the last time the temple appeared.  He was quite motivated to find the temple.  We tried to talk him into leaving, but he was uninterested.  Finally, Larch held him in place with magic while I deeply probed his mind.  It turned out he was a lycanthrope, of the wolf variety, who had heard that immersing himself in the pool in the temple would allow him to control his disease in the way that those born to lycanthropy can do.  An interesting bit of information that turned out to be true.  Feeling for his plight, we carried him to the temple and immersed him (still held) and then transported him back to civilization with us later.  
	Second, we found a cave that ended in a wall of invisible force that led to a moonscape.  I wondered if it actually headed out onto the surface of the secret moon.  That would be quite interesting.  That may bear further exploration later.  
	And third, we found another pool of liquid moonstone.  This one smelled of lotus flowers.  Only Morwen tasted the waters, and then none of us decided to join her, given that the immediate effect was that it wiped her memory clean of any and all identity.   Kyrnyn was later able to have one of the high priests of his temple in the Capitol perform a miracle to cure her memory loss.  Apparently almost nothing else we could think of would have served to cure her.  
	Our explorations complete, we returned to Cauldron and made preparations for copying the books before turning them over to our employer so he or she can stock their own demon-moon library somewhere.  I had some regrets now about my sign outside the temple, since now we can use it as a secret base, but then I changed my mind.  Anyone who could actually survive long enough to even make it to that location probably would only brave the jungle specifically to go to the temple, which would mean that they would not need the sign to find it.  Further, even if they did, unless they had been immersed in the pool, they could not enter.  And finally, if they had been immersed, well, they already know where it is, so the sign stayed right where it is.  Perhaps I can add another sign for the sun temple.  

	Sir Cordozo – Secret Journal Entry – Problems of the Mind

	Morwen’s problem, and the intractability of it, reminded me of my earlier travails with my own missing memory.  This is something that needs to be dealt with.  I vowed to research this problem and come up with a solution of the mind that I could implement to deal with memory loss, restore it, and perhaps, prevent it.  I hoped Poseidon would lend me the use of his lab, perhaps if I offered to share the research with him.  
	I already had a few ideas about things I could try.  The first of them has already taken shape in my mind.  I can visualize the inner workings of the psyche and I think I can alter them.  I think I can use this to implant powers of my own in another, though it is very taxing.  I offered to share this with Poseidon as well in exchange for his sharing of powers of his own.  Perhaps something he knows will help me further my research.  
	So much to do, so little time.  Next, the barony.


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## Altalazar (Jun 10, 2007)

Book XV

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Nine – Books Copied, Etiquette Learned

	The Temple of the Moon library turned out to contain exactly 800 books.  Tuvstarr, book addict that she is (or is that information addict?), immediately agreed to do whatever it took to help copy the books.  Fabrication magic cleared out a large section of trees from the jungle, creating for us 1600 blank books.  Then some other magic from Tuvstarr and from Marcus’s special reality bender, created two complete copies of the library.  
	One copy was returned to the shelves of the temple, the other copy was placed on Tuvstarr’s shelves in her tower/library.  The originals were then delivered as promised, and our cash was exchanged.  
	I took all of the coins and exchanged them for additional learning from another psion, to learn the secrets of unraveling magic and psionics alike, and to learn how to toughen my own skin.  I was also ready to share knowledge with Poseidon, but he was not yet ready for me.  Soon.  
	Poseidon did share something else.  Professor Palendar.  Palendar was introduced to us to teach us the ways of etiquette for the Baron’s court.  Baron Dominick Domino of the Barony of Devshire in the town of Thomasville.  We were all schooled for the next four days, though most of it seemed lost on Ee.  The professor suggested that Ee either stay in the stables or keep his mouth shut.  “You could tell the Baron that he is a mute!”
	“Me not mute!” Ee shouted in response.  
	“That is ‘I am’ not mute,” corrected the professor.  
	I was then privy to an extremely detailed and graphic picture of the professor having his throat torn out and made into a tassel decoration for Ee’s axe.  Ee’s thoughts are always so direct.  But Ee said nothing further, apparently satisfied for the moment to enjoy his own visual imagery.  
	Poseidon also chimed in.  “Keep Ee at a distance, he’s not doing so well.”  Fortunately he told me that out of Ee’s earshot.  
	Our last task before leaving was to make sure everyone had a proper wardrobe to wear.  The professor told us that we should dress nobly, but not royally.  So that ruled out most of my regular wear.  I went slumming and got a few of my out-of-style formerly royal pieces to wear.  They would not quite qualify as royal, but they certainly were not as crass as typical noble wear.  
	Poseidon was again kind enough to provide a teleportation circle for our departure, a real necessity given the size of my entourage.  We left a full three days before the summer solstice, the day of the festivities, to give us time to investigate.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Ninety – The Sights of Thomasville

	We arrived in a clearing just outside the gates to the city, the perfect place to stop and study for teleportation.  The city itself, and the keep above it, were circular, forming concentric rings of walls.  It was difficult to tell much else from our vantage point.  We spent the rest of the day walking the town and listening to what attitudes were expressed toward the Baron.  
	Though the Baron himself was a dwarf (as was his wife), most of the population was human, as it is in most places in the kingdom.  There were a bit more dwarves than normal, but perhaps that was because of who the Baron was.  What was most surprising was just how popular the Baron was.  The King, a reasonable and fair ruler, was mostly considered with ambivalence by the populace at large.  People appreciated his reasonable tax and governing policies, but did not generally adore him.  This Baron was another matter.  The people loved him.  They adored him.  Within his barony, he was probably the most popular baron in the entire kingdom.  
	A person might conclude that there really was no treason, and that the king was just jealous of this baron’s popularity, and perhaps worried it may eclipse his own.  But such a person probably never went to law school.  This baron’s ridiculous popularity, spread through generous entertainment and support for his subjects, just made me all the more convinced he was a conniving traitor.  The more generous the ruler, the more corrupt his heart.  
	I found out that the baron had a cousin, a Marquis Rockmountain Goldvien and his wife Crystal, but I could not find out much more about them.  And I found out that the baron “dabbles” in a lot of professions, from the clerical, to the martial, to the nimble.  There was no mention of anything arcane nor psionic.  
	I found the most noble inn in town was the Dragon Inn.  But the professor suggested that we go to the keep or else we would insult the baron by having arrived in his town and not stayed with him.  Reluctantly, I agreed.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-One – The Baron’s Keep

	We soon arrived at the gate.  Morwen announced us to the guards, and then slowly introduced each of us.  Once she reached my name, I then offered that I had been sent in the King’s place to attend the Baron’s celebrations and presented my invitation to the guard.  The guard then hurriedly ran inside the gate and toward a huge amphitheatre where many preparations were taking place.  One of the workers there resolved into a dwarf as he walked toward us.  Working with the commoners?  Yep, this must have been the baron.  
	“Greetings, I’m Baron Domino,” he said, confirming what I surmised.  How transparently pandering he is.  I assumed he would also be gracious to the point that my teeth would rot were I to taste his words.  I was proved correct in that assessment as well.  
	“Ah, and how are you, Cordozo?  I could have sworn I was told you had blue hair.”  He must have thought I was Poseidon or had expected that Poseidon would be arriving in the king’s place.  Suspicious that he had such intelligence information.  
	“A common misconception,” I replied, keeping my cards close to my chest, wanting the Baron to doubt his agent’s intelligence gathering regarding me and my entourage.  
	“And you, Morewn, so lovely.  It is a shame I’m blessed with such a wonderful wife, or else I would be tempted to woo you for your charming beauty and grace,” the Baron said next.  Turning to Kyrnyn, he asked, “And are you a druid?” perhaps spurred on by the bird on Kyrnyn’s shoulder, apparently unaware that the bird was the druid.  “And those muscles must have taken forever to build up,” he said to Ee.  
	Ee, wisely, said nothing, though I had a lovely mental image of Ee demonstrating those muscles in a rather graphic fashion.  
	“Ah, and Professor Palendar, I’ve heard of you,” the baron said as the Professor graciously bowed.  “Now may I get any of you anything?  Refreshments? Food?”  
	“A tour,” I suggested.  
	“Ah, of course,” he replied, “but first, join us for dinner!  You will have forty-five minutes to freshen up before dinner is served.  None of the other guests have yet arrived, so you shall have my full attention tonight!”
	The baron then bid his leave and returned to assisting the setup for the festivities.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-Two – Dinner is Served 

	We had only a short time before dinner.  Morwen asked me, “We are supposed to be looking for evidence of treason – anything specific?”  
	“No,” I replied, “but this is all very suspicious.  He’s so popular.  Nobles can get jealous, true, but no noble should be this popular without something terribly wrong being afoot.  I suggest you take the time now to scout a bit so we know where to focus our investigations later.”  
	Morwen found, in her wanderings, only two places she could not enter.  One was the guard barracks, the other was the hallway heading toward the Baron’s private rooms and administrative areas.  Then it was time for dinner.  
	Dinner was delicious.  The Baron was very gracious.  I tried my best to keep my food down.  The professor made sure to seat himself as far as possible from Ee.  Ee, to his credit, said next to nothing, but he did start the meal by saying “watch” and then picking up a large chicken leg and walking over to the professor’s plate and slamming it down on his plate.  
	The Baron made small talk for the meal, and so I engaged him in a “battle of the small talk” and rolled over him like one of those large beasts in the jungle rolled over trees.  We asked him about his travels.  Apparently when the Baron was younger, he was an adventurer.  But he still inherited his Barony.  He did not win it, like I was about to do from him.  We told him about Desbury, our original city home, and about Cauldron.  Apparently the Baron has never visited either.  
The Baron even tried to talk to Ee.  Ee responded, “Him tell me no talk,” pointing at me, ending that line of inquiry.  
I then told the Baron about our extra-planar travels, to the plane of shadows, to occipitus, to the plane of dreams.  He was suitably impressed.  He shared that he had been to the Astral Plane (which hardly counts in my book) and to Valhalla, apparently as part of some great quest.  
The Baron told us the other five noble guests he expected to arrive were the Duchess of Sutherford and her husband, the Marquis of Forger and his wife, the Countess of Lockshire and her husband, Lady Glade and her husband, and Sir Peterson and his wife.  Then the meal was over and the Baron retired to his room.  We told him we wanted our tour now, before retiring ourselves, and he obliged.  
On the way out, Ee slapped the professor “congenially” on his back.  The professor then did a deft move with his fingers, grabbing Ee’s ear and dragging him some distance.  Ee could probably have snapped the professor’s neck, but since Ee never went to school, he was unfamiliar with the maneuver and so mostly out of surprise, did nothing.  
Our tour took us to the Gardens in the center of the keep, as well as past the barracks, the servant’s quarters, and even near the Baron’s chambers.  Something Morwen noticed as we went was the rather large number of men-at-arms in the corridors, all on an impeccable, orderly, yet still random, schedule of guard duty.  Far more than should be expected.  A person may just assume it was increased security for the festivities.  But I smelled treason in the air.  
The tour over, we retired to our rooms.  I heard a collective gasp from the minds of all of my companions.  

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-Three – After Dinner, Time for Dessert  

When I opened the door to my lavish guest room, I saw a lovely young chambermaid waiting for me in my room holding a bed warmer.  
“I’m Crystal.”  
“Of course you are.”
It turned out that she was much more than that.  From our rather “close proximity” that evening, I discerned that she was a telepath in her own right, though only barely awakened.  She had never met another like me before.  It seemed rather too big a coincidence that a servant telepath-psion would find herself in my room.  She denied that the Baron put her up to anything beyond providing a warm blanket and a clean room.  I guess the rest was gratis.  Still, I mind probed her very deeply, something she rather enjoyed (leading me to wonder if, as a telepath, the only true mate is another telepath), and could discern nothing but truth in her with regards to her actions toward me.  Perhaps this is a relationship that will go somewhere.  
Oh, and the collective gasp I heard before was from Ee, finding Maxine in his room, Morwen finding Fedaro in her room, Higgins finding Marcella in his room, and even the professor had a surprise guest in his.  Now I know why the professor was so insistent on us staying in the keep.  What a dirty old man.  
Ee’s thoughts were hard to keep out.  Maxine offered him a bath, and did a very thorough job.  I suspected it had more to do with Ee’s hygiene than anything else, particularly when she anointed him with fragrant oils afterwards.  Once he had returned to his senses, I asked him via mindlink if he was doing ok.  His only response, “Get the bath!  Get the bath!”
The professor’s mind was equally befuddled.  The last thought I gleaned from him was as he opened his door and saw the woman waiting there for him:  “Me like,” and then “damn it, now you have me doing it, Ee!”  The rest was too disturbing to think of.  
When I checked on Higgins, I merely told him, “Ee suggests a bath.”  
“Very good, sir,” was his only response.  

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-Four – The Morning After 

We all rejoined the Baron for breakfast the following morning.  Well, all of us but Ee.  I’m not sure I’ve seen Ee again since dinner of that first night at the Baron’s.  Though there was an incident in the garden I heard about involving one of the servants, Maxine, flying up and around the garden naked while the sounds of Ee’s voice could be heard laughing and trailing behind her while she laughed back.  
None of our “guests” from the night before joined us at breakfast.  I could tell from the Professor’s mind that he missed his companion from the night, but that he knew that it would be horribly improper etiquette to bring servants to the noble’s table.  So perhaps this Baron is not such a ‘dwarf-of-the-people’ after all, if his servants are treated second-class.  I certainly don’t treat Higgins that way.  
The Baron told us that there would be fights in the arena between challengers and a flesh, clay, and iron golems that they have for the event.  There would also be a huge ceremonial changing of the guard, all in shiny armor.  
	After breakfast, I told to Morwen, through our mindlink, that she should look in the Baron’s wing today.  I also told her about Crystal and her mind abilities.  
	“Are you sure you should be sharing information with her about your abilities?” Morwen asked me.
	“I shared a whole lot more than that with her last night,” I replied.  Morwen did not pry further.  
	Morwen then met me in Higgin’s room, where Higgins made her invisible right before she teleported herself to the hallway outside the Baron’s chambers.  She was gone a short while and then we heard an alarm coming from that wing of the keep, just as Morwen dimension doored back to Higgin’s room.  She had not found anything of note in her short time there.  We would have to go back.  Morwen was concerned about the alarm.  I said, “don’t worry about it – let them puzzle over it for now.”  
	Then I quickly traveled myself back to Cauldron to retrieve my two hunting dogs and then came back to my room.  I put the dogs in the Baron’s kennels for the hunt the next day.  
	At dinner, I asked the Baron about the alarm.  He said there had been an intruder in his area and so now the soldiers would be higher density.  I expressed the appropriate amount of alarm at the intrusion.  
	Ee, who did actually show up briefly for dinner to take back to his room, offered to help.  “Me help stand guard.”  
	The Baron declined, but did say that if we heard an alarm, we should “run to the front door.”  Perhaps we could use that to our advantage later.  
	The Baron certainly seemed overly obsessed with the military organization of his keep.  But we had really not uncovered anything useful.  We had not even found the demon here yet.  
	Later that night, I had Crystal point out to me where the servants were who cleaned the Baron’s war room and personal quarters.  I then paid them a visit and dominated them both, their simple minds no match for my own.  I gave them simple instructions.  They were to report to me a detailed account of the layout of the rooms and they were to keep an eye open for anything out of place or out of the ordinary to report to me later.  Unfortunately, they noticed nothing.  On the plus side, the domination would last for over a month, and so I may find further use for these servants.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-Five – Fox Hunt

	The time of the fox hunt arrived.  I gave the Baron my gift of the excellent pedigree hunting dog.  He loved it, as I knew he would.  I took the other dog I bought and used him in the hunt for myself.  The Baron was quite enthusiastic about the whole thing.  We hunted for the afternoon and I pried more out of the Baron.  
	He told me that he had a very competent Captain of the Guard named Hans.  He told me that his city was a planned city that he hoped to grow in size as trade grew.  Apparently trade was the primary commodity here, out on the border of the kingdom.  I asked him about trouble with monsters and demons here.  
	“There are no demons here,” said the Baron in response.  “And when we do have trouble with monsters, we just let adventurers take care of it.  I find that when you actually ask for their help, they demand money and such up front, but when you just leave the whole issue alone, adventurers show up anyway.  Thus, it is cheaper just not to do anything, but to make sure that the taverns are full of information about the local monster activity.”
	“So, no demons then,” I asked again.
	“No, no demons.  When was the last time you killed a demon?” he asked.  
	“About a week ago,” I told him, thinking of the return trip from the Demonskar Ball.  “That is if you count not only the real demons but also a fiendish minotaur.”  
	Our conversation was interrupted by the Baron making the killing shot on the fox.  My gift dog did well for him, but it was one of his old-timers that did the job best for him.  
	I heard in my mind Morwen’s silent protest.  “Poor fox, what did it ever do to deserve this?  I’d rather hunt demons.”  
	I replied to her, “How do you know it was not a demon fox?”  
	“I’d  recognize a demon fox,” she said.  
	“True enough,” I conceded.  “It would have tried to hire us.”  
	The hunt over, we retired to our rooms for the last night before the big day.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-Six – Dinner, then Alarms

	At this dinner, the Countess of Lockshire, Penelope and her husband, Stewart, the Earl, joined us for dinner.  The other nobles had yet to arrive, and so presumably would be arriving tomorrow.  I regaled them all with my stories of adventure, inside the courtroom and out, again running triumphant over the Baron’s feeble attempt to be the center of graciousness and small-talk for the night.  
	Then the real fun began.  I spent the night again with Crystal, but excused myself to Higgins’s room (with a thought), finding him under cover there.  I asked him to ask his guest to stay under the covers for a moment while we attended to some business in the other room.  
	I summoned Moira and then had Higgins cloak her from view before sending her off to the Baron’s hall.  It took two tries since she could not teleport directly into his military planning room.  Several minutes later, the alarm sounded again.  Through the mindlink, she told me that the guards were in the room searching for her.  She also told me that from what she could discern, the Baron had mobilized at least 2,000 to 5,000 troops just based on what was in that room and in the open.  Curious.  Before the guards could find her, I dismissed her, and so she vanished before she could be detected.  
	I then contacted the King’s Niece’s mind, all the way back in the capitol.  It took a few moments for her to awaken from her slumber.  I asked her to find out for me in the morning, if she could, what she could about the known military disposition of the Baron.  How many soldiers could he raise.  How many would he normally have mobilized.  She said she knew some fetching young soldiers in the guard who knew about such things and that she could ask.  I thanked her and bid her good night.  
	I spent the rest of the night with Crystal, thinking up what we could do for our final day here.  That alarm was dreadfully annoying.  It would make it hard to find anything of consequence without really being detected.  Then a plan began to form.  Perhaps detection would not be a bad thing after all.  I would have to share my plan with the others.  
	In the morning, the King’s Niece reported back to me.  Apparently the Baron could raise, at most, 10,000 troops, but that would be a full mobilization.  Under normal circumstances, he should not have more than 1,000 troops at the ready.  Now it sounds like we are getting somewhere.  Time to implement plan L.  


[Meta-gaming note I just HAD to mention - the two big Diplomacy rolls thus far were at dinner on the first and third nights - apparently the Baron has quite a high score there, too.  Fortunately, we all have a bonus for the tutoring of the professor for this particular event (+6) so that helps.  I just wanted to brag... both of those times I had to do the roll, i rolled, you guessed it, a natural 20, taking my modified Diplomacy score to 61 each time.  Eat my dust, Baron! (for reference, I'm a diplomacy centered character here and now 17th level Telepath-Psion)]


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## Altalazar (Jun 17, 2007)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-Seven – 	Flies on the Wall

	Ok, so maybe plan ‘L’ wasn’t that great of a plan, but I was pressed for time and I was looking for something creative.  Surely, summoning Moira, changing her into a Leprechaun, and then setting her loose in the military planning room to be discovered by the guards, wagging her finger at the guards while screaming that “they’ll never find me pot’o’gold!” would be worth a diversion.  It would even explain the earlier alarms!  Then the “leprechaun” could dance a nice jig to some leprechaun-like folk music, then vanish, leaving the guards scratching their heads.  Isn’t that worth throwing off suspicion from our entourage?  But alas, it was not to be.  
	Plan ‘B’ was simply to have Higgins transform Morwen and Larch into common flies, then send them in through a window, invisible, to search the planning rooms and the Baron’s room before the crack of dawn (and actually before I heard back from the King’s niece).  Higgins did his magic and off they went.  
	Upon returning, Morwen and Larch reported finding nothing much of interest in the administrative rooms, but that they discovered a hidden hinge in a desktop in the Baron’s sleeping chamber.  Unfortunately, as flies, they could not lift it, and they did not want to risk changing to something else and waking up the Baron and his wife.  On top of that, the Baron had a large iron golem standing watch at the foot of his bed, presumably ready to alert him to any intruders.  This would present a problem.  I never remembered seeing any golems walking about the Baron’s keep, so that must mean the golem usually stayed inside his room all day.  
	Then we saw the itinerary for the day’s festivities.  In the middle of the day there was the combat competition.  Anyone could challenge.  The opponents?  A flesh, clay, and iron golem.  If the Baron had only one, that meant the golem would be out of his room during the competition.  Perfect chance to strike, assuming that nothing else takes his place.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-Eight – Morning Festivities

	Morning started with a huge breakfast.  We also saw the entire community slowly filing through the gates to join in the festivities.  The guards were doubled and there were guards preventing access to the keep for the non-nobles.  Ah-ha!  I knew this whole “dwarf-of-the-people” persona was nonsense!  If he truly was such a person, he would have given his “people” free access to the keep, the same as the nobles.  Such a transparent persona!  When I take over the Barony, my persona will be far more opaque!
	After breakfast was the ceremonial changing of the guard.  It took way way longer than it seemed like it should.  I’ve never seen so much ceremony crammed into so many minor moves and functions.  Those military types must really be addicted to formal ritual.  They’re worse than lawyers!  Even the Baron got in on the action.  The only interesting part of it was the very beautiful, shined up armor, of a type that you’d never see worn in actual battle.  I’d seen armor in King’s display cases that weren’t as shiny as the armor on display this day.  This Baron is quite the militaristic little dwarf.  
	Then game the jugglers and minstrels, including a minstrel who put on something called “the Ded Bob show” that was a crowd favorite among the rabble.  They all seemed to know the entire routine by heart and shouted along.  
	That fun was then followed by more militarism as a mock military attack on the keep was done.  Apparently the Baron relies on heavy archers on the walls.  Of course, the keep wins in the mock attack.  I studied the Baron’s tactics for later use when I’d be assaulting his keep.  
	The farm competition was next.  I did not pay much attention to this, but I did determine that there was a great bounty for each winner.  For instance, if your cow won best cow, then all of your cattle were exempt from taxation for the entire year.  Competition was intense.  It would have been interesting to know all of the treachery and scheming going on between cutthroat farmers.  If only I had time to probe all of their minds.  But I had other, more pressing concerns.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-Nine – More Flies with Lunch

	As lunch began, we all headed back to our rooms to change to our second set of attire for the day.  That was when we saw the golems being escorted to the arena.  This was the time to strike.  We met in my room, ostensibly to change, and then I had Higgins again make Morwen and Larch into invisible flies.  They wasted no time and headed straight for the Baron’s chamber.  
	Only a few minutes passed before I heard Morwen’s voice in my head over the mindlink.  “Cordozo, can you do something about the guard they left in here?”  
	Damn.  At least it was an ordinary guard, not a mindless golem, mostly immune to my special talents.  “Yes, I will have to come personally.  Just wait a moment.”  I quickly raised my defenses, split my mind, and had Higgins make me invisible in the improved sense before, with a thought, making myself appear in mid-air forty feet away from the Baron’s bedroom window.  I quickly flew over and peered inside.  
	Through the glass, I could see a single guard standing by the door, watching the room.  I quickly reached out my mind to his, and then carefully erased my existence from his awareness.  
	Thus erased, I slipped inside (after Morwen helpfully unlatched the window) undetected.  The desk would be another matter.  There were books and a pen and inkwell on top of the desk, so if I lifted the hinged top, those would fall, and if I lifted it too far, in any case, the guard might notice despite my mental intervention.  
	Finally, with Larch’s help, I lifted the top of the desk ever so slightly while holding the books in place and then Morwen flew inside the gap.  Hidden in there, wedged between the false top of the desk and the desk surface was a folded up piece of cloth.  Morwen the fly could not budge it, and so she flew out and changed her form.  Morwen the human handed me a pair of tweezers to use.  I carefully pulled the cloth out from the desk, then lowered to false top.  We then all exited to the balcony.  
	I recognized the cloth.  It was similar to what we used to move the Temple of the Moon Library.  It was a portable hole.  Unfortunately, we could not open it on the balcony.  We needed solid ground.  Having already made the mental connection, I gathered up Morwen and Larch and then we all found ourselves standing outside the Temple of the Moon, in the shadow of a large, familiar looking sign proclaiming we were on the site of the secret moon temple.  	
	I carefully laid the portable hole upon the ground (after Morwen studied it to make sure we could return it to its previously folded state without tipping off the Baron).  Inside was nothing except for a single piece of parchment.  Written on it was a short piece of text that appeared to be some sort of code.  I handed it to Morwen and she attempted to decipher it, but was unable to.  My thoughts turned to Tuvstarr and I was about to attempt to contact her when I remembered: Higgins.  
	“Higgins, I need you.  Come here,” I said to him through the mindlink.  
	“Very good, sir,” he said.
	“No, wait!” I said.  “I’ll come to you.”  And then with a thought, I was standing in my room at the Baron’s keep with Higgins at my side.  “Can you decipher this?”  
	“Very good, sir” he said, and he sat down and quickly read through it.  “Yes, I can,” he said.  
	“Quickly, write it all down in common so we can return this paper back to where we found it,” I said and handed him some paper and a pen from my own ample supply.  
	Within two minutes he had completed his copy, and I quickly scanned it before teleporting back to the Temple of the Moon so Morwen could return the paper to the portable hole, fold it how it was, and then we returned to the Baron’s bedroom, through the window, and placed the portable hole back in the desk where we found it.  The guard did not appear to notice us.  
	We then returned to our rooms and dressed for the afternoon’s festivities.  Soon, this Barony will be mine!  As I dressed, I took the time to carefully read what Higgins had deciphered from the writing:

“Dear Baron Domino, 
All is going as planned – the King will be surprised.  I am a little concerned about the R.  If he can do what he said it will help out more than he knows.  If he can not then we may have to wait until next year.  Currently, to stay on schedule more funds are needed, please send gold.  
I am at the Haunted Village location.  
- Vasscas”

	Interesting.  I wonder who Vasscas is.  And I recall the Haunted Village from its mention at the Demonskar Ball.  It is a place of undead outside of Cauldron.  We’ll probably be heading there next, but first we must meet with the King.  But only after the festivities are over.  I resolved that we would leave when most of the other nobles leave, the next day.  
	At this point, I was feeling strangely relaxed.  We had what we needed here.  Soon this Barony would be mine!  It must be mine!  I felt strangely relaxed and at peace as I thought of this.  Which is probably why I did what I did next.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred – I get dirtier than I have ever been

	After lunch, the first event was the log toss.  Kyrnyn jumped right into it, lifting up a log with an impressive show of strength, but timing it wrong, and sending it flying end over end far up into the air, but not very far down the field, going no more than three feet.  It apparently is a sport more of timing than brute strength.  I began to watch the really good throwers carefully.  Then I did the unexpected.  I decided to play.  
	My muscles are about as strong as your average bookkeeper.  I could barely lift the log.  But I hefted it carefully, and timed it as exactly as I could, and then let it loose.  I was probably the weakest man on the field.  But I must have timed it right.  The log went exactly twelve feet, the minimum required to advance to the next round.  I could see Kyrnyn fuming about this.  Though he need not have fumed long.  I barely lifted the log off the ground for round two, and was eliminated.  
	The next event was the log rolling contest.  It required rolling on a log on the water with another competitor, and whomever fell off first was the loser.  Morwen and I both carefully studied the field before jumping onto our respective logs.  I expected to get very wet.  Instead, Morwen, nimble of foot, caught a toe on a knot in the wood and fell into the water ahead of her competitor.  And somehow, despite my natural clumsiness (barely offset by my weakly magic gloves), I managed to stay on my log and I won against my competitor.  Morwen was also disappointed to see me win over her, but she did not fume like Krynyn.  
	Kyrnyn would take out his frustrations in the next event.  The golem fight.  
	Kyrnyn again went first.  The event was watched carefully by the judges to avoid a challenger’s death and also to avoid destruction of a golem.  If it seemed either was apparent within a set period of time, they would call the match and declare a winner.  They did not need to watch long with Kyrnyn.  Kyrnyn weaved his magic and made himself large and strong, in the image of his god.  The iron golem lumbered forward and Kyrnyn, lighting fast, struck four blows, grievously damaging it.  The golem struck back two blows of its own, but it was already over.  Kyrnyn had done so much so fast to the golem that they called the match almost immediately.  Kyrnyn had prevailed!
	Next to go was Ee.  He hefted his axe.  He also was quite large in stature, courtesy of Higgins some hours prior to the match.  It took Ee only two series of swings with his axe to fell his golem (really the same golem – they repaired them in between competitors).  Again, an impressive showing.  
	After watching them, I could not resist.  Though I had never faced anything in battle with my own two hands, or even with a weapon, that wasn’t already helpless, it was a challenging prospect.  I decided not to use anything but my hands, making it a true contest of brawn.  
	Before I stepped into the ring, I maximized all of my protections and had Higgins provide for me his shield as well, hovering hands-free near me.  Then I charged the golem.  I was as slow as it was, since I had also made my form look remarkably similar to its own.  I changed myself to solid adamantine iron, and advanced upon the golem.  
	Incredibly, I managed to dodge most of its blows as its fists slammed against my many protections.  Unfortunately, I was never able to connect with my own fists on the golem.  So eventually, it wore me down, though I stood toe to toe with it for probably longer than any other opponent of the day, nearly a full minute, before they called it.  It was disappointing not to win, but it was strangely satisfying to stand toe-to-toe with the monstrosity and hold my own for so long.  I never would have guessed that the prospect of attaining a Barony would find me so invigorated and relaxed.  
	The last event was a tug of war between two halves of the village.  None of us chose to participate.  I returned to my room to clean up and change for dinner.  I looked forward to a good meal and to the fireworks afterwards.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred One – Dinner is Served  

	There was a play before dinner that was very familiar.  It was a shortened form of the play I recently saw in Cauldron, courtesy of Poseidon.  As I saw the blue-haired hero of the play save the day from demons yet again, I wondered if the Baron would catch on regarding the lack of blue in my own hair.  Or perhaps he would just decide that someone confused the play costume for reality.  
	After the play, dinner was served.  This was for nobles only.  The commoners were slowly filing out as the play ended, their day over.  For the nobles, the maneuvering had just begun.  I spent quite a lot of time talking to and impressing nobles from across the Kingdom.  Judging from their thoughts, I succeeded.  I hope the King will be pleased that the nobility thought me an appropriate representative in his absence.  
	As I ate, I noticed Morwen with an accessory I don’t remember seeing her have before:  a date.  His name was Fredolo and he seemed rather smitten with Morwen.  Morwen herself was dressed up rather fine, something else I was also not used to seeing.  Only later did I realize that Ee was not in immediate attendance.  
	Crystal was kind enough to accompany me to dinner.  Higgins brought his companion as well.  I think he likes her, though it is hard to tell because the corners of his mouth never waver from servant-neutral.  I wonder if there is special training for that sort of thing.  I have thus far resisted the temptation to ask him (or probe his mind for that matter).  
	After the dinner was the dance.  I managed to repeat my Demonskar performance – I was terrible.  I will have to take more formal dancing lessons.  As the music wound down, and the fireworks reached their crescendo, I heard Ee’s voice in my head.  
	“Cordozo, this me, Ee.”  
	“Yes?” I replied, wondering just what he was up to.
	“Can you turn invisible?” he asked me, explaining that “Me fly has disappeared during fireworks.”  
	I thought for a moment, then understood what he was talking about.  He worse his Celestial Armor to dinner.  I know he can fly with it, but only for a short time.  Now he must have flown Maxine, his own date, with it to impress her.  He was sitting with her on the roof of the keep, watching the fireworks.  But now he had no way to get her down.  He wanted my help, but he did not want Maxine to know that I had offered it.  
	Ee’s voice came again, insistent.  “Me no fly anymore!”  
	“Ok, Ee,” I said, “I will be there shortly.”  As I approached, I asked Ee what direction she was facing so I could approach from behind.  As I got closer, I quickly slipped my mind into hers and erased my existence from her perception.  Then I placed my hand on her shoulder and his and asked Ee to ask her to prepare to allow herself to be transported.  
	“Ee say thank you!” and he did.  And then I transported all of us down to the ground before returning to the festivities to say my goodbyes.  As I departed, I could hear him explaining to Maxine that “Ee can do lots things!”
	Crystal joined me and then I retired.  I slept well that night.  Eventually.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Two – We Depart, Then I Arrive

	The next day is when most of the nobles departed.  We left with the pack.  I took my leave of the Baron.  Very Sincerely, I told him that I “Look forward to visiting again soon,” leaving unsaid exactly what made me so eager to return.  
	“Such wonderful representatives,” said the Baron of us, his words dripping with sweetness as always.  I looked forward to those sweet words turning bitter in his mouth.  I silently hoped that he would take good care of my Barony while I will be absent.  
	I prepared to take several trips back to Cauldron to bring everyone home.  It seemed that almost everyone had a new companion.  Except for Marcus.  And surprisingly, Ee.  
	“Ee love ‘em and leave ‘em,” said Ee when I asked him if he wanted to bring Maxine.  I could tell she was already hugely disappointed.  She was dripping with grief at the thought of being left behind.  She was heartbroken.  
	After my first trip back with Ee and others, I returned to talk to Maxine.  
	“Don’t worry,” I told her, “Ee is just playing hard to get.  Would you like to come to Cauldron?  I can transport you there, but you need to stay away from Ee for a few days or weeks and you can’t tell him I brought you.”  
	Her eyes lit up at this prospect and she quickly agreed.  I gave her 100 gold coins to sustain her in the meanwhile.  
	Also left unfinished was my business with the two servants whose minds were now totally under my dominion.  I determined that they were paid close to one gold coin per day, making them very well paid servants.  It would be a problem if their domination wore off and then they reported to the Baron what happened.  I decided I needed to prepare a special spell, a spell known only to lawyers, known as “the better offer.”  But I have a month to make the final arrangements on that.  
	Crystal also accompanied me home.  Though I had head of such things, I had never thought to have one.  Now I have a psion-Crystal.  
	With everyone home in Cauldron, I then transported myself and Higgins to the Capitol to inform the King of our discovery.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Three – Royal Welcome

	I told the King about the note, giving him a copy.  I also told him about the troop build ups.  King that he was, he took it all ambiguously.  
	“The note is alarming, but could be benign.  For all I know it is a surprise birthday gift they are arranging, not a coup.  And the troops.  Five thousand is a serious problem.  But if it is only two thousand, that might not indicate any problem at all.”  
	I heard it in his mind before he even said it.  
	“Go and investigate the note.  Go to the Haunted Village.  Find this Vasscas.  Use appropriate discretion.”  
	My heart was beating fast in my chest.  So close.  So close to my own real noble title and real grant of land.  I quickly took my leave and transported myself and Higgins back to Cauldron.  
	I turned to Higgins.  “Now what can you tell me about this Haunted Village?”


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## Altalazar (Jun 24, 2007)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Four – Shopping and Research

	I was eager to get my Barony, but I had some business to attend to first.  I started my research on my ultimate mind protection project.  It probably will take two months worth of research, at least, before it will bear fruit, but I wanted to get started.  I decided to only spend a week on it before investigating the Haunted Village in person.  
	Ee, Kyrnyn, and Morwen took the time to travel to the Capitol to shop for magic of various sorts.  I could tell Kyrnyn was particularly proud of a blade dedicated to Hieroneous that he acquired there.  
	I also did some research on the Haunted Village.  Apparently, only “professionals” go there during the day and only fools would go there at night.  I suspect we are going to be following the “fools” path because it seems inevitable that the only way to solve anything is to go that route.  It turned out that this was the only route available anyway.  To facilitate our foolishness, I went to our resident map dealer and found he had a rough map of the village for a mere 5 gold pieces.  So I paid him 10 and took the map.  
	I decided to ask the professor if there was any “Haunted Village” ettiqute we needed to learn, like for instance some special dance.  I was tired of being unprepared for dances.  He indicated that there was not any special “ghost dance.” He then offered that the village was a place for fools. Ee then offered his thoughts.  
	“Me afraid of ghosts.”
	“It still speaks!” said the professor.  “I thought you had that taken care of!”
	I quickly ushered Ee away from the professor, and so the professor managed to keep his head for another day.
	Oh,and I also learned that no one can teleport within the limits of the village or near it.  This left us with several options.  We chose to walk.  Three days of walking through the forest just might be enjoyable.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Five – A Stroll Through the Woods

	I was right.  After traveling the planes, killing (and working for) demons, working for (and killing) demons, spying on treasonous Barons, saving the world, and dealing with rather boorish dinner parties, the walk through the woods really was relaxing.  On the first day, we were beset on by orcs.  Dozens of them.  Vile, snarling creatures, they advanced on us menacingly.  Now there are several dozen less orcs to trouble the world.  
	The first night went without incident.  We were still far away from the village so we slept out under the stars.  Larch hunted for us and Higgins prepared a four course meal out of it, serving us on fine silver that I had no idea he had carried with him (and still don’t see how he could have).  
	The second day, several dozen goblins ambushed us.  Or rather, they tried to.  They proved smarter, at least, than the orcs.  Most of them ran away screaming before we removed them from our plane of existence.  The second night was also without incident.  
	The third day, Larch could not find as much food as he could before, so Ee contributed, and then we all ate very well.  We got within a quarter of an hour’s walk from the village.  I decided it was prudent that we spend the night a bit further away, an hour’s walk from the village.  Higgins was kind enough to set up his Leomund’s hut for us to sleep in.  Morwen and Larch scouted ahead.  
	Morwen and Larch did not see much worth reporting.  By the time they returned, it was nightfall.  Then they saw quite a bit.  As did we all in the hut.  Lumbering zombies filled the woods, seeming to come from nowhere.  None wandered our way, but many wandered by.  Morwen was able to slip in while invisible.  Larch was a bat, so was paid no mind.  Ee almost smashed Larch as he flew into the hut.
	“Oh, me sorry Larch, me thought you big bug!”  
Then we retired for the night.  As the sun came up in the sky in the morning, the zombies all slowly faded away.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Six – Nothing for Professionals to Do

	The next morning, we went to the village.  We discovered a lot of buildings that were nothing more than foundations.  We found a rotting bridge over a small river.  And we discovered lots and lots of footprints.  But nothing much else.  No signs of life.  No signs of unlife, either.  Beyond the footprints.  I started to suspect that “professionals” had nothing much to do during the day here.  We would have to come back at night.  
	One other thing we found was two freshly dug, then filled in tunnels through the ground.  One led 300 feet to the north of the village, one led 500 feet to the south.  Larch excavated both with earth elementals.  We really did not learn much else.  
	Morwen discovered two labeled, but empty, sarcophaguses in what remained of a mausoleum.  One was for Willington I, one was for Dartha Bennet.  I never heard of either, though I did know a law partnership to include a Willington once.  
	We returned to our hut and rested for the rest of the day and most of the night.  Then, two hours before dawn, we set out for the village in the dark.  I mentally prepared myself for what lay ahead.  Higgins handed me a warm towel and a cup of steaming hot coffee.  Thank you, Higgins.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Seven – Wraiths.  Dread Wraiths.  And walkers of the night while we walk.

	We did not walk far before ghostly hands reached up from within the ground and tried to grasp at us.  There was one hand for each of us, and Higgins narrowly avoided being grasped.  My own protections made them have extreme difficulty touching me.  Higgins quickly sped all of us up and the battle was joined.  
	Marcus held aloft his holy symbol and began to turn the foul creatures to wispy dust, one by one.  I crushed the ego of the one on Higgins.  Ee, Morwen, and Krynyn made quick work of the rest.  Ee’s axe would often pass right through them, but Morwen’s and Krynyn’s blades never failed to strike true.  Both seemed to have a ghostly glow about them.  I guess they made sure they came prepared for this village.  
	Not wanting to get caught from the ground again, we took to the air and headed toward the village, which lay now only 250 or so feet away.  Higgins quickly healed himself and Morwen of the horrible, draining touch of the wraiths.  Still moving unnaturally fast, we traveled almost half of the distance to the village when two huge humanoid creatures appeared in front of us and behind us, sending forth lots of evil, foul magic against us.  Fortunatley, none of it had any immediate effect that I noticed, but I was somewhat distracted.  
	Kyrnyn charged forward against the one in front.  Before he could close, the creature grabbed his new blade from his hand and then crushed it to dust.  I could hear Kyrnyn’s mental scream, a scream that I would have expected from Ee had Ee lost his axe (yet again).  Kyrnyn whipped out his stoneblade and attacked the undead beast, seeming not to care now if he lived or died.  Reading his thoughts, I could see that he thought he had failed his god, and now wished to redeem himself.  I saw images of an Ettin swimming around in his single head.  
	Ee fared better at our rear.  He kept his hold on his axe, and managed to strike a few blows on the creature to our rear.  Morwen joined Krynyn at the front, and the battle was joined.  
	Higgins blessed one of his two shields and then enchanted it for Morwen.  It flew to cover her, leaving her hands free for the fight.  Higgins then turned his attention to the beast in front.  He weaved his magic and then sent forth a wave of energy.  It struck the front beast’s hide.  The hide itself began to peel and crack, become as brittle as frozen glass, sharp shards sticking out every which way.  Each blow against the beast now seemed to slice these shards deeply into its flesh, wounding it grieviously.  
	“Use your silver!” Higgins shouted.
	I thought of my silver dagger, then felt better of it.  I send forth a ray of disintegration against the beast to the rear.  He shrugged it off, but not before losing the proverbial pound of flesh.  I hit him with it once more as he sent an attack of his own my way.  I easily shrugged off his magic, though I was curious what it was I just avoided.  
	Higgins noted that both beasts were hard to find purchase with axes and swords, and so he prepared his curse to help.  Despite there being only an hour left until dawn, it was clear it was going to be a long night.


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## Altalazar (Jul 1, 2007)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Eight – Taking back the night

	One of the night beasts pointed a finger at Higgins.  Higgins staggered a bit, but did not go down.  Over the mindlink, I heard him mutter “finger of death, sir.”  That was close.  
	The beast on Morwen decided to confiscate her weapon, pulling it from her grasp and crushing it to dust in one smooth motion.  The beast on Ee attempted to do so as well, but only got as far as grabbing it before Ee snatched it right back.  
	I summoned forth Moira and her sister Valaria into the fray, surrounding the one to our rear, helping Ee.  They both attacked it with the fury of the righteous, but still the beast stood firm.  
	Finally fed up with these beasts, I sent forth a ball of fire at the one to our fore, taking it down in a blaze of sparks.  Then Ee, Morwen, and Kyrnyn finished off the one to our rear, and we quickly ran further up the path and into the village.  
	As we were within sight of the great building, its walls now fully intact, the ground began to rumble and then it burst open.  A gargantuan worm appeared, its maw swallowing Marcus as it emerged.  It was covered in armored plates and was as undead as all of our previous foes.  As Marcus went down its gullet, I saw a flash of light shine from between its teeth and it looked illuminated from within.  Marcus’s positive energy as a shining light of Pelor seared the beast from within, wounding it grievously.  
	As we all slowly wore down the beast, we continued to see periodic bursts of Marcus’s light from within it, until finally one final blow from my Valrkies sent it scurrying away.  We were covered in darkness and by the time I dispelled it, the beast’s long tail was all that remained above ground as it ran away beneath our feet.  I called forth a huge beast of ectoplasm to fight it and with one mighty blow the worm lay dormant.  
	Larch quickly transformed into a Xorn and burrowed his way down to Marcus, held deep in the creature’s dead belly beneath the ground.  While he dug, Morwen examined the door to the great building and Higgins began to weave great magic to help all of us, starting with Morwen.  
	By the time Marcus was free and had healed those who were wounded, Higgins had almost exhausted his arcane magic, and used a good portion of his divine magic as well, in weaving special protections and boons for all of us.  The strong glow of magic enveloped us all as Morwen, invisible from Higgin’s touch, entered the great building.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Nine – Colorful fight 

	Morwen advanced down a long hallway that led to an empty desk.  Standing behind the desk, just in front of the back wall of the building, was a large sphere of light.  I know this because the first thing I heard Morwen say over the mindlink when she got there was “Prismatic Sphere!”  
	Thus our plan, formed just after our last encounter with one of those arcane creations, was sprung into action.  Morwen held steady, waiting for her color to come up.  
	Higgins lept forward, pulling out a scroll from his anti-prismatic sphere bandolier, and reading the words of magic, sending a cone of freezing air down the corridor (narrowly missing Morwen, who jumped out of the way), eliminating the first of the colorful shells of light.  Larch then stepped forward, sending a blast of wind down the corridor, knocking out the second of the shells of light.  
	As Larch’s magic reached gale force, the walls around Morwen burst open and the walls of the building’s exterior burst open and nearly a dozen golems of clay engaged us.  I sent my two valkries into the fray to guard Morwen’s flanks, though she was still safely hidden by Higgins magic, and so she was not engaged.  Ee, still enlarged by Higgins, stepped up to hold the main entrance, and I sent my huge protoplasmic creation to guard our right flank, along with Kyrnyn.  
	Marcus was caught on our left flank, but he held it well and I was also standing there.  I put my trust in all of my mental protections and concentrated on the sphere of light.  I sent a green ray down the corridor, past all of the clay golems, past Morwen, over the desk, connecting squarely with the sphere, disintegrating the third layer.  Only four remained.  
	The clay golems proved particularly hardy.  My valkries could barely scratch them, but they did hold three of them off.  My ectoplasmic friend held off two more (with Kyrnyn’s help) and then three more surrounded Marcus and I.  The last two were dealt with by Ee as he slowly waded through them with his axe.  
	Higgins told me that whomever was in the sphere was doing some magic, but there were not any visible effects.  Higgins then sent more magic of his own down the corridor, eliminating the fourth layer of the sphere.  Then, finally, an impatient Morwen could act.  Morwen held out her wand of magic missiles that we had given her for just such an eventuality, and she concentrated and tried to make it work.  She had not had much practice with it, or with magic in general, and so it would take a bit of luck for her to activate it.  Luck was on her side.  The fifth layer of the sphere evaporated as the missiles struck.  
	Now Marcus jumped into the fray, disengaging from the golems around him so he could send a ray of magical daylight down the corridor, eliminating the sixth layer of the sphere.  That left just one left.  I moved to the entrance and sent forth my mind down to the sphere, dispelling the remaining layer of protection from around the hopefully very surprised former occupant of the sphere.  Then I quickly returned my attention to the two clay golems still threatening our left flank.  
	I heard from over the mindlink Morwen’s voice, “Damn! I thought I had him!”  Apparently she thought she was well positioned to stab him through his heart, but instead seemed to only scratch him.  
	Higgins warned me soon after that the man from the sphere, who was encased in heavy plate armor, was weaving magic of a very powerful sort.  Then the figure vanished.  I knew he could not have teleported away, given the strange magic of the area.  Higgins confirmed this when he told me that the magician had stopped time with his magic.  Perhaps he ran away.  That would be a shame.  I was tempted to go looking for him, but decided we needed to finish dealing with the golems, who were falling, but only slowly, from our efforts.  
	It turned out that I needn’t have worried.  I soon saw him emerge from around a corner, just after I had sent forth a stream of sharp crystals into one of the golems, shattering it into the remnants of a hundred clay pots.  The magician weaved magic and a large sphere of blades surrounded us, apparently cutting off our options for escape.  The magician was standing just outside of the radius of the blades.  Then he turned his attention to me and attempted to weave some horrid magic against me.  His enchantment failed.  My retort, however, did not.  I send a huge ball of flame slamming into him, nearly knocking him from his feet.  
	Marcus then turned and saw where my flame went, and he turned his own flames onto the magician, encasing him in magical and divine fire.  When the smokeless fire cleared, we saw the armored magician lying prostrate on the ground, defeated.  
	We made short work of the remaining clay golems, our attention focused fully on their destruction.  Then we began to survey the situation, knowing that we had only 45 minutes or so before dawn came and the building as it was would slowly fade away.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Ten – Treason with a capital T

	The armored figure was covered with very powerful items of magic.  Morwen discovered that his armor is what protected his heart from her blade – it was heavily fortified against telling blows.  We also found documents on him that detailed the rasing of troops.  It was far worse than we imagined.  It was not just a matter of a few thousand troops raised by the single Baron.  It detailed the raising of over 150,000 troops, from every barony in the kingdom.  The King must know of this at once!  I wonder how many Baronies will become mine?  
	Searching the building itself, we found vast quantities of arms stored in its cellar.  Summoing more valkries and more ectoplasmitc friends, we managed to empty the basement of arms and placed them out in the middle of the village.  In the morning, when the buildings all faded away, the weapons remained.  
	We again borrowed Tuvstarr’s portable hole and used it to transport all of the weapons to the Capitol to show the King.  The King was greatly troubled by what he saw.  He paid us 100,000 pieces of gold for the weapons, mostly to keep them from falling into any other hands than his own.  He did not immediately say what he planned to do about the 150,000 troops raised.  I saw from his mind that he was greatly troubled by it.  I am sure he will come back to us with what he intends to do about it.  Barony, here I come!  
	Now we just need to sell our most valuable acquisitions so we can raise cash to pay for all of those powerful weapons we lost to those nightwalkers.  I have some plans for my own gold.  Long term plans.  Plans fit for a Baron.


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## Arkhandus (Jul 2, 2007)

I've only read the first few installments so far, but I really like this Cordozo guy.   

Great storyhour, Altalazar.


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## AnonymousOne (Jul 4, 2007)

Wow, I just finished reading all of the entries that you have up.  I love this character, his wit and cynicism make for a great combination.  Brilliantly told and keep it up!


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## Altalazar (Jul 7, 2007)

Arkhandus, AnonymousOne, thanks for the sentiments.  It is always nice to know someone reads and appreciates these!

And now, without further ado, the next installment...


Book XVI

	Sir Cordozo – Chatper Two-Hundred Eleven – Research, Rumors, and Real Estate

	The first thing we did with the cash was pay for replacements for the weapons destroyed by the huge creatures of the night.  That left us less than 20,000 gold coins left.  We then sold a strand of prayer beads for just over 90,000 coins, and then divided the money up, giving over 20,000 coins for each of us.  
	From what we found, I acquired a cloak that improved my social standing and a periapt that improved Higgins’ wisdom, something he already blessed with.  
	The King asked me to stay in the capitol for one night because Poseidon was having a VIP visitor, though he did not say who it was.  I then returned to Poseidon’s tower the next day and Poseidon told me someone named Master Annada had stayed with him.  
	I spend the next several weeks working on researching my new mind ability, something never before seen, a mind power specially suited for my needs.  I used Poseidon’s lab for my research.  I’m sure I’ll eventually be sharing the power with him, though as it stands, he owes me some power sharing of his own when he gets the chance.  
	As the weeks went by, I also heard various rumors in the streets and at the Cusp of the Sunrise.  Most of them were probably false, particularly the ones about myself.  Apparently I’m engaged to be married to one of Poseidon’s followers.  Funny how I was the last to find out.  Crystal is my only current consort, and she is nobody’s follower.  
	There were rumors of a new eruption of Cauldron’s crater coming, but that was mostly the whispered fear of traumatized citizens.  The reality was that real estate was being bought up rather quickly by out of Cauldron interests, which is always a good sign.  Foreign investment in such numbers is a strong sign of economic recovery.  I contributed to that myself by purchasing a plot of land for myself near the Cusp of the Sunrise, in the most expensive part of town, at the upper ridge of the crater, where the sulfur smell is softest and where the view of the entire city is best.  There was a structure on there already, but it was damaged by the eruption and was not part of my plans, so I had my astral construct help tear it down.  
	The plot cost me only 100,000 pieces of gold.  That left me 400,000 gold to invest in construction, though I may be taking on additional projects later.  The funds were courtesy of the King, who appreciated my noble help in the recent uncovering of the plot against the Kingdom.  I was promised more funds later, if all goes well.  By the time my research was nearing completion, my plans were ready.  A momumental structure, dedicated to the law and to myself will be built there.  My plot is only two hundred feet by sixty feet, but the sky is the limit.  
	I heard additional rumors as the weeks progressed.  One that may be true is that the King was forming either a Kudeam or an El-Kadeam (or both?)  A Kudeam is a royal adventuring company.  An El-Kadeam is a royal adventuring company that admits members only after a fight to the death.  I left further inquiry into either for another day.  
	The most interesting rumor I heard is not a rumor at all, but simple truth.  Ee is going to be a father.  Maxine is the mother.  Ee is unaware of this as of now; in fact, he is still unaware that Maxine is in town.  But he soon will be enlightened.  
	I had a few errands to take care of in between my research and building plans.  I took three trips back to my future barony over three months in order to renew my control of his two servants.  Soon enough, I will return for my final trip out there, to test my newly crafted discipline.  
	Speaking of that, my research is complete.  I am almost ready to try it, though I wish to do one more test of the power in the lab before using it in the open.  I was discussing this with Posiedon, on a day exactly three months after the encounter in the Haunted Village, when there was a loud explosion in the distance and we felt the ground beneath Poseidon’s tower shudder.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Twelve – Where’s the fire?

	At first I wondered if the volcano was erupting, but that was quickly disabused when I realized it was just a single warehouse that was on fire.  Poseidon created a teleportation circle and then quickly stepped into it.  Higgins and I followed behind him.  We emerged a few dozen paces from the fire.  The faint sound of screams for help could be heard over the crackling flames.  
	Poseidon ran forward into the flames.  I followed closely behind him, my constant elemental protections shielding me from harm.  I began searching for the source of the screams, though the thickness of the fire made me wonder if I would just find a well-cooked corpse.  
	Then I heard screams over the mindlink.  And I heard “Higgins!” shouted by Morwen.  Apparently something rather bad had happened.  Poseidon confirmed it.  He found the source of the screams – an enchanted rock.  We both headed back out into the street.  
	What I saw once clear of the smoke confirmed my fears.  Higgins’s corpse was laying in the street, surrounded by a dozen chain demons.  I guess they skipped over the whole “attempting to hire us with plans to betray us later” routine and just decided to ambush us from the start.  Well, at least they were upfront about it.  
	I ran straight over to Higgins’s corpse and quickly pressed my hand to his chest.  It had been only moments since he died, so I was able to pull his breath back into his body.  I pulled from his mind what had happened.  He was standing in the street when a dozen demons covered in chains burst out of a building and ran and surrounded him, Marcus, Morwen, and Tuvstarr.  Then from nowhere, a volley of at least 20 magic missiles slammed into him, followed quickly by 20 more, ending his life.  
	Higgins first action was to make himself vanish from sight.  He was alive again, but barely, and so he decided it was best not to be such an obvious target.  Looking to the sky, he also noted that we were encased in a green sphere of magic, probably something to prevent escape by teleportation.  Not that I was going anywhere without Higgins.
	Tuvstarr acted next, and hit the center demon with a blast of lightning that then arced to all the rest of them.  The middle demon was left a smoking corpse and the other 11 looked half-dead from the blast.  That was the last good news for a while.    
	Apparently the invisibility did not help Higgins.  He was again hit with 20 more magic missiles from nowhere, followed by a blast of hostile lightning that then arced to the rest of us.  I was unable to move out of the way, but needn’t have bothered.  It did not penetrate my elemental protection.  Unfortunately, Higgins need not have bothered, either, since the first of the 20 magic missiles was probably enough to kill him by itself.  The lightning bolt was just a wasted effort on his behalf.  Tired of this, I reached my mind up to the sphere of green that surrounded the area and then ripped it to shreds and dispersed its magic back to the ether.  I then picked Higgins still invisible form up and transported to a place of safety some distance away.  He would no longer be a target for the common street thugs who had ambushed us.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirteen – A brief respite before returning to the inferno

	I quickly returned breath to Higgins’s body, and then Higgins was kind enough to place enchantments of protection on me while I prepped myself more thoroughly for a fight, splitting my mind, protecting my body, and then planning my return.  
	With my next thought, I was in the street behind the warehouse, which was now half extinguished by a huge elemental of water that was slowly working its way to the remaining demons.  The friendly, invisible mages continued their work, sending volleys of magic missiles to new targets.  I gathered from Tuvstarr’s mind that she had seen this before – or rather had NOT seen this before.  Our assailants must have been protected by dust of disappearance.  Expensive stuff, particularly when spread out to so many foes.  Someone spent seirous money on this ambush.  Looking back at the fire, I wondered if they were also engaging in insurance fraud to cover the costs.  Then again, I reminded myself, Cauldron’s law system was primitive enough that they might not even use insurance.  Sometimes I missed Desbury.  

	Sir Corzodo – Chapter Two-Hundred Fourteen – Ambush Denoument and a New Proposal

	My companions finished off the (probably summoned) demons, and then the fire was out.  Our would-be ambushers were gone.  I guess that dust does not last very long.  I went to talk to the citizens of Cauldron in the area afterwards and discovered that many of them had seen the preparations.  Non-descript humans dressed in regular clothes were seen holding wands before vanishing from sight, and were later seen to appear from nowhere before running off.  
	Further inquiry led us to discover that the attackers were probably members of the Brawlers, the owners of the secret arena we had uncovered.  Given the power of the magic used against us, I was more convinced than ever that Tuvstarr’s twin sister Sigrid was responsible.  Later private conversation with Poseidon confirmed this.  
	“I think Sigrid is responsible too,” he told me.  “But Tuvstarr simply can’t accept that her sister could do evil.”  
	I understood what he meant.  Almost all of my guilty criminal clients had ready supplies of relatives and friends who all genuinely believed them innocent.  Mothers, in particular, seemed to be in denial.  Of course, since actual convictions also had nothing to do with innocence or guilt, but instead how well connected (or not) the defendant was, I suppose none of it really mattered.  But in Tuvstarr’s case, it did matter, because she was apparently the only one who knew where Sigrid was.  
	“I have no idea where she is,” Poseidon told me.  “Only Tuvstarr can contact her.”  Wonderful.  We might as well ask a mother to turn in her children.  “But we have something else to discuss,” continued Poseidon.  “I have consulted with Tuvstarr and others and we have determined why the Haunted Village is haunted.  There is an artifact there of immense power called the Necrotic Cradle that both attracts undead and prevents teleportation.  That is the source of the trouble there.”
	“What does it do?” I asked.
	“It allows one to literally reshape one’s existence.  All choices you have made in your life can be rechosen.  Even choices you have not made, such as your race or gender, can be altered by the device.  The only catch is that it can be done but once and that it is in the center of the disturbance because it IS the disturbance.  I plan on going there for myself.  I don’t know if I can make it on my own, so I ask you and your companions to accompany me.  We can all benefit from the cradle.”
	From reading the mind of Kyrnyn deep down, I knew he would be interested in this in particular.  He has made many bad choices in his life that he wishes could have been different.  This is his ultimate chance.  I did not know what benefit it would have for me, given that my choices in life have all been excellent, but perhaps a few minor alterations would be fun, just for novelty’s sake.  
	I gathered my companions and we set out the next day for the cradle.  


	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Fifteen – Cave entrance leads to Zigguraut.

	We teleported to the edge of the area near the Haunted Village, then walked and searched the grounds, all during the daylight.  It did not take long for us to find a cave with a door constructed at its mouth.  Higgins gave Morwen some divinely inspired agility to aid with her search for hidden devices or ambush, but she still found nothing.  While we pondered the door, Poseidon pulled out his portable hole and made an opening through the door so we could venture inside.  We found stairs spiraling downward.  
	Our descent took over twenty minutes and led us to a huge cavern that had, at its center, a massive Zigguraut.  This was clearly where we were supposed to go.  Six entrances at various levels were apparent on the side facing us.  One of Poseidon’s companions named Kerrick offered to scout around its base in the plane of Shadows, but quickly returned when he said that he saw hundreds of shadowy creatures orbiting the Zigguraut in that plane and that they started to turn their attention to him.  We had a brief discussion about where the cradle might be.  
	“The Zigguraut itself is where the graves are stored that attracted the necromancer to this area,” said Tuvstarr,  “So it seems unlikely that the cradle would be there, and yet the undead circle it, so it seems most likely that what we seek lies somewhere inside.”  
	“Yes,” said Marcus, “perhaps it is underneath it.  We should take the lowest entrance and start from there.”  
	I agreed, mostly because I did not have information to do otherwise, though I wondered if the top would be the place because that would be where the fewest tombs would be in a given floor, making it likely the place for the bodies of the noble dead.  
	As we walked toward the massive structure, Tuvstarr and Marcus filled us in on what they knew of the legend of the Necrotic Cradle.  Apparently there was a famous paladin turned infamous vampire who sought it ought, seeking his own redemption.  He actually managed to reach the place and restored himself to his former self.  His name was Tanis Silverwright.  
	Unfortunately for Tanis, all did not end well.  His companions of the time, who were as evil as he had formerly been, chose not to redeem themselves.  Tanis was thus denied absolution from his own church for his failure to hunt down his former allies in evil.  He ended his days a broken man, a drunkard, who never completed his task and never obtained the absolution he so desperately sought.  As Tuvstarr recounted this, I wondered to myself why anyone would ever want to be a paladin in the first place.  So many restrictions on what you can do, and unlike a restriction in a contract, there was not much compensation offered.  And it seemed that so many met such horrible ends.  When, exactly, does one ever hear a story about a paladin that does not involve either the paladin becoming evil or the paladin dying some horrible death at the end?  Lawyers may be universally despised, but they also live well and don’t tend to end up in tombs.  I looked around at the bodies in the Zigguraut as I wondered just how I ended up here.  
	Tuvstarr continued her tale, telling us of a half-elf monk companion of the paladin’s that is said to stalk this area still, refusing to seek absolution and apparently refusing to leave.  There was also supposed to be a guardian, a living contstruct known as an Inevitable.  I tried my best to keep the few dozen puns that popped into my mind upon hearing the name, but I was not successful.  What Tuvstarr could tell us about its weaknesses was that it was vulnerable to chaotic weapons, it was relatively slow on reflexes, but not much else.  
	The story over, I started to look closely at the tombs around us inside the Zigguraut.  They were stacked three high in the lowest level and the level was quite huge.  Each body was labeled in some ancient language that Tuvstarr could read without trouble.  I suspect Higgins could as well, but I did not bother to ask him.  I was much more interested in the fact that all of the thousands of bodies seemed to be moving.  Wonderful.  Now why was a lawyer in here again?


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## Altalazar (Jul 15, 2007)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Sizteen – Mental Midgets Accost Us

	The interior of this zigarraut was absolutely enormous.  The central corridor seemed to stretch on forever.  After a rather long walk, we finally reached what must have been the center (and it turned out it was).  There was an intersection there with another corridor equally huge that was perpendicular.  Morwen scouted ahead.  Poseidon followed close behind her.  When she reached the intersection, she glanced in both directions down the cross-hall, and as she looked, two creatures appeared to either side of her.  They had pale skin and tentacles covered their faces.  Then the air shimmered around them and I could feel their minds send out waves of force against all of us, missing Morwen only because she was standing between them instead of in front of them.  
	I glanced to my right and, unsurprisingly, saw Ee’s brain could not take the strain and he was standing there, slack-jawed, staring ahead blankly.  The mind blasts passed harmlessly over my own mental defenses, like a soft breeze running past an adamantine-bricked fortress.  Mind flayers are such mental midgets.  
	Poseidon morphed himself into a stone giant and ran forward.  Tuvstarr transformed herself into an large angelic creature that reminded me of Moria.  Four more mind flayers appeared ahead and then sent a volley of magic missiles toward Poseidon.  Higgins cringed and weaved some protective magic, then I could hear his impecible accent in my mind taunting the mind flayers to target him with their missiles.  Fortunately for them, they never did.  
	I decided that I needed to see what I could do to protect the minds of my companions.  I concentrated and extended my mind out toward them, and suddenly felt a connection stronger than I’d ever felt before linking me to them all.  The first thing I did was protect myself with precognition, setting my reflexes on edge as I felt myself anticipate moves against me with great clarity.  I felt my protection surge outward through my connection to my companions, granting them the same boost to their reflexes and the same protection to their minds.  
	In the meanwhile, Higgins stepped up behind me and pulled out a scroll.  As the parchment burned away from his incantation, Ee’s eyes came alive and Ee then charged forward to the mind flayers on the right.  With my next thought, I protected myself with an invisible shield of force, then felt with satisfaction as that protection surged down the mental connection I had to all of my companions and protected them as well.  Just let those little mental midgets try and get to my companions now!
	Tuvstarr sent a raging storm of snow and ice forward, covering everyone, including Poseidon and Morwen in with the mind flayers, but only harming our enemies.  Those that did not resist the magic entirely, that is.  Impressive.  Though from what I could tell from Higgins’s mind, it might not be so harmless to Higgins and myself.  Apparently the celestial powers that be don’t appreciate the more nuanced point of view of a neutral arbiter of the law.  
	Higgins sent one last enchantment Ee’s way, enlarging his form to that of a giant as he charged forward.  Before he could connect his axe to a mind flayer’s head, they did some magic of their own and suddenly each mind flayer was surrounded by six identical images of itself.  Higgins’s mind told me that this was not the only protective enchantment they had going on themselves.  Skin of stone was the most obvious.  He was unsure of the rest.  I decided I needed to do something about that.  Pulling together my concentration, I called forth a massive, huge creature of ectoplasm, cutting off the escape of the mind flayers on the left just as those in the middle crumbled under Ee’s, Morwen’s, and Poseidon’s blows.  
	One of the mind flayers tried to touch Ee, but missed, its enchantment wasted.  Then three of them again tried to mind blast my companions.  I knew Ee’s mind would probably need my help again, and so I surged up my own immediate mental protections, which were then transferred to Ee (and everyone else) by my special connection.  And just in time.  I could feel the blast bounce harmlessly off of my new mental shield around Ee, but only barely.  Ee’s thoughts, as transparent as always, echoed back to my mind, “Cordozo did something to me!  Ta da!  Me feel the power!”  
	Higgins cast one more enchantment before the fight was over, speeding everyone’s reflexes.  Then he sat back and saved his strength for what lay ahead as we mopped up the remaining mind flayers, who could not escape because of the teleportation blockage.  I stripped away the magical defenses of one of the flayers, ending its images, softening its skin, and evaporating away several other enchantments I could not identify.  Poseidon and my ectoplasmic servant then quickly turned that now defenseless flayer into paste.  The remaining two fell soon after.  
	Our minds still connected, and ready for battle, we quickly searched around the rest of the base level of the zigurraut, but we found nothing.  We went up to each of the other five levels to the top, still searching, and we still found nothing.  It was quickly approaching evening and so we had to make a decision about where to rest for the night.  Staying down below seemed a poor choice.  Then Morwen pointed out that we had not searched the flayer bodies.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Seventeen – Mental Midgets with Money 

	The mind flayers were all wearing magical mithral shirts – very pretty in the torchlight.  They also all had magical rings of protection.  But not much else.  Then Morwen discovered a folded cloth on one of them that looked very familiar.  Morwen laid it out on the floor in the intersection to open it and confirmed that it was, indeed, another portable hole.  And she discovered something else as well – that the floor in the intersection covered a shaft heading downward.  Given the late hour, we opted to leave that for another day.  
	Morwen laid the portable hole to the ground outside the intersection and was then able to discern its actual contents.  More gold than I could easily count, though Morwen later did count it at 174,000 pieces of gold.  I wondered where they had gotten such wealth.  I later wondered if it was part of what they intended to use to transform themselves at the cradle (had they lived to see it).  
	As we left for the surface, I noted that Tuvstarr took all of the bodies, mentioning something about material components.  I wondered if she’d wear their brains as adornments.  It would only be poetic justice for such foul mental midgets.  
	Once we reached the surface, we hiked out of the area of death and then Higgins created a magical shelter for the night.  We then returned to the zigurraut in the morning.  
	Not wishing to rush forward without information, I summoned Moira and then had Higgins make her invisible so she could scout ahead down the shaft.  We did not know how deep it went or how long we might need to fly to explore its depths.  As it turned out, we need not have worried.  It was a mere 300 feet down.  
	Moria told me over our link that the shaft opened into a cavern that had large drop-offs to either side and led to a blindingly bright light at its end.  Standing in front of the light were eight figures.  Four were huge creatures with a dozen heads each, what could only have been Hydras.  And four were constructs, what could only have been the Inevitables that Tuvstarr had heard were guardians of the cradle.  None of them seemed to notice Moria’s presence.  I asked her to wait until we could join her.  A plan formed in my mind and then the real preparations began.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hudnred Eighteen – Strength of One to Many

	My mind fresh from the night’s rest (and in anticipation for this moment) I sprang into action.  I quickly linked myself to all of my companions, including a new companion conjured up from the ectoplasm just for this occasion.  I then engaged every form of protective power that I knew, all at maximum strength, draining a great deal of my internal reservoir in the process.  In parallel, Higigns cast spell after spell on all of us, speeding us up, cloaking us in further protections, aiding our weapon’s hands with luck, divine providence, and morale.  He gave divine agility to Morwen and hardened her skin.  When the dust settled from our frenzy of mind and magic, strong protections surged around all of my companions, almost making Ee and Morwen feel invincible.  Through one means or another, every one of us then vanished from sight, leaving only my huge ectoplasmic friend to be seen in the torchlight.  To aid us in seeing each other and in seeing anyone else who might be hidden from view, I sent one past power to my companions, allowing them to see through a psychic touch.  Finally, Higgins enchanted all of us for flight.  
	Only then did we then fly down the shaft to face what would likely be a difficult battle.  My ectoplasmic friend came last, and only when he came within sight of the guardians below did the inevitables speak.  
	“This place is forbidden.  Leave now or be destroyed!”  was all they said.  Then battle was joined.  
	With my protections in place, my companions barely suffered a scratch.  The guardians had difficulty landing even a single solid blow, made more difficult by Ee’s and Poseidon’s displacement from vision.  
	Morwen charged forward, then deftly appeared from her invisible cloak, striking four quick blows in rapid succession to one of the hydras.  I’d never seen such precise strikes before.  Just four quick pokes of her rapier and the hydra fell to the ground, dead, its heart overloaded from the shock.  There was barely even a trace of blood evident.  
	The rest of the guardians fell quickly after, one by one, as they failed to do much harm to us.  I was about to raise a finger to disintegrate one of the remaining hydras when suddenly the remaining two Inevitables caused an earthquake, sending rubble down on top of us and wiping away the platform we were standing on, sending it down into a deep abyss below us.  Thankfully, Higgins’s flight was still bestowed upon us all, and so beyond a few bruises, we were all find.  All that remained was the blindingly bright necrotic cradle hovering before us.  
	Not wanting to waste another moment, Ee flew forward into the light.  He began immediately to feel his flesh melt away.  But with all of the protections and with all of his flesh, it took rather a long time for it to melt completely away.  When it did, Ee died and was then instantly reborn, still Ee, yet changed.  Ee found his new destiny.  I looked up at the cradle, then at my companions, and then we all walked toward the surging artifact.  When we emerge, we will be different.  I stepped into the light…


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## Altalazar (Jul 22, 2007)

Book XVII

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Nineteen – Our Party goes through some Changes

	I could have sworn that for a fleeing moment, Ee had become a great scholar, a wise sage, a learned professor of the world, whose insights, wisdom, and piercing intellect made him the most profound thinker that has ever existed.  Then it was over, and I just heard a single thought from Ee: “Nah, me just want be Ee.”  
	Still, there were some subtle differences.  Morwen kept her changes close to her chest, though I sensed that she might be asking me for a favor later.  Marcus barely changed at all.  
	Then there was Kyrnyn.  Emphasis on “was.”  What emerged from the cradle looked like Kyrnyn, in the sense that he was still an orc, but everything else felt different.  His mind was almost completely different except… it wasn’t.  It was rearranged.  Probing deeply, I saw back into Kyrnyn’s past, back to when he was cursed to walk the Earth as an ettin to learn the error of his angry ways.  Then I saw the spark I saw before.  The second head.  A second mind that survived the transition, that held all of his earlier, uncontrolled anger.  It was always there, biding its time.  Now this mind, strangely a female mind now still in male (and orcish) body, had come to the fore.  Kyrnyn was still there, but now he was the small spark and this new mind, this new voice, Ninrick, or Nin, was in control.  I could no longer sense the divinity in him, but I sensed a cunning and ferocity that was never before present.  It would be interesting to see how this manifests itself.  
	Posiedon underwent a transformation as well, similar to my own.  The others with us also changed, though it was difficult for me to discern exactly how, given my limited time spent with each of them.  Tuuvstar seemed as knowledgeable as ever.  Thus transformed, we all returned home, quietly contemplating the changes in each of us.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty – Some Growing Developments

	Over the next four months, the construction on my new home, with much help from Higgins and my slowly accumulating followers, was completed.  The structure was in the most expensive portion of town, so the neighbors were appropriately noble.  It has three stories, and can house comfortably nearly 100 souls.  I intend to house the current bulk of my followers there, where they can serve me appropriately, but I have tasks for the rest of them that will take them far from this small town of Cauldron, which I will mention in a moment.  
	The entrance is impressive, with a two-story porch held up by six stone columns of proper judicial solemnity.  The entry doors are massive twin doors of steel that open up to a welcomer who sits at a desk to greet all who enter.  
	Inside the structure itself, I had a very large, luxury library, housing the best law library money can buy.  There is also a courtroom, jury room, and judge’s chambers on the ground floor, for use on real trials if that day may come, or for use on mock trials to aid in the training of my cadre of lawyers.  Study rooms outside the library double as client consultation rooms for those who seek our services.  
	My lower level servants are also housed on the first floor, the better to allow them to service to the needs of the ground floor denizens.  
	My kitchen is luxurious, providing food the likes of which most never see outside of the Cusp of the Sunrise.  The dining room / ball room serves a luxurious complement to it, seating over thirty in dining splendor.  Only the upper crust dine there, though I allow all of my followers to take a turn dining there, as a perk of my generosity, though they also have their own private spaces to dine in common areas on the second floor.  
	Which brings me to the second floor.  There, the bulk of my followers are housed.  Most share rooms like barracks, but some have a bit more space and privacy.  All can share the well-appointed common rooms that go down the middle of the floor.  Two small and one large fountain provides them with a space for reflection and quiet contemplation.  
	The third floor is where I reside.  My room is in the corner with the best view of the rest of Cauldron and includes a warm tub of water, ever ready for a dip.  Crystal resides there with me now.  Higgins’s room is on the opposite corner.  He usually resides alone.  Between the two is a secret warroom where we can meet with my other companions to discuss matters of importance.  
	The room outside these three rooms is the central hub of the place, though it is left of center.  This is where the scrying pool, the healing platform and bed, the guardian statues, and the rest of my private library are stored.  My followers are always busy in here, keeping track of various matters that require their attention.  
	The central portion of the third floor is mostly an open area, with its own fountains and another, more quiet place for dining.  I have four fancy bedroom suites there to house VIP guests as I have them, or some of my companions, though they usually have their own accommodations.  Ee, in particular, has made his own special arrangements, as I will mention shortly.  
	All told, the structure cost me nearly 270,000 gold coins, and that is on top of the 100,000 gold coins I spent just for the rights to the land.  But it is money well spent.  I still have additional funds granted by the King for further construction, and I plan to make use of those throughout the land, if need be.  Which brings me to the duties of my non-resident followers.  
	It has become apparent that there is much happening around the Kingdom, and even outside of it, that I am only dimly aware of.  This must change.  So I have sent my followers to live in places across the Kingdom.  My most noble followers reside in the Capitols of the land, attending court, keeping an ear to the intrigue there, and reporting it back to me.  My more common followers reside in more humble surroundings, practicing their chosen profession, perhaps running a tavern, and keeping an ear to the latest gossip and rumors in the street, gathering what information does not by happenstance already come their way, and reporting it back to me.  
	My followers of the more barbaric or druidic persuasion are on the outskirts of civilized lands, living among the more basic-living citizens, and listening to what tales they have to spin.  All of this information is transmitted back to my home, though mental reports, through scrying and listening by my more arcane followers.  They organize the information and keep it up to date, storing it and sorting it for my perusal as needed.  
	I am greatly aided in that task by two very capable followers in particular.  Johann and Kitiara, brother and sister, came to me in the same day, seeking me out because of my fame (in certain limited circles) as a psion of some reknown.  They were both of some skill already when I saw them, and they grow ever more skilled by the month under my tutelage, though it may be some time before they truly come in to their own.  
	Their skills allow them to do much of the coordination work and they are invaluable to me in that regard.  They also sometimes travel to gain further information for me when what they have gathered from my network does not suffice.  Over time, my network will grow until its tendrils reach into everywhere in the Kingdom, making me the first to know many things that others will hear only rumor of.  I will connect the pieces together and truly understand what is afoot.  
	One of the first things my network alerted me to was something of a more personal interest to one of my companions.  Ee’s Maxine, whom I was kind enough to transport to town, is pregnant.  Further, she was seeking Ee now to marry him.  Apparently the Law under St. Cuthbert requires such things.  She found Ee and dragged him before the authorities and demanded that he marry her.  Lest it seem too harsh on her part, I should mention that this was only after Ee treated her with disdain and refused to have anything to do with her or her unborn child.  
	When the time came to go to court, I offered to represtent Ee in this matter.  Ee at first asked me if I could transport her out of town.  I told him I could not do so without her permission.  He asked if I could wipe her memory of ever meeting him.  I again told him I could not do so without her permission.  White lies, those, since I probably could force her permission on both matters.  The big huge whopping lie was what was unsaid.  That to do either would defeat the purpose of my having brought her to town in the first place.  But Ee need not know that.  I think, in the end, it will be good for Ee to have a child.  At the very least, he should take responsibily.  If nothing else, it will give him more incentive to travel the planes in adventure, if only to avoid staying in town.  
	The only real legal help I provided Ee was with his assets.  Before the ceremony, he asked me to wipe his memory of the 54,000 coins he had to his name as he gave them to Nin (formerly Kyrnyn) for safekeeping, leaving him with a single gold coin.  Then, when they asked him about his assets, he could truthfully say that, as far as he knew, he had only one gold to his name.  What I did not tell Ee was that the trigger to remembering all of those coins was someone saying to him “I love you” or him saying that to someone else (and meaning it).  Of course, I could trigger it at any time even without that trigger, but this way, I figured, if he ever did find love with Maxine, at least then they could recover Ee’s fortune.  
	But this seems unlikely.  After the ceremony, Ee told Maxine that he had no home and that he lived in the woods.  Then, just to prove it, he went to live in the woods.  Maxine opted not to join him and instead stayed with Posiedon.  And so things went for four months.  Then I heard Ee’s voice call to me from the forest.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-One – Ee gets us hired

	“Cordozo, me Ee” I heard over the link.  
	“Yes, Ee?” 
	“Malvo here say he want hire us, find Earth Weird named Moonstone.  She prophecy.  They miss her.  They pay 40,000 coins.”  
	“What kind of demon is Malvo?” 
	“Huh?”
	“Nevermind.  So Ee, what else did he say?”
	“She Oracle.  She gone missing.  Him want find.  Oracle live in ground.  She gone long time.”
	“Ok Ee, ask him how long we have to find her.”  
	“He say three weeks.”  
	“Ok Ee, come meet everyone at Tuvstarr’s tower.”  
	Soon we were all at the tower.  I always am linked now with the others, though sometimes Morwen balks at that.  Morwen likes to disappear for days or weeks at a time.  I sent a message to her anyway.  She usually shows up, even if she doesn’t respond.  	
	Not having seen Ee in quite some time, I asked him, “where’s your wife?”  
	“Me don’t know.”  
	What a wonderful father and husband Ee must be.  I wonder what he’ll name the child.  Given the origin of Ee’s name and the state of his relationship with Maxine, it ought to be an interesting one.  I suppose we may all find out in another two or so months.  
	Thus assembled, we knocked on Tuvstarr’s door.  
	Skylar, an overly pompous-looking, self-righteous, formal teenager opened the door.  
	“Do you have an appointment?” he asked, with the false accent of those who aspire to nobility but never achieve it.   
	“Yes,” I said, lying with perfect smoothness and sincerity.  
	“Come in,” he replied, his voice making the “m” and “n” sound like a long, trailing song.  He told us to wait.  
	Ten minutes later, after we were left waiting to satisfy Skylar’s twisted sense of importance for himself and his mistress, Skylar appeared and said, “Madam Tuvstarr will see you now.”  
	Then we walked up this magical shaft to the third floor, where Tuvstarr was sitting behind a desk covered with books and papers.  Tuvstarr gave Skylar a withering look, but said nothing.  Deciding we had waited long enough, I asked, “Ok, just what the heck is an Earth Weird?”  
	Tuvstarr then explained to us a bit about the Chisel.  They are an organization that is apparently on good terms with Poseidon.  They were the first ones to take advantage of his regular teleportation circles created to travel from one city to another.  They knew about it ahead of time and even created special circular wagons to take advantage of them.  They set up contacts first and so they have prospered under this new trade system.  
	For years, they had an Oracle in the form of an Earth Weird named Moonstone.  They did not know where she resided exactly, they just knew how to call her so she would come.  Then just after the eruption in Cauldron, they called her and she did not come.  They tried everything they could to locate her, but could not.  
	And what she is is essentially a form of an elemental who can apparently foresee the future.  The implications for tort law overwhelmed me for a moment.  Proxmiate cause is based upon whether or not a given harm or danger is foreseeable.  I wondered if the Chisel had taken proper precautions to protect themselves from liability in their endeavors.  I’ll have to ask them about that once we’ve located Moonstone for them.  Back to the matter at hand.  
	Tuvstarr could not tell us where to go next, but we tried Poseidon.  He knew the same thing she knew, probably because he gets most of his information from her, but he did suggest we see the Mayor, Jenya, who was also High Priestess of St. Cuthbert.  He said she had an oracle item that may prove helpful.  And so we departed for the temple.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Two – Takes an Oracle to Find and Oracle

	We knocked on the door to the temple of St. Cuthbert and asked to see Jenya.  
	“Do you have an appointment?”  
	“Yes,” said Ee, rather unconvincingly.  
	The acolyte turned and left, presumably to fetch her.  After the required ten minute wait (I wondered if there was a handbook somewhere that said that ten minutes was the appropriate time to keep important guests waiting), Jenya walked in, flanked by six Samurai bodyguards.  Where she found them out here, in Cauldron, I wondered.  
	What was interesting was that, while they usually eyed all of us suspiciously, this time, all six pairs of eyes were focused solely on Nin.  Apparently that summer course he took in “ninja” training, despite being buried deep in his mind, and in his past, is somehow visible.  
	We asked Jenya about the Oracle.  She had heard of the Chisel (of course) and said she would do what she could by consulting her Star Mace.  She said, “Make yourselves at home” and left to consult her artifact.  
	When she returned, she had this cryptic answer:

The seer found what she was looking for.
What she was not looking for found her and sent her home.
At home she went looking for what she lost.
She was again found and is now waiting to be found, so she can find what she wants.  

	Wonderful.  I wondered if we should also “drink lots of water.”  

	Tuvstarr, upon later consultation, seemed to think that “home” for Moonstone would be the Elemental Plane of Earth.  Great, that really narrows it down.  
	I must have expressed that sentiment aloud because Morwen responded by saying, “It’s not like it’s an infinite expanse of Earth!”
	“Uh, actually, it is.”  I said.  
	“Oh.”  
	Tuvstarr did suggest to us a location to try, a major city on the plane where we might find more information.  Unfortunately, shifting between the planes can be imprecise at times, so we just aimed as best we could and prepared to depart.  But first, I wanted to consult with Malvo personally.  
	Malvo, the man who hired Ee from the woods, was helpful.  He explained that the power used to summon Moonstone only had a five to ten mile range, so her residence here must not have been that far from Cauldron.  He gave us a symbol of their order that we could use to identify her.  He said Moonstone would recognize it if we showed it to her.  
	I also asked Malvo about the Brawlers.  He had no new information to share, though he did mention that they came to town only within the past year.  We’ll have to get back to them later.  
	Our preparations complete, we joined hands in a circle and I then shifted us from Cauldron to somewhere near the Major Elemental Metropolis on the Elemental Plane of Earth mentioned to us by Tuvstarr.  And then the bashing began.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Three – Spelunking the Earth

	We arrived in a medium-sized cavern.  Unfortunately, it had no exits.  Even more unfortunately, it was a sacred place to elementals, so they did not want us “invaders” in it.  And in the ultimate of misfortunes for us, there were ten huge earth elementals in the room, in a circle around us, who saw it as their personal mission to punish us for our trespasses.  
	Higgins quickly hasted us, and then Nin and Ee began to fight them.  They barely made a scratch in the thick stony bodies of the elementals.  Morwen did a very impressive acrobatic move to stand between two of them, but then also made nary a scratch in their thick stoney bodies.  Then their massive fists came down like avalanches, nearly killing Morwen, knocking Marcus unconscious, and severely wounding Higgins as well.  
	This did not look good.  Four were within pounding distance of Higgins and though one, incredibly, missed him despite Higgins almost total lack of protection, the others did not, and so I quickly grabbed the minds of the four closest elementals and dominated them.  Unsure of where this was headed, I simply had them stand still for now while we dealt with the rest.  
	We still did little damage to them.  I considered trying to disintegrate one or perhaps crush one of their minds, but decided that it would be best to deal with as many as possible, so I managed to dominate three more.  One shrugged it off, and the other three who were slightly wounded retreated down into the earth.  It was at this point that Nin decided to try conversing with the one undominated one who was left.  
	They spoke in deep, guttural, almost resonant tones for a few moments before I decided to try and link my mind to it so I could converse with it as well.  While Nin could speak their words, he was about as eloquent with them as Ee.  I gave them the most eloquent speech, profusely apologizing for our trespasses, and promising to leave immediately, without even touching their sacred walls.  I just asked for distance and direction to another open space, one less sacred.  I also asked if he could help us with locating Moonstone, assuring him that our intentions were entirely benign.  In the end, he found me quite persuasive and told me that there was an open space just over 400 feet from here.  I transported all of us there and then he and his companions escorted us to the vault of their leader.  
	We traveled far, through tunnels made by the elementals just so we could pass.  Then we reached the chamber of the High Leader, who was an impressively huge earth elemental who also knew our own common tongue.  
	The stonework in her chamber was beyond belief.  Dwarves would cry and tear their beards out at how beautiful it was.  The walls were opulent, covered in gemstones that dwarfed the treasuries of any Earthly Kingdom (in the non-elemental sense of the word “Earthly” of course).  
	To give more goodwill, Marcus took this opportunity to offer to heal one of the injured elementals.  His touch healed him completely, impressing the Leader.  
	They took us to another chamber, non-sacred, and closed us off, telling us to wait while their Leader saw if she could find out information for us about Moonstone.  Her last command to our escort was that he was in charge of us and that if we hurt things, he would pay.  Such brutal efficiency.  I guess that is what one would expect of one made of the earth.  
	We waited in the chamber for five hours.  Then our “guardian,” who’s name was Morphysis, came back and said he would take us to see someone who could help us.  Apparently Moonstone went through a portal, looking to get back to where she came from, and never came back.  They did not know to where the portal leads.  They know it is located some three weeks travel away (if you’re an elemental) or three months if you were us.  Not wanting Ee to miss his baby’s birth, we asked if someone who knew its precise location could talk to us so we could teleport there.  And thus, we were taken to see the Earth Wizard.  
	Morphysis took us down many more passages until we reached a wooden door.  I could tell from his mind that this indicated great wealth, since all trees were imported from other planes.  We knocked and asked for the owner.  
	An assistant answered, and asked us if we had an appointment.  
	“Yes,” Morwen said, lying somewhat better than Ee.  
	“Oh, you have brought the soft ones,” the assistant said back.  We were escorted inside.  “Wait here and make yourselves comfortable.”  
	Ten minutes later (ten minutes now having been established as the universal waiting time when seeing someone important, holding true even across planes and even for creatures made completely out of granite and with rocks for brains), the Earth Wizard appeared.  She was very pleasant, as far as earth elementals go.  Her name was Mantle.  
	She offered us food and drink and we had a nice meal with her.  Her great wealth and his ease of manner with us “softies” clearly identified Mantle as amongst the “upper crust” of earth elementals.  
	Her assistant, Stalagmite, offered to help us purchase goods if we wished, particularly potions to help us “beathe earth.”  It took me a moment to realize that this was not a eumphism for having us all killed.  Higgins and I purchased a few of the potions just in case.  We had to watch our spending, my funds having been mostly depleted on permanently enhancing my intelligence.  (Courtesy of the cradle, I was able to make a certain fund conversion).  
	After the meal was over, we were shown the location of the portal through Mantle’s scrying.  We then thanked her and I transported us to the portal’s location.  
	It was unclear where it led.  Not wishing to go in blind, I began to manifest my interplanar correspondence power.  Once complete, I summoned Moria, and then sent her through the portal.  
	She communicated back to me that she was in a small cavern that was hot (with a lava pool in the center) and had a large anvil.  Working the anvil was an efreeti that took notice of her, but otherwise ignored her, continuing his assigned task.  There was an exit to the cave to a hall, but that was not what caught her attention.  
	In one corner of the room stood imprisoned a creature of earth.  Moria approached her and discovered that this was indeed Moonstone.  Moonstone, for her part, looked grateful to see Moria, though she apparently already knew we were coming.  Oracles must not have much fun reading mysteries.  
	Now we needed to decide the proper approach.  Moria had but a few moments left.  I contemplated what I would have her do before our next move.  It might be wise to rest, but then it might be wiser to move quickly.  But which was the better move?


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## Altalazar (Jul 28, 2007)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Four – Through the Looking Glass

	I connected my mind and body to my companions and boosted them with strong layers of protection.  I even boosted an ectoplasmic companion and Valaria, whom I summoned to join us before our journey.  Then we stepped through one by one, my huge ectoplasmic companion going first.  Not until I arrived did I realize that there was a bit of a timing problem.  
	When I arrived, my ectoplasmic companion was gone.  It turned out that Ee had been there quite some time before me, even though I was right behind him.  Stranger still, we found out that time flowed there slower, not faster, than in our own plane.  There must have been something about the portal in transition that gave the reverse effect.  
	In any case, I quickly found Moonstone in her magical prison.  Once we were all there, we prepared for an ambush through the only door to the room and I attempted to disintegrate the magical circle holding Moonstone.  Instead, I removed a chunk of rock from the floor that quickly filled with magma from some infinite source below.  It appeared that we were on some sub-layer of the abyss, a demi-plane home to some unpleasant beings.  
	Moonstone informed us that she had prohesized that we would be triumphant.  Beyond that, the details were a little hazy.  She did inform us that the other two inhabitants of this complex were Pit Fiends.  Devils of the abyss.  Well, at least we know they didn’t hire us.  That’s a demon’s job.  
	Higgins attempted to speak to the efreet.  Higgins knows and speaks all languages through some special means of magic.  The efreet, though, was uninterested in talking.  The only reaction he gave was to Higgins’s question regarding his availablility for employment when his current task was done.  To that, he simply raised an eyebrow and kept on pounding away at the adamantine.  
	Lacking any immediate means of freeing Moonstone, we decided to explore further.  The efreet seemed quite content to keep pounding away on a breastplate while we searched.  I could tell Ee wanted to fight it, but we talked him out of it.  
	With no lock on this side of the metal door leading from this room, Morwen could not unlock it, so I disintegrated it and then we moved on.  Beyond the door was a hall heading in two directions, split like a ‘V.’  We took the right branch.  I left a new ectoplasmic companion guarding the left branch, to warn us of any approach.  We found a rather large bedroom   The furniture left no doubt that the occupant had large wings to contend with, both for sleeping and for sitting at its desk.  
	The next room was a summoning room of some sort.  A magic circle inscribed inside a magical triangle filled the floor.  Higgins informed me that this was a very ancient way to summon.  Apparently triangles are long disfavored and safe-summoning manuals all require the double-circle now.  I pointed out to Higgins that despite that, if the Pit Fiends upgraded to a double circle, this could not be used as evidence of negligence in using a circle-in-triangle (in the event of a summoning gone bad), because otherwise, there would be disincentive to correct problems.  
	Sitting on a table in the summoning room was a wand, apparently used to inflict harm on a summoned creature in order to help control it.  Given that it only spat out magic missiles, it was doubtful that it was very effective.  
	The next room was apparently the kitchen.  The smells wafting out would have smelled good to us, had we been evil devils who enjoyed the taste of gnome flesh.  As it was, it smelled putrid.  Then Morwen cracked the door open.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Five – Gnome is what’s for dinner

	Two pit fiends stood at separate counters preparing dinner.  The room was absolutely huge – they could have boned an ancient dragon in there.  As it was, they had only a single small table, upon which a gnome lay.  Marcus did not need to look at the gnome for long to determine that he needed a recall from the afterworld, not healing.  
	We retreated down the hall so Higgins could cast a few protective spells (what few he had left after using them all up earlier to no avail) and I added a few protections of my own.  Then we returned to the door and Larch (in the form of a wolf) summoned an ape and I summoned forth another ectoplasmic friend (my seond having already expired in our explorations) and then Ee charged into the room.  
	Ee was large in stature, thanks to Higgins, as was Nin.  Ee managed to get the door open and halfway through before Nin charged past him and right up to the Pit Fiend.  Then an ape appeared next to him.  The next moment, both the ape and Nin were running away screaming, an aura of fear overcoming them both.  Higgins reacted quickly, casting a spell of heroism on Ee, protecting his mind from fear and enhancing his prowess in battle.  
	Before Higgins could turn his magic on Morwen, she had already bound into the room, her arrows flying.  Higgins soon ran after, and gave her the same boost as Ee before turning his attention to Nin.  A few moments later, Nin’s enchantment of fear had been dissipated by Higgins’s magic.  
	My ectoplasmic friend had little effect on the beast.  Then both fiends turned to the doorway.  Higgins was still hidden by his magic, but I was not.  They sent forth two balls of fire each at us.  Thinking quickly, I dampened the blast of the first, but I could not dampen the rest, and so fire washed over all of us in four successive waves.  Thankfully, Higgins’ protections held strong and so most of us had nary a burned hair from the blasts.  
	Apparently unsatisified with that result, the fiends then both sent forth waves of magical rocks against us that, upon impact, exploded into even more balls of fire.  Higgins’ protections again saved us, though the rocks that impacted myself had no effect at all as my own resistance against enchantments held firm.  The fiends then charged forward, one against Ee, the outher coming around the table to engage Ee from the other side.  It was then that I struck back.  
	At the speed of thought I sent forth a quick ray of distintegration against the fiend coming around the table.  It easily shrugged it off, as my power failed to penetrate its powerful resistance.  Undaunted, I lined up my aim, filled myself with maximum empowerment, and tried again, and this time, I struck the creature dead in the chest.  The fiend then vanished into a pile of dust, a small pendant falling to the floor from where its neck once stood.  
	The other Pit Fiend screamed in agony and rage.  I turned my mind toward it and tried to crush it, but never quite managed to get past its strong will.  Ee, Morwen, and Nin surrounded it (with the help of my ectoplasmic friend) and slowly wore it down.  
	I could feel a surge of power from within the fiend’s mind.  It was calling to mind its most awesome power.  I could hear its thoughts begin to form as it stated “I wish I were totally he…” but its words were cut short as Nin’s chain snapped into its throat, and then through it, ripping out the arteries from its neck.  The only sounds remamaining were the gurgling of blood drowning out its dying breath, as it was unable to complete the words to its enchantment.  Then there was a dull “thud” as its massive body fell to the stone floor.  Then silence.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Six – Gnome no more, then more gnomes.  

	Larch, still a wolf, walked up to the table where the gnome lay.  He then touched his paw to the corpse, and began druidic incantations.  Soon thereafter, we had a naked halfling looking rather confused.  Then he turned and saw his former body in the form of a corpse, cooked, and seasoned for eating.  And thus, one of the great mysteries of the universe was solved.  When one is reincarnated into a new body, there is, in fact, nothing in one’s stomach if one is inclined to vomit all over one’s shoes.  Or in this case, over two pair of hairy, but bare, halfling feet.  
	I silently decided to myself that it would probably be best for this new halfling/former gnome to have his memory erased of that particular sight.  One never needs to see the visual associated with the literal fulfillment of having one’s goose cooked.  
	We completed our circuit of the complex, finding a few other rooms but nothing much of interest, save the ten still-living gnomes that apparently were on special the last time these Pit Fiends went out for food.  We freed them.  
	The pendant that had fallen from the neck of the disintegrated fiend was a key to unlock Moonstone’s prison, so we used it to free her.  We found somewhere on the order of 114,000 gold coins worth of coins, gems, and valuables in the complex, making the trip somewhat worthwhile.  The 40,000 gold piece reward for rescuing Moonstone made that even better.  We managed to get that despite coming back later than three weeks.  Apparently time moves faster on the abyss, so two months passed at home while only two days passed there.  That could come in handy sometime.  
	We waited two days so the efreet could finish his work.  He then picked up his tools and left, leaving his craftsmanship behind.  The adamantine full plate and bastard sword, both large, were a good portion of the 114,000 mentioned above.  
	Much had happened in our absence.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Seven – King’s Contest 

	My stronghold was long since completed when I returned, and my network of informats well-established.  The first thing they informed me of was the official announcement of the King’s Contest for an adventuring company.  The screening process involved one-on-one combat with the King’s champion.  Those who survived it with enough points would become the king’s new adventuring company, with all of the perks that go along with such a distinction.  
	I still want a noble title of my own, a meaningful one.  The King has not said what he intends to do about the baron or the troop plans I gave him.  But this adventuring group should be a step up.  We would get the king’s resources and his authority, including authority over his subjects.  We could even give orders to nobles, but only those of Knight rank or lower.  Thus, by my reckoning, we would be above Knights in status.  That would be a step up from where I am now.  
	The other perks and resources were nice, but not ultimately what I am after.  I want my own lands, my own title, and at the very least, my own province.  Having the royal coffers and lands available to use as resources to aid quests is all well and good, but it grants me nothing toward my ultimate goal.  But I must be patient.  (And if patience is difficult I suppose I can always go visit the fiends’ home).  I know I can work this to my advantage.


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## AnonymousOne (Aug 3, 2007)

I love this character ... So crafty, and really quite bright (if a little paranoid about Demons).  

One question though?  Why is Cordozo so obsessed with lands and recognition?


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## Altalazar (Aug 5, 2007)

Anon - thanks.  And as to why he wants noble titles and lands, that has sort of evolved over time.  Cordozo realizes rather cynically that in the end, truth and justice don't matter as much as one's personal connections and power, so he's striving to attain both, perhaps because he thinks that's the only path to justice.  Or perhaps he's just reflecting his own pretensions - he's always been interested in the noble - when he started out, all of his starting money was spent on nice clothing (and a briefcase and paper).  

The past few sessions have had some wonderful meta-game moments - I keep forgetting to share them, though perhaps they are evident in the prose...

And speaking of prose, here's last night's write-up...


Book XVIII

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Eight – Nimue – no that’s Nim-You-Ay

	I’m not sure how I missed it, but apparently since the cradle experience, I noticed that the ever-secretive Morwen had a companion similar in disposition, but slightly smaller and more arcane, named Nimue (that’s Nim-You-Ay).  She was about 5’3” tall, young, and cute.  And about as forthcoming with information as Morwen.  They seemed to have a lot in common.  They even both had pet rats that seemed somehow familiar.  Morwen’s was named Brie and Nimue’s was named Wensleydale.  I bit back a few dozen puns when I heard those names.  
	Nimue would only tell me that her profession was cleaning the garbage off of the street.  Given how clean her hands looked, I figured she meant it figuratively.  Higgins told me she had some arcane magic in her, as did Morwen now.  Probing Nimue’s mind, I found her even more closed off than Morwen.  I would hate to see what would happen if either of them figured out that Posiedon knows a lot of their secrets.  
	In my two month absence, Ee’s baby came due.  But Maxine was no longer in town.  My information network informed me that she had been spotted returning to Thomasville, the seat of the traitorous Baron.  Then she vanished from sight altogether.  I guess that would satisy Ee, but I think she deserves better.  I guess Ee is too stubborn to deal with her.  Maybe he’ll change his mind when he sees his new child.  And maybe that new child will get more than a vowel for a name if Ee isn’t shot in the neck with an arrow when naming him or her.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Nine – Planar Cartography 

	I was strolling down the street, keeping my mind on the pulse of the city, when I was accosted by a man named Flanders.  He claimed to be part of some organization that did Planar Cartography.  He offered me membership, but said I had to keep it secret.  Apparently they focus on exploring places no one has ever been to before (probably defining ‘no one’ as no humanoid, since I assume there are all sorts of horrendous creatures in such far-off places).  The benefits of memebership included information, salvage rights to what we found in a new place, a stipend of at least 9,000 gp for each new mission (at least for me), and the opportunity for special training to be a cosmic descryer, whatever the heck that was.  
	Flanders then warned, “All information for my organization is proprietary.  So don’t share it with anyone.  And you need to pass a test to join.”  
	There seemed to be a lot of that testing going around.  I thought ahead to the upcoming combat with the King’s Champion.  
	“You know that upcoming combat with the King’s Champion,” Flanders said.  
	“Uh, yes,” I said.
	“If you win at that, you will have passed our test of membership.”  
	I was momentarily dumbfounded.  What a lazy organization.  They don’t even bother to come up with their own test, they just piggyback on the King’s test.  I wondered what the King would have to say about this likely unauthorized wager on his business.  But diplomatically, I told him, “Lazy bum, come up with your own test.”  Only it was more like, “do you not have the resources to come up with your own contest?”  
	He did not really have an answer.  So I kept it secret, as promised.  And I’m sure Morwen, Nin, and Ee kept it secret as well when they were likely approached by this man, because none of them said anything to me.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty – The Nosy Bard

	Construction had been completed on four new taverns while I was gone.  The first one completed was in my original home of Desbury.  There I had sent one of my more colorful (and musical) followers, a young bard of great skill.  Given my desire to set up each tavern and inn establishment as a place to gather information and keep the pulse of its locale, it was only appropriate that this tavern be named “The Nosy Bard.”  My bard was a featured performer there.  He kept his name secret, in fact, just to further play up the name of the tavern as his namesake.  “Who are you,” some would ask, “Why, I’m the Nosy Bard himself,” he would reply, before then acting up to his name.  To encourage participation, he would weave whatever new things he was told into his songs, though one could pay a price for his silence.  Sometimes that price was money, but usually it was an offer of exchange of information.  I have a feeling this new venture will bring me great dividends.  
	I also had three other tarvern/inns open in three other locales.  One in Cauldron, one in the Capitol, and one in Twin Oaks, but I will leave those details for another time.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-One – Late Night Geezer Call

	One night, just before midnight, I was settling in with a  good book from my rather large library, trying to relax in my tub full of hot water (and with Crystal) when I heard over my everpresent Dragonslayer Minklink Morwen’s “voice.”  
	“There’s someone here who wishes to hire us, we are almost at your location,” she said.  
	“Ok, bring him on up, I’ll get the others.”  I then contacted Nin.  Nin, despite being further away, managed to arrive first.  Apparently our would-be employer was a very very slow walker.  
	I saw Nin at my front desk after he arrived.  For some strange reason he ended up waiting there exactly 10 minutes before I got down there.  Nin seemed perturbed by the wait.  I tried to explain to him that the wait was apparently a Fundamental Law of the Universe, but he was not in the mood to discuss philosophy.  
	Morwen still had not arrived, though with a 600 foot jump from her dimension door armbands, she arrived relatively soon.  On her arm was Chin Lee, a very old man, 86 years old, who looked like he had seen better days.  I offered him some food.  
	Ten minutes later, we were in my luxurious dining hall, and Lee was shoveling in food by the plateful.  Either he really liked my remarkable chef’s cooking, or he was just hungry.  In between mouthfuls, he told us his quest.  He sought water from the fabled Fountain of Youth.  Apparently he had sent a group of six adventurers known as the Sunblades to get it already, but none of them had returned.  
	Given his appetite, I wondered if he was what he appeared to be, so I shifted my vision to true and looked him over, and he looked just as old and wrinkled, if somewhat plumper from all of the good food he’d binged upon from my kitchen.  
	Once he was satisfied we would take on his task, he showed us a map and he showed us our payment.  He brought out a huge gem that he could barely hold in his hands.  I quickly summoned my chief librarian to appraise its worth as well all looked it over.  The final consensus was that it was worth between 100,000 and 120,000 pieces of gold.  And all we needed to do to get it was to bring him a drink from the Fountain of Youth that actually makes him younger.  
	His map was of an area some 6,000 miles away, though conveniently, Posiedon’s regular portals take people there for trade, or at least to an area near there, a city named Xie-Nin.  From there, with any luck, we can find someone who can describe for us a portion of Xie-Tin, a city that is only six shorts weeks travel, across nasty desert and mountains, to the location on the map marked Chin-Wan, the Fountain of Youth.  As luck would have it, today was the day of the outgoing teleportation circle to Xie-Nin, so we need not have waited two days for it.  Without too much fanfare, we headed for the circle and then stepped in.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Two – Langauge Barriers

	The distance of our travel was made clear when it went from midnight outside to early afternoon.  We stepped out into a bustling market area, where there were lots of people of ethnicity similar to Lee’s going about their business.  One of them grabbed us and moved us out of the teleportation circle to allow others to come through behind us.  
	None of us spoke the local language, save Higgins, who speaks and understands all languages due to one of his many aiding enchantments.  He aided me as well, casting a temporary form of it on myself so I could try and locate someone who had been to Xie-Tin.  
	After a few hours, I was successful.  I found myself walking toward the home of a family who apparently had a cousin who had been to Xie-Tin.  I still marveled at the different attire worn by those of this town.  The only armor I saw was of a flimsy, wooden variety.  But then the only weapons I saw were short, slashing swords that apparently had no points and no particular impact.  Against these “katanas” apparently such armor was worthwhile.  Against the many bows I saw, it probably was not, but then, not even full plate can stop a skilled longbowman from piercing one’s heart, so perhaps the lighter weight and mobility is worth it in the end.  
	It turned out that the cousin who had been to Xie-Tin was in fact still IN Xie-Tin, so that was a dead end.  I suppose I could have gone back to Cauldron and scryed him and then teleported to his location, but I decided to try a different approach.  I soon found myself in a nice tavern with a huge tapestry on the wall depicting a well-known temple in Xie-Tin.  I studied the illustration carefully.  Then I noticed that in a cosmic coincidence, Nin and Morwen (and Larch and Nimue) were already there, making preparations to eat and sleep.  
	Since we were teleportation circle-lagged, I decided we should stay there for the night, so we ordered some delicious noodles (for the whole place, in fact, I’ve never seen bowls disappear so quickly) and then retired for the night.  Morwen was particularly paranoid, and asked about magical options for shelter within the room for the night, but in the end, we just kept watches and nothing remarkable happened.  I did catch from Morwen’s mind “I . . . need . . . more . . . cover” as she looked at the paper thin walls that were, in fact, made of paper, and simply slid open to allow us to sleep on the matted floor.  Given the horrors we usually face, I didn’t think there would be much difference between paper walls and those of enchanted stone.  
	In the morning we had something called “sushi” which really was nothing more than raw fish.  It was not half bad, though Higgins said we might need some healing magic later if they did not prepare it properly.  I make a mental note to bring back some of the recipies for my cook.  
	Morwen and Nimue looked a bit off.  Apparently they don’t even like the sight of fish, so they waited outside.  When I joined them, I took their hands and then we all found ourselves standing next to the temple in Xie-Tin.  
	As luck would again have it, were were in a market by the temple, so we did some idle shopping for the afternoon, sampling the strange wares of the city.  We asked around and determined that the scale of the map indicated a six week journey north, of about 1,000 miles or so, to reach our destination.  The locals thought it was bad luck to even attempt to cross the desert.  No one in town would admit that they had even ever tried.  
	Higgins told me we could windwalk it in about 17 hours, which would be a bit of a marchless march.  Then Larch volunteered that he could cut that time almost in half to 9 hours with a bit of extra wind at our backs.  And so we turned into a bunch of clouds and blew our way north.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Three – Snakes and Ogre Magi, Oh my

	After nine hours of travel, we were indeed just at the base of the mountains, not too far from our destination.  We decided to stop because a few of us were tired and because it would be best to eat and rest before venturing further.  Larch managed to find a poisonous snake to eat, which he did not share (and which he was immune to in any case – I think that’s why he did not share).  We found the paw-prints of a rather large cat.  Were we not the Dragonslayers, we probably would have been worried about being that cat’s meal.  As it was, the cat was probably lucky it did not stumble into our midst.  
	Higgins made a hut for us and we slept for the night.  The next morning, we resumed our journey on foot.  
	As we were walking, Larch saw something in the reflection on a rock face just before the path narrowed between high rocks.  I don’t know how he saw it, but he gave us enough warning that we all became invisible through various means and then Higgins helped us all fly up to our would-be ambushers.  Two Ogre Magi sitting on an outcropping above the path with several piles of boulders at their side.  
	I changed my vision to true and watched as my companions surrounded the two Magi and then, before they could even act, quickly struck them both down.  They had only a handful of gold coins between them, and we could not see any lair, despite Morwen searching for hours.  I decided that their spot would be a good one for the night, so we set up another hut there and slept.  
	Higgins and Nimue told me in the morning that they saw two more Ogre Magi fly out and check the location in the morning.  Finding nothing but dust (I took care of the bodies) they quickly turned around and went invisible and flew away.  Apparently we had not seen the last of the Ogre Magi.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Four – Green Valley of Lush Slavery  

	After two more days of walking in the mountains, we came to the top edge of a lush valley.  From our vantage, we could tell that it was actually cultivated, though we knew not by who (and were too far away to see).  I dimension-doored us down to the valley floor and then we crept up closer in the uncultivated brush outside of the fields.  We eventually saw over a 100 young men and women working the fields.  At first, I wondered if this was some sort of idealized commune of people living in harmony with nature, ever young from the Fountain of Youth.  Then I saw the dozen Ogre Magi spread out amongst them, overseeing them, and my vision of harmony was shattered.  
	I decided to creep up closer to one of the men and entered his mind.  Unfortunately, there was plenty of room in there.  
	“Don’t say anything, don’t look up, but tell me, are the Ogre Magi your friends or foes?”  
	The man then looked up and said out loud, “Who’s there?”  
	I sighed.  “I SAID don’t look up and don’t say anything aloud.” 
	“Who’s there?  Where are you?” he said aloud.  
	“I’m a friend.  And don’t talk out loud.  I’m in your mind.  Are the Ogre Magi your friends or foes?”
	“Where are you?  Who’s there?”
	I could see this was going to be a long day.  
	“Do you like the Ogre Magi,” I asked again.  And again.  Finally, he responded.
	“Me no like him.”  
	Ok, now we were getting somewhere.  I tried to get more information out of him, but he refused to answer and refused to shut up, finally, I gave up.  Just as the Ogre Magi nearest was starting to wonder why this crazy person was shouting and looking around, I told him, “Go back to work or the Ogre Magi will get you!”  He then immediately bent over and went back to his crops, a fearful look in his face.  The Ogre Magi stopped and then went back to his duties, looking only slightly bored.  I gave one last glance to the man, and decided that perhaps Ee would have had a better conversation with him.  
	I explored further, hidden by Higgins’s magic, and found that there was a keep nearby, built into the side of a mountain.  Ogre Magi could be seen manning the rapports.  I saw at least two to three dozen of them at any one time.  This could be trouble.  I returned to my companions.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Five – Ogre Magi Humor

	I briefly considered what the odds were that I could quietly disintegrate all of the Ogre Magi in the fields without an alarm being raised, then abandonded the idea.  Then I had another idea.  
	I slid close to one of the further Ogre Magi and grabbed on to his large, but not particularly strong, mind and made it my own.  Then I slipped my mind into his and had a bit of a conversation.  Apparently he wasn’t dumb enough to talk out loud.  
	“How many of you are there?”
	“There are about forty or fifty of us,” he said.  
	“How many of your… underlings… are there?”  
	“My what?”  
	I gestered mentally to the people in the fields.  
	“Oh, about a hundred of them.”  
	“Why are they all so young?” 
	“They die when we make them drink from our ‘Fountain of Youth,’” he said as he chuckled to himself.  
	“Wait, the fountain kills them?  Why do you call it a ‘Fountain of Youth’ then?”  
	“We make the old ones drink from there to get rid of them, so that’s why there are only young ones left.”
	I somehow thought that they wouldn’t appreciate the joke.  And apparently the Ogre Magi considered them “old” when they were over 30.  I didn’t ask why they didn’t revolt.  My conversation with the one already convinced me that they were not too bright.  
	The Ogre Magi certainly have a sick sense of humor.  Stll, it seemed unlikely that someone would build a keep on the side of a mountain, right where there is a spring, in the middle of nowhere, unless there was something special about it.  I sure hoped at this point that the joke was not on us.  When I explained to Nin that the fountain just kills, he said that this “even if it is poison we can still get paid.”  Even Morwen, normally such a stickler for fairness, seemed to like that idea.  I wondered what else the cradle had changed in her.  In any case, all was not lost yet.  We could get a sample and see.  
	“Can you get me water from the fountain tonight?” I asked the Ogre Mage.  
	“Yes, I can do that,” he said.  
	I gave him one of Nin’s water flasks, and then we retired for the night, far from the valley.  In fact, we slept in Cauldron, in our own beds.  Ah, the wonders of teleportation.  
	The next morning, we returned, and the Ogre Mage was back in the fields.  He gave me the flask.  Examining, there was definitely something off about the water.  It was tainted.  Perhaps this could be fixed.  Higgins and Larch tried to purify it, but that did not work.  I had a feeling if it could be fixed, it could only be fixed at the source.  Still, the sample deserved further analysis, so we took it back to Cauldron.  
	I had a feeling we would have to fight those Ogre Magi after all.  Morwen wondered if we could sneak inside.  The Ogre Mage indicated that the fountain is locked up at night.  I somehow suspected there was more than just your average Ogre Magi inside.  We would soon find out.


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## Altalazar (Aug 13, 2007)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Six – Back in Cauldron one Night, New Job Finds Us

	I was back in my warm bed with Crystal, contemplating our next move, when I heard what I always love to hear when I’m in bed relaxing.  Ee’s voice in my head.  
	“Meet Ee at Poseidon’s?  Ee have job.  Ee dragonslayer!”  
	“What was that, Ee?” 
	“Of course Cordozo is here, Ee talk to him now!  See, Ee smart!”  
	It was clear Ee was sharing with me his side of the conversation, though it was hard to tell who he was talking to.  I felt excitement from Ee that reminded me of the time Ee ingloriously selected our group moniker of Dragonslayers.  I did not know why he went to Poseidon’s instead of my home.  I think Ee has been living in the woods too long.  I gave it a moment’s thought and then I was standing in Poseidon’s foyer next to Ee.  
	Ee looked very excited.  “See, told you he be here!” He shouted.  “How me know me Ee be here if he not be here!” Ee said, with ironclad Ee logic.  
	The man he was with looked over at me and said simply, “Is he yours?”  
	I nodded, sighed, and then got the real information about the job.  Apparently this man and his companions were seeking Dragonslayers.  Apparently a black dragon was giving them trouble.  Judging from the gills in the man’s neck, he was merfolk of some kind.  His city was off the coast and well under the water, as in 1000 feet under the water.  Shellovar, population five to eight thousand merfolk.  Now it made sense that they had black dragon troubles.  Blacks can breath underwater.  
	The merman offered us 20,000 gold each to rid them of their dragon problem.  He could not tell us how big the dragon was, how old it was, or really anything about it except that it was west of their town in the “forbidden zone” that they were loathe to enter because of their strict taboos.  Apparently the taboo did not apply to us as outsiders.  He said we could also keep anything we found (e.g. the dragon’s horde) but that the dragon had stolen from them an egg-shaped gem that was blue with white stripes that they wanted returned.  He gave us four days to start on our task before they sought help elsewhere, starting with the Stormblades in Cauldron.  I definitely did not want to let those charlatans getting onto our territory.  Ee’s name, unfortunate though it was, creates certain expectations.  When there is a dragon to be slayed, you come to us FIRST.  
	Our arrangements thus made, it was time to get back to the ogre magi.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Seven – Back to the Valley

	I met up with the others and prepared to transport us all back to the ogre magi.  I could take all of us, save Larch.  Larch then turned into a bird and flew into Ee’s handy haversack, and then we were off.  I returned to my friend in the field to ask him further questions about the keep.  
	Larch was sent on ahead to plant some special berries by the outer gate.  The rest of us then flew up and over the wall invisible, with flight and invisibility courtesy of Higgins.  We saw at least a half-dozen ogre magi manning the walls and at least a dozen in the courtyeard between the walls and the keep.  Larch, in the form of a bird, flew up onto one of the tall columns by the entrance of the keep and perched, awaiting my signal to set off the diversion.  
	The main entrance to the keep was a large hole well off the ground.  I guess they can just fly in, so they don’t need a normal door.  Apparently their slaves do need one, though, so there was a side door at the base of the keep.  Morwen made quick work of it and then we slipped inside.  There were stairs inside leading to the second level of the keep, but we skipped those and headed for the main body of the structure.  
	Not wanting to arouse suspicion, whenever we came to a door, I simply dimension doored us through it, hoping there was sufficient room on the other side in this structure built for large creatures.  Fortunately, there always was.  
	The core of the keep was a huge dining hall.  They were apparently in between meals, though there were still servants carrying things around.  A full two dozen ogre magi were sitting at various tables engaged in ogre magi gossip.  With slaves to do all of their work, that was probably their primary activitiy.  They all looked rather soft and fat.  
	A door at the far end of the dining hall led right into the mountain itself, presumably to the fountain.  Flying over the gossiping giants, we transported through that door and into a long tunnel into the mountain.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Eight – Fountain of Youth

	There was indeed a fountain at the end of the tunnel.  There were also three cages suspended around it.  In each cage was an unclothed slave, probably barely 13 summers old.  Two were female, one was male.  I probed their minds and discovered that there was barely anything there.  The deeper I probed, the more horrid it became.  Empty.  These there had no memories of anything beyond this room.  They must have been practically born in these cages and left to live their lives in them.  
	Morwen was already unlocking and lowering their cages by the time I discovered this.  Such nasty creatures, these ogre magi.  To lay bare a mind like that, from birth, is an abomination.  The ogre magi must die.  
	The fountain proved to be as tainted as we thought.  I do not think we can untaint it.  It appears to be connected to another plane.  Probing it deeply, based on its aura, I suddenly got a flash of insight from my stolen planar knowledge from our former demon employer.  This water came directly from the River Styx.  To drink it was to die.  Damn, we’re not getting paid.  But the ogre magi still must die.  
	To facilitate their deaths, Morwen put the three young ones back in the cages, so they would not be discovered loose.  We can come back for them.  We then turned our attention to the keep.  The ogre magi must die.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Nine – The Ogre Magi Die – Chapter One  

	We headed back into the main part of the keep and then up to the second floor.  I transported us instantly to the stairs from where we were, then we headed up into the upstairs halls.  I contacted my “friend” outside and asked him which room was the leader’s room.  Six seconds later, we were all standing inside the leader’s room.  Then I turned around and saw a sight so hideous I was tempted to immediately erase the memory from my mind.  I think my companions would also ask for a similar favor.  
	Hovering before us, ten feet in the air, was the leader of the ogre magi.  And his mistress.  And nothing else.  Not even a pair of ogre magi socks.  They were doing things that would give nightmares to small children and the sight was probably enough to keep the most amourous of young lovers abstinent until after five years of marriage.  
	I reached out my mind and wrapped it around both of theirs, careful not to get dirty in the process.  Distracted as they were, I easily grabbed them both and made them under my dominion.  But then I realized I had a problem.  Control can be broken if one forces a creature to do something very contrary to its nature.  In this case, it may be very contrary to force them to stop while deep in the throes of passion.  So I paused.  Then I decided I would just limit it to questions while letting them continue.  
	With my hands over my eyes, I started asking the leader questions.  In between grunts, he gave me his answers.  
	There were indeed forty to fifty ogre magi in the fortress.  They built this fortress hundreds of years ago.  They have always had slaves, bought from other humans with the money they make selling their wares.  They did see a group of six adventurers reacently and killed them.  Their possession have already been sold and used to buy more slaves.  
All while he talked, he continued his “work.”  Still not wanting to risk losing control, I asked him, “Uh, how much longer are you going to be?”  Apparently, ogre magi can go for hours.  
Finally, I decided to go for it.  “Where do you keep your treasure?” I asked, after some prodding from Morwen.  
Not wanting to give that up, he broke free of his control and started to run for the exit.  Morwen jumped in and slashed him with her rapier.  No one but her and myself were visible to him, so he made his way for his door, his body turning to gas before our eyes as he walked.  The last thing he did before he lost his body entirely to the mist was shout “Guards!”  
I sent a signal to Larch, “We’re attacking the chief.  We may need that diversion soon!”  
My companions quickly surrounded the gaseous form of the leader and sliced it to bits.  Within seconds, the ogre magi’s body reformed and plummeted to the floor.  At that same moment, his door’s opened and in the hall we could see one of the aforementioned guards about ready to enter the room.  Thinking quickly, I grabbed a hold of his mind, dominated it, and then had the leader’s former lover (who was still floating, waiting instructions from me) scream “Aaaaa!  Get out!  How dare you disturb us!”  And then I had the now dominated guard at the door act appropriately embarrassed and close the door.  Though I sensed in his mind that probably he would have been more likely to sit and watch with the other guards rather than leave.  Ogre magi.  Must die.  In any case, that would not work because if the other guards made it to the door, they would have seen us.  
My plan was brilliant.  Until Ee stepped in.  Before the guard could close the door, Ee stepped up to him, slicing his axe through the air, and slicing the ogre magi guard with four long, deep gashes.  The guard fell to the floor, dead.  
“Well, there goes that plan.”  I ran to the window to see if the general alarm had been raised.  Yes, it had.  Time for plan A.  “Larch, NOW!”  
Larch then, by his command, set off his berry bombs left along the outer wall by the gate.  Even from here, we could hear the many explosions and feel the ground shake.  Larch reported back that many of the guards were heading in that direction to investigate.  
Marcus saw that many more guards were flying up from the courtyard to the leader’s three windows.  He then put up a barrier of whirring blades across the entire wall, blocking all of the windows.  That ought to slow them down.  
I could see three getting close to the windows.  I reached my mind out to one of them, then grabbed it, and crushed it.  Then I sent two globes of fire into the remaining two, nearly burning both alive.  But this would not do.  There were more ogre magi than I could easily crush without resting.  My companions were busy slaughtering the remaining four guards in the hallway, but more would be coming soon.  I think we are going to need some additional help.  
	I closed my eyes and began summoning some additional help.  The ogre magi must die.


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## AnonymousOne (Aug 14, 2007)

Yay!  More brain popping fun courtesy of a vigilante lawyer!


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## Arkhandus (Aug 22, 2007)

Awesome.  Loving the storyhour!

And I'm finally caught up!


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## Altalazar (Aug 26, 2007)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Forty – Additional Help Arrives  

	When my eyes opened, my valkries had not yet arrived, but more ogre magi certainly had.  Three came through the window, being mostly sliced and diced by Marcus’ whirring blades.  Three more came from each wall, magically passing through the formerly much more solid barriers between the rooms.  And then at least a half dozen more came from each side of the hallway outside of the room.  
	A moment later, my valkries did appear, flanking an ogre magi in the corner who had just run up to Higgins from the opposite wall.  Their blades of good and law sliced into the ogre magi again and again.  His claws slashed into Higgins, though they failed to penetrate his now stony skin.  Higgins, not wishing to risk the next claw, quickly sheathed himself in a displacing enchantment, making his visage hard to pin down for another strike.  
	I closed my eyes again and summoned more help, this time calling forth a huge ectoplasmic form on the other side of the passwall behind Higgins, to take care of the three ogre magi threatening my noble butler.  My huge ectoplasmic friend made short work of them, ripping the ogre magi to shreds one by one and tossing them aside like rag dolls.  None of them threatened Higgins again.  My two valkries slowly took down the ogre magi they flanked before turning their attention across the room, to where Nin and Larch were holding back the ogre magi horders.  From the sounds of battle in the hall, I knew Morwen and Ee had their hands full there as well.  
	Several times, the ogre magi would stop and bellow forth cones of the purest cold.  Were it not for Higgins’s protections, my companions would have been in deep freeze.  Instead, they barely felt the cold at all.  Which was fortunate, as these ogre magi seemed to be at least twice as tough as they ordinarly are, both in stamina and in thickness of hide.  They started to line up for multiple blasts of cold on almost everyone in the room.  Thinking quickly, I ran forward, standing in the middle, at the nexus of their cones, then reached out my mind to grab the cones mid-flight and minimize their strength down to almost nothing.  The next instant, two more summoned friends appeared, of a type I’d never before called.  Cerebriliths, they are called, and they are foul and hideous beasts.  They are the yin to the Valkries’ yang.  Given our situation, I decided the time was ripe to call them to help us.  Evil to fight evil.  Unfortunately, they were not very effective.  Apparently evil isn’t all that great at killing itself.  
	Despite their large numbers, we whittled down the ogre magi one by one, until nearly 20 were taken off the field of battle, likely a full one third of their numbers.  We had nary a scratch, for the most part.  So the ogre magi, brave beasts that they were, began to flee.  Valaria took off after one of them, but soon lost track of him as he vanished from sight.  What cowards.  
	The battle thus concluded, we searched their lair and discovered magical trinkets of various sorts and nearly 30,000 gold coins.  We freed nearly 200 slaves and returned them all to Cauldron, where Morwen began to make arrangements for their well being (and lessons in our form of common).  
	Our last act in the valley was to seal off the “fountain of youth” and to burn the ogre magi fortress to the ground.  Let the cowards live in the smoking rubble and let them tend their own scorched crops.  My two agents among them will let me know where they resettle so we can deal with the rest of them later.  For now, we have a dragon to slay.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-One – Ee’s mad, Nin’s bad, and Morwen’s sad

	The old man was none too pleased to find out that the “fountain of youth” was a sick joke ogre magi used to torture and murder slaves.  He also did not pay us, as he had specified he wanted an elixir of youth before he would part with his gem.  Ee was none too pleased with this.  
	“You pay us.  Now.”  
	I tried to explain to Ee the clear terms of the contract as Morwen stood between Ee and the old man, her hand on Ee’s huge axe, still dripping with ogre magi blood.  
	Then Nin stepped forward, also seeking payment, and Morwen stepped to cover him as well.  Ee’s hackles raised up and he became enraged, his mouth frothing, staring the old man down.  The old man seemed unmoved by Ee’s efforts.  Either the old man is too far into senility to respond to such displays (or too close to death already to care) or else he harbours a deeper inner power.  In any case, we dissuaded Ee and Nin from killing the man.  
	I took him aside and offered to help him recover the 150,000 gold coins he had paid for the information leading to the “fountain of youth” as he had obviously been had.  The old man agreed to this for a 50% commission on our part.  Ee seemed to want no part of it.  I assumed Ee would come around later, after we dealt with the dragon.  I asked the old man to stay at my home while we went underneath the waves to deal with the dragon problem.  
	As we left, Ee shouted out to the old man, “Watch your back!”  

Book XIX

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-Two – Shopping for Dragon Slaying

	For the day and a half we had left, we shopped for things we needed for the dragon slaying task.  Higgins picked up a few magical trinkets and charms he thought would be useful.  We all picked up crystals to add to our armor (or bracers) that would allow us the freedom to swim freely underwater and to breathe freely as well.  
	Thus equipped, we transported to Coral City, a city of at least 20,000 souls beneath the surface of the ocean many leagues to the south.  
	The city itself was wonderfully exotic, though I suppose it was no more exotic than the city of the Earth Elementals.  At least this time we did not wander into any sacred places.  As it turned out, the colors were actually less interesting than those in the plane of elemental earth.  The water must have sucked the color out of things.
	Many merchants carried about great barrels of freshwater, apparently a drink for the well-off, as the more meager residents obtained moisture through the eating of whole fish.  
	I decided that it would be helpful to try one last time to estimate the size and age of this dragon we were to face.  I sought out someone who had actually seen the dragon, then asked to probe his mind to see for myself.  The man, like most, was squeamish about the idea of being probed, but then when I asked him to name his price, he said he would allow it for two pearls.  I figured pearls were easy to come by in this city.  Four pearls later, the merman let me into his mind (not that he could have resisted me had he tried).  
	I saw his vivid memory of a gargantuan black beast moving quickly past him in the water.  The scales glistened in the faint light beneath the water.  There was no doubt.  It was a black dragon.  And it was about as large as they come.  It was at least a Wyrm, if not a Great Wyrm.  Our investment in magic to help fight this beast was well-spent.  I only hope that it does not have a mate.  Though if it does, we can perhaps have a mate of our own to help deal with it.  
	Thus equipped, we headed out of the city and toward the forbidden zone, seeking the dragon’s lair.  To satisfy Ee, it was made clear that we only got paid if the dragon never bothers them again.  This meant that we did not necessarily need to kill it.  But somehow I doubted negotiations were likely to get us very far.  One thing that was interesting to note was that our employer mentioned that the dragon may have been there for quite some time, but only started molesting the city denizens recently.  I wonder what had changed its habits.  Perhaps it was to impress a new mate?  
	Also made clear was that we were to return their egg-gem intact or else we would not get half of the promised reward.  This was also made very clear to Ee, though I somehow doubt a raging barbarian makes such contractual distinctions.  
	We soon found the entrance to the cave and, after a brief casting of magic by Higgins and others, we headed forth into the depths of the dragon’s lair.


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## Altalazar (Sep 2, 2007)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-Three – Into the Dragons’ Lair

	Our group numbered nine as we ventured in.  Morwen and Nimue brought up the front, along with Ee.  Nin, Larch, and his Dire Bear companion brought up the middle.  And Higgins and myself brought up the rear.  And then, behind both of us, was another friend, one summoned at great cost by Higgins.  A little surprise for the dragons.  
	Higgins cloaked all of us in an enchantment making us undetectable to dragons.  It supposedly covered every means a dragon could have to detect us.  And apparently it was utterly useless.  We did not venture very far into the cave before a dragon appeared and began sending forth magic against us.  Higgins quickly determined it was a projected image, though one that was still deadly from its magic.  I could also see that it was but a phantom, using my true sight, but that did not tell me where the dragon’s meat body lay.  
	The cavern narrowed and branched, and so we split up, still within sight of each other, and very quickly we found the second dragon.  Yes, there were two black dragons, both ancient, thankfully neither wyrms.  I could feel the dragon fear emanating from both of them, washing over me and beyond me, to little effect.  My companions were equally unaffected.  Except for one of us.  
	“Oh darnit, me sick of dragon’s fear!” I heard Ee exclaim with a barbarian sigh.  
	The image of the dragon then cast a spell against Nin, attempting to possess his body.  Nin shrugged it off, the spell ineffective.  The other dragon similarly tried to possess Ee.  Ee, in a rare showing of mental fortitude, totally shrugged it off as well.  
	“Me shrug off him spell!”  Ee yelled, triumphant.  “Him just scare me!”  
	Not wishing to further test our luck with the image, Higgins dispelled it.  And our ninth companion, taking up the rear, sent forth dancing lights ahead of us, to illuminate the cavern.  (We had not brought light sources, hoping to surprise the dragon while sneaking in under the extremely powerful, though apparently utterly useless, enchantment).  
	I bided my time, mentally enhancing my own protections, hardening my body to iron, and preparing for the epic combat that was about to unfold.  
	The image’s real body was found down another tunnel.  Nin and Ee chased it down.  The dragon there sent forth a line of acid against Nin.  The acid washed over him, totally ineffective, our earlier preparations bearing fruit.  Nin did his best to appear hurt, but the dragon apparently did not buy it.  For some reason thereafter, neither dragon ever tried to use its breath weapon against any of us again.  Perhaps they just assumed we were all immune.  Such draconic assumptions can prove very handy in the future.  
	Ee gave chase to the dragon, but it vanished, only to reappear behind Morwen, placing her between both of the huge beasts.  The dragons then proceeded to rip the flesh from Morwen’s body, nearly killing her not once, but twice, as Larch intervened in between, restoring health to her nearly dead body.  
	We were soon locked in an epic melee, the dragons in the middle, Morwen tumbling out to the rear.  Higgins hasted us all, and the dragons were apparently also moving more quickly than normal.  I concentrated and unraveled the enchantments protecting one of them while Larch unraveled the other’s protections.  Higgins sent spells to weaken one in both muscle and scales, to make him easier to fight.  Yet the dragon still proved almost impossible to harm.  Weapons glanced off harmlessly.  Then I brought up our ninth companion.  
	Swimming right up to the second dragon, he struck.  Our ninth companion was none other than a dragon himself.  A blue.  Large, but not nearly as huge as the blacks we faced, it was still a formidable companion.  He sent his lightning breath again and again into the flesh of the dragon.  But his claws never found purchase.  For one brief moment, one of the dragons turned its attention to my blue, severely wounding him, but then they turned their attention to the barbarian, who became more and more able to pierce the thick hide of the first dragon as his scales were weakened and his reflexes slowed by magic from Higgins.  
	For one brief moment, we had a scare as one dragon put up a dispelling wall for the other to swim through, in an attempt to end all of Higgins’s enchantments.  It worked for only one before Higgins brought down the wall with some magic of his own.  For good measure, I then penetrated the dragon’s mind, smashing his ego down to a pulp, ending any further enchantments from him.  Then I did the same to the other dragon, ending any threat that their sorcerous ways posed and also cutting off any spells of escape.  This would be a fight to the death.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-Four – Fight to the Death

	Surrounded, and with no means of easy escape, we wore down the first dragon until, in a vain attempt to flee, it tried to swim away, over us, and beyond us.  Larch quickly followed, as did his Bear, and they tore the remaining flesh from the draconic bones, leaving a floating corpse in the water.  We then turned our attention to the other dragon.  
	This dragon was barely scratched, and perhaps seeing its companion killed, it decided it would rather live than risk our combined wrath.  Unfortunately, any enchantments that could have seriously slowed it were all used up.  Then Higgins remembered that he had one spell left that might slow the dragon down, if only a little.  Higgins pointed his finger at the dragon and a ray of green light sailed forth, striking the dragon’s huge hide.  The dragon was barely shaken, but it was noticeably slower.  That gave us all the lead time we needed.  We quickly swarmed around it and ahead of it as it made a bee-line for the entrance to the cave.  
	Briefly, Higgins sought to wall it in, but then the entrance was so vast that no single spell could cover it.  Higgins started to lower its defenses little by little, giving the others a chance to scratch it through its thick hide.  But it looked like it was sure to escape the cave, if not our grasp, despite its near total collapse into clumsiness from Higgins’s last spell.  
	Not wishing to risk losing the dragon, and despite the long odds on it working, I summoned forth all of my mental energy and then brought to mind an image of the dragon’s death.  Then I forced that into the dragon’s mind, in an attempt to get the dragon to recall it as if it were fact, ending his life.  Given the huge mental prowess shown by this dragon, no doubt enhanced by magic (as we discovered later it was), there seemed little hope of affecting it.  And yet, the dragon, perhaps in its haste to escape, had a momentary lapse of its mental defenses.  A distraction, perhaps, a tinge of worry at its own mortality after so many decades of dominance.  And that tiny little opening was all it took.  I slammed the image of its death through that little crack and into its psyche.  Moments later, the dragon’s barely scratched, lifeless body lay floating near the entrance to the cave.  
	We found well over 100,000 coins worth of gold, platinum, and art within the dragons’ lair.  The dragon’s themselves had matching sets of enchanted items to protect themselves, including rings, bracers, and a vest.  With any luck, such items will fetch over twice that of the coinage we had already found.  We also found the jeweled egg and returned it to the Merfolk.  It was a good day.  Perhaps our moniker is an apt one, after all.  
	And thus we “Dragonslayers” returned to Cauldron, laden with loot and further tales to enhance our legend.  

===============================================

Metagaming note - yes, that bit at the end was Cordozo trying a 'Recall Death' attack on the dragon.  Given the dragon's saves (enhanced by a +5 vest of resistance) the only chance the dragon could possibly have failed that will save was on a '1' - and sure enough, right there in the open, the DM rolled and the roll was a '1' - Of course, we probably could have chased the dragon down and eventually killed it (though it had like 500 hit points left), that just was too sweet not to savor, particularly since we managed to get it before it got out of the cave (which it would have in another round).  That was a nice capstone to go with the beginning of the combat, when both dragons tried to Magic Jar from afar both Ee and Nin, and both of them rolled natural '20's on the save.  (Ee usually fails will saves - he failed his save against dragon fear...)    

I just wanted to share - sometimes the metagame is apparent from the text, but I thought it would be fun to elaborate.


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## Altalazar (Sep 11, 2007)

Book XX – Interlude

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-Five – Mayor Lives, Captain of the Guard Dies

	I awoke in the morning, in my oversided bed next to my steaming hot tub to the news that the Mayor was attacked and the Captain of her Guard was killed.  The story was this:  The attacker was the Captain of the Guard himself, Terseon Skellerang, and he killed all of her bodyguards.  The Mayor herself managed to wound him and escape, apparently killing him in the process because when Yukiko summoned her students and arrived at the Mayor’s home, she found Skellerang dead of his wounds, along with all of the guards.  
	Yukiko felt it was her duty to protect the Mayor, and so she summoned her students and doubled the Mayor’s former guards, taking the post of Captain of the Guard on a temporary basis (based on the Mayor’s appointment).  Yukiko now feels it is her duty to investigate the matter.  First Skellerang was questioned, with the Mayor’s magic.  The Mayor herself, Jenya, has retired to her home and will work there until the investigation is complete.  
	Quickly, I deduced that the Mayor must be an imposter, perhaps first impersonating the Guard Captain, killing the guard, then impersonating the Mayor, leaving the real Captain’s body behind when the imposter was done.  And was Yukiko the real Yukiko?  It is certainly convenient that there are no witnesses besides the Mayor and that none of her former guards were raised and that she questioned the Captain’s body.  
	Why is this my business?  I wondered that myself, until Yukiko summoned us all to her to investigate the situation.  Yukiko apparently discovered some strange alchemical substance on Skellerang’s body that has only one source – a place within the Demonskar.  The substance makes you both strong and very weak-willed.  Fortunately, Ee cannot read minds, because at that moment I wondered if it was made from Ee’s blood.  (I would later find out how ironic such a thought was, given what happened when we found the substance).  
	We had a map of the Demonskar from our last outing.  Morwen had the notion that we ought to teleport near our destination and walk in as opposed to teleporting directly there.  Remind me never to let Morwen lead again.  After we arrived, and then spent fruitless minutes thrashing around the jungle and then flying down a deep and winding shaft in the ground, we finally gave up and I just teleported us straight to the chamber.  
	The chamber contained a strange apparatus that drained into a pit, full of the foul substance.  There were two doors on opposite walls and then there was a hallway leading west to what looked like a large circular room.  We were about to investigate when a figure appeared in the hallway.  It appeared to be a man.  He took a quick look into Ee’s eyes, and then Ee’s normally monosyllabic thought processes became even more so.  I could hear in Ee’s mind the words “Kill them All!” fed in.  I knew we were in for some trouble.  
	The tight spaces left little room to move, so Higgins quickly vanished from sight and then stood behind me.  Morwen charged forward, trying to flank the man.  And Ee turned and tried to slice up Nimue.  I quickly grabbed Ee’s brain back from the brink, took control, and then ordered him to attack our attacker.  Ee happily complied, the order not even necessarily contradicting his earlier one.  
	Unfortunately, Ee’s axe struck only air, and then the man vanished before I could draw a bead on him.  Not wishing to let him escape, I shifted my perception true, and then I saw him again, standing in the hallway, not far from where he was before.  There was something familiar about him.  At least, that was the sense I got from both Ee and Morwen as they flanked him.  I decided to move in for a closer look.  Grabbing Higgins’s arm, I transported us both to the circular room ahead.  It was then that I saw the man’s face clearly.  I DID know him.  He was the vampire that terrorized Twin Oaks those many moons ago.  He had escaped into the crevice in the earth after Cauldron split open miles to the north.  
	I then turned my attention to the room I was in and I saw someone else familiar.  Sitting in a cage was the Mayor, still in her night clothes.  “Higgins.” I said, and nodded toward the cage.  Higgins pulled out one of his many parchments scrawled with the words of magic and began to read.  I watched, fascinated as always, as the words slowly burned away the parchment into dust.  When the last syllable was complete, the door to the locked cage popped open, freeing her.  “The real Mayor, I presume.” 

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-Six – We verify the Mayor’s Identity 

	The Vampire quickly retreated, running down the hall and around the corner.  I asked the Mayor, “Would you like us to get him?”  But the Mayor had other priorities.  Getting home, for instance.  First, we needed to verify that she was, in fact, she.  
	Ee said he would do it.  “Me verify if you you,” he said.  Then Ee ran up to the Mayor and pinched her butt.  She immediately slapped him in the face.  “That Mayor!” he said.  
	“Well, I think we have at least verified Ee’s identity, in any case.”  
	Ee then looked to me.  I was still controlling his mind, but I had not actively done so since I turned his axe away from us earlier.  Ee then said to the Mayor, as she rubbed her sore butt, “Me can’t help it. Cordozo?  Why you want me to pinch her again?”  
	Very clever, Ee.  Maybe that Vampire’s brain rubbed off on him.  Fortunately, it did not take much explaining for me to convince the Mayor that the pinch was not my idea.  I asked her about the Vampire.  
	“He’s working for someone.  I don’t know who.  Now please, get me out of here.” She replied.  
	I happily obliged, returning us to my own stronghold.  I was not sure whom we could trust, so I figured we would start from here and see.  I supplied some luxurious clothes (finer than she was used to) for her to wear and then we summoned Yukiko to see us.  
	“Yukiko,” I said in her head.  “Come see us.  We have information.”  I could tell she was busy teaching her students.  She said she would come later.  “No, now,” I said.  
	“Is it an emergency?”  
	“YES!”  
	“Ok, I come now,” 
	It did not take long for us to figure out that Yukiko was Yukiko, and that the Mayor was the Mayor and that the Mayor’s home was now being occupied by an imposter.  (In fact, we already knew this before we ever left, but now Yukiko knew this too).  
	Our next plan was to sneak up on the “Mayor” with the real Mayor and see what was really going on.  I asked the Mayor where in her home would someone who was impersonating her most be interested in investigating.  The Mayor thought for a moment, and then said, “I know where!”  
	Moments later, we were standing in a room just outside a shaft leading down to a very strange room.  Politicians.  Such strange creatures.  What the hell was this thing doing in her residence?  In any case, the guards there were quickly informed of the situation and then we teleported down into the room below.  
	There, we found the “Mayor” standing before a large circular door, in the midst of an attempt to open it.  Apparently the Mayor herself has never opened this door.  I was tempted to let the “Mayor” finish “her” work so we could see what was beyond it.  But we had not the time.  My true vision showed me who the “Mayor” really was.  It was a Rakshasa.  I’ve heard of such beasts from the outer planes, but had never met one before.  I can’t say I want to repeat the experience.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-Seven – By the Skin of its Teeth

	Having surprised the creature, we sprang into action.  Higgins weaved an enchantment around it, to little effect.  The beast was strongly resistant to magic.  So Higgins took a different approach.  He weaved a spell to dissipate the beast’s resistances, draining them away in a flash of green light.  If only it had been as effective on the Dragons.  
	I tried to disintegrate the beast, but I moved a moment too fast, and my ray struck him just before Higgins completed his spell, so it had no effect.  Then, just as we were about to surround him, he vanished.  Or rather, he moved extremely fast, stopping time, and leaving behind for us three sets of overlapping, flying teeth.  Just before they cut into my flesh, I weaved protections of my own, rendering the teeth blunt against me.  Higgins fared a lot worse, though he managed to dodge being completely cut to ribbons.  Not wishing to stay there any longer, I quickly grabbed Higgins and Ee and transported us back up to the room above, followed closely by Nimue and Morwen.  Yet again, our adversary got away.  
	It was unclear what the beast was after, beyond entering that room.  The Mayor thanked us and sent us on our way.  Which was fine by me.  I have a tournament to prepare for.  Those mysteries can wait for another day.  

Book XXI – The Tournament 

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-Eight – Champion Revealed

	My information network finally paid off.  Or rather, rescuing a certain damsel paid off.  The King’s Niece contacted me and told me that the King’s Champion for the tournament was none other than Posiedon.  Wonderful.  I suspected as much.  I had the advantage of fully understanding all of his capabilities, since I shared many of them.  I also knew that to win would require luck more than skill.  Unless I used a rather unorthodox strategy.  
	There were to be 13 tests before the final combat.  The tests were just a warm up.  A chance to score points and see how good one can problem solve alone.  The battle will be the real test.  We must last for one full minute against the champion.  For the first 18 seconds, the champion will do nothing offensive, but may prepare as much defensively as he can.  We will get 100 points if we can kill the champion in the first six seconds, then 66, then 33, dropping each six seconds after that.  If the champion kills us in his first attack, we get no points at all.  Then after that, we get more and more points simply for surivivng.  If we survive the entire minute, we get 90 points.  So it seems the best way to score points is to either kill him immediately or to survive until the end.  
	We will all fight him one on one, one at a time.  And as noted, it is to the death.  So we need to make our own arrangements should that happen.  Apparently healers will be standing by (for a price).  I have my own healer, Higgins, standing by for me, but my own personal insurance should suffice.  The tournament is in two weeks.  Time to prepare.  I have already purchased a number of interesting items that may prove useful.  Now I just need a winning strategy.  I may have one.  Time will tell.  The last thing to be revealed is what, exactly, all of the points really mean.  More on that soon.


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## Altalazar (Sep 16, 2007)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-Nine – Tournament Day One Begins

	Day one of the tournament was today.  There are sixteen tests, with points scored for each one.  We were to take the tests singly and no one who takes them is allowed to see anyone else take them, presumably to keep any novel ideas from spreading about how to beat a given test.  The audience, such as it is, is able to watch us all.  I wondered if it would count as cheating to read the minds of the audience to get ideas.  Then again, most of the tests were rather self-explanatory.  
	Well-rested and prepared, I stepped forth into the arena, set into a terrace deep in the cracks of Cauldron’s crater.  The competition had begun.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty – The Test of Boxes

	The first four tests were all variations on a theme.  Unfortuantely, that theme involved being locked in a steel cylinder rather unfortunately shaped like a coffin.  The first test was a simple cylinder, locked, made of one inch thick steel.  After I was securely locked in, the “host” of the test stood by, watching for signs of distress.  Apparently after five minutes, we start to suffocate, so he stands by to unlock the cylinder and let a testee out.  Obviously, this test was not much of a challenge for me.  As soon as the timer started, and the overseer was in place, I was standing behind him, tapping him on the shoulder, asking him what it was he was watching.  
	The second, third, and fourth tests were harder.  All involved suppression of all magic and all psionics.  For the second test, I was in a cylinder of steel eight inches thick.  I tried to talk through it, but to no avail.  So after five minutes, I was released.  
	The third test was like the first, only there were metal bands over the door, and, like the second test, there was no lock to pick.  However, the one inch thick steel allowed me to converse with the overseer.  Using the best rhetoric I have ever done, expressing the pros and cons of the situation, and pointing out that the rules say we can get out by ANY means, I talked the overseer into letting me out, thus passing the test.  
	The fourth test was like the second, and so I could do nothing but wait.  At the end of this round, I had gained ten points and twenty points for the first and third tests.  I also was given an everfull mug and a bag of boulders, whatever those are, for getting the maximum points for those tests I passed.  
	I later found out that Ee did not do so well with these tests.  Morwen was able to pick the lock for the first, but for the others, she had to slowly bash her way out, and this was only successful with some of the tests.  After a short intermission, the next set of tests began.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-One – The Test of Cages  

	The next two tests involved being trapped in a cage that could be lifted by pushing a lever some one hundred feet distant.  The catch was that the lever had to be pushed while we were still in the cage.  I summoned Moira to pull the lever for the first test, bu the second test again prevented such means, so I had to shoot at the lever with my almost-rusty-from-disuse crossbow.  Eventually one good shot did the trick, and so I advanced onwards with five points and then twenty points added to my total.  A hammersphere and an infinite scrollcase were also added to my “prizes” though again, I know not what these things are.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-Two – The Test of Distance  

	The two tests of distance were messy ones for my companions but simple for me.  A glowing stone was placed atop a platform on a 100 foot tall pole covered with barbs and spikes.  We started at the top of the platform and had to get the stone down to the moderator below.  One quick thought later, I was at the bottom of the platform, stone in hand.  The second test had a platform with no pole and we started at the ground.  Two quick thoughts later, I had the stone in hand and to the moderator.  I later learned that my companions took the quick way to the ground.  Yes, they jumped off of the platform and fell to the ground.  What it lacked in grace it made up for in speed and simplicity.  My companions are fortunate for their fortitude and skill at surviving such a fall.  The next series of tests would test them all even further, particularly Ee, who had a different sort of test after a brush with death.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-Three – The elemental tests

	The next series of tests involved the elements, ranging from fire, to earth, to water, to air.  The first was a test of fire and air (smoke, really).  There was a platform exactly 100 feet in radius which contained barriers making almost a maze of it.  Tar covered the floor, tar that was flaming hot, filling the air with fire and smoke.  To cap it off was another platform of equal size that served as a roof on the first.  Both slowly rotated, making things even more confusing.  At the exact center was a glowing stone we had to retrieve and give to the moderator.  
	It was two thoughts again to completion for me.  I knew the stone was at the center, and so I went exactly 100 feet in from the edge to retrieve it, getting slightly burned in the process, before returning the stone to the moderator.  
	Ee tried to protect himself when he did it with his cube of force.  Unfortunately, it slowed him down and did not provide any protection against the flames, so Ee was near death by the time he retrieved the stone.  He called out for help from me before activiating the cube’s full protective force.  After a few minutes, he called out again, this time leaving the barrier down long enough for me to reply and ask him to keep out for at least eighteen seconds so I would have time to find him.  
	I quickly protected myself against the flames and then teleported in to search for him, starting at the center.  I soon found him and retrieved him from his firey doom.  Ee was not happy.  
	“Me quit,” he said, with finality.  “It not worth it.  Me not risk life for King’s favor.”  
	“But what if there was money involved, Ee?” I asked him.  
	“No money offered.  Me not risk it.  Me not stupid.  King stupid.”  
	And I realized that Ee had a point.  Ee really did not have anything to gain by this.  Well, he did, but not anything Ee particularly cared about.  But I do care.  I MUST have the King’s favor.  And there were great benefits for belonging to the King’s personal adventuring party.  I needed to explain all of the nuances of the advantages, all the reasons that it would be good, particularly for me, to win this with Ee on board, in great and subtle arguments.  So I said to Ee, “I’ll pay you 20,000 gold coins.”  
	“Me want 50,000 coins.” 
	“30,000 coins.”
	“Done.”  
	Though Ee was reluctant to take my money.  I told him I would pay him the difference between what the King actually paid us for this and 30,000 gold coins, so I would only have to pay the full amount if we were paid nothing.  But I think it was worth it.  What is mere money compared to the King’s favor.  I have plans.  I could feel I was one step closer to true noble title.  Now I just had to finish the remaining tests and beat the Champion.  

	The next test involved getting the same glowing stone out from the center of a ten foot by ten foot block of solid ice.  This test was timed, and so the faster it was done, the more points one could obtain.  I concentrated all of my mental energy into balls of flame striking it over and over, digging a tunnel through the ice to the stone.  Within seconds, I had a hole big enough for my arm to reach in and pull out the stone.  I obtained full points, along with the usual small prize.  
	The following test was also of water.  One thousand feet of it, to be exact.  A chest was placed at the bottom of the water, containing the stone.  We were to retrieve the stone, yet again.  This test was not timed.  I decided to take the more leisurely route.  I transformed my body into solid metal and then dropped down into the water, sinking like an iron golem.  When I reached the bottom, I discovered not one, but three chests.  Not wanting to disrupt my theme, I proceeded to bash the chests into splinters using my adamantine fists.  This did not take long, though it was fortunate that my metal body no longer required air to sustain itself.  I then retrieved the stone and brought it to the surface with a thought (I did not try to swim upwards with my extra weight).  
	The remaining two elemental tests involved large rocks.  The first required stopping a twelve foot diameter boulder from rolling down a steep track and destroying a glass of water.  We were not allowed to move the glass.  One quick thought and the rolling boulder was but a mote of dust.  
	The last elemental test involved getting ten thousand pounds worth of rock onto a platform.  This was a timed test.  We had a choice.  There were 100 stones weighing 100 pounds each, 10 stones weighing 1000 pounds each, and one stone weighing 10,000 pounds.  I opted for the latter.  I summoned forth an ectoplasmic friend, rippling with ectoplasmic muscles, and had him lift the stone onto the platform within three seconds.  I had to strain my brain, sending blood pouring out of my nose and mouth, in order to summon my friend in under a second, but this proved well worth it to get maximum points.  

	The third to last test involved walking down a long hall filled with traps.  I fell down a hole and was assailed by darts, but the traps did little to me and I exited by walking over the dusty remains of the exit door.  
	The second to last test involved finding a needle in a haystack.  I summoned forth six friends to help me look, but even so, it took nearly eight minutes of searching to find it.  
	The last test was a riddle, which I may not repeat here, but which was ultimately an easy one to solve.  

	The tests thus completed, my points totaled 197 out of what was probably a possible 235 or so.  That just left the competition with the Champion.  That final competition could net me as much as 100 points if I could fell the Champion with one blow, be it by steel or sorcery.  But knowing Posiedon’s strengths, I knew this was unlikely.  My best bet was to gain points by lasting for the full minute without dying, which would net me 60 points.  And I had the perfect plan to do so.  My only worry was his dark power, the one that could drain away the experiences of ones life and leave one a hollow shelll.  So preparations were made.  The battle was the day after the tests.  I would be ready.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-Four – I Face the Champion 

	I walked into the arena, and stood on my starting point.  I knew that on the other side of the arena, some 130 feet distant, behind a barrier similar to the one in front of me stood Posiedon.  Both he and I were starting fresh, with no active protections of any sort going.  I would have a full eighteen seconds to prepare myself or to attack him, or do both, while he could do nothing but defend himself (and presumably hide from my attacks).  Then the remaining forty two seconds would be a fight between us, with points scored for lasting and additional points for killing him.  In the end, though, it would be far more advantageous to last than to attempt to kill.  
	My strategy was simple.  I stepped out onto the platform wearing a large cloak, covering all of me, even my head.  I held four bundles in my hands.  As soon as the whistle was blown, I sprang into action.  
	I dropped the bundles to the ground.  I split my mind into two and quickly called forth not two, but four, valkries to assist me.  Knowing that I would be taxing my body to its limit in these first few seconds, I quickly envigorated myself against the damage my body would otherwise take from pressing so far above my normal mental limits.  
	By the time the valkeries appeared, an ectoplasmic form had appeared next to me on the platform.  Posiedon was keeping an eye on me.  But that was fine.  I had expected he would see me.  The valkeries picked up the bundles, then promptly sprinkled some dust on themselves and vanished.  I soon followed suit, my preparations complete.  
	What then happened unseen was that the Valkeries donned the cloaks I gave them, all similar to my own.  They covered their faces with covers similar to my own.  And I let open my cloak, the cloak which covered my form, and which hid the clothing I wore.  Clothing which to the eye (and to other senses as well) matched exactly the attire of my valkeries.  I donned my wig, matching their long, flowing hair, and I took my place in the air above the floor of the arena, as did they, spread out in a random pattern, one which shifted every few seconds as we all teleported to a new location.  As a final touch, I had in my hand a collapsible great-sword, previously hidden beneath my cloak.  I knew not how to use such a great weapon, but by holding it, my disguise was complete.  I mentally thanked Morwen for her help with the final touches.  Just let him find me now!  
	Posiedon, for his part, transformed himself into a sand dragon and, after emerging from the ground, he took to the air, looking for me with his touch-vision, as I knew he would.  His astral construct scoured the ground for me as well.  I figured he would not be able to easily tell me apart from my valkeries, particularly at a distance, particularly when he could not see me with his eyes, but could only feel with his power.  I was right.  In fact, even when it was clear he had detected my valkeries, he ignored them entirely, ordering his construct to do the same.  Fortunately for me, his construct, like all temporary ectoplasmic beings, was of very limited intelligence and perception.  I doubt it could have told us apart even had I stood visible, directly in front of it.  
	As the seconds wore away, and Posiedon fruitlessly searched the arena for something OTHER than a valkerie, his patience eventually wore thin.  He decided to target a valkerie after all, perhaps thinking I was hiding behind one (or in a pocket of one as a fly).  As luck would have it, the valkerie he targeted was me.  As further luck would have it, he used the one power on me I both dreaded and also prepared for.  Stygian Conflagration.  As expected, I great column of blackness descended over me.  And it would have drained away my lifeforce considerably, had my protections against powers not thwarted it.  But even had that failed (as it was likely to most of the time given Posiedon’s power), it would still have done nothing.  For in preparation for this bout, I had purchased a ring making me immune to the powers of the negative material plane.  This would prove very handy later, when he targeted me again with his power, this time penetrating my resistance, and covering me completely.  
	He later targeted and drained two of my valkeries.  One was so far down I dismissed her, hoping that this would further confuse Posiedon, because now there were only four of us total in here, though this never mattered, since he was never able to see more than four of us at a time even when we numbered five (we were spaced well apart and kept shifting in response to his movements across the arena).  
	In the end, the time ran out, and so I revealed myself.  My final tally of points was 257.  I hoped that was enough.  I later learned Nin had scored 271.  That also boded well.  Even more astonishing, Nin had killed Posiedon in single combat!  All within six seconds!  Nin had asked me for advice and I had given it to him.  He transported himself right next to Posiedon within the first second of the bout and then activiated a magical and psionic suppression field around himself to prevent Posiedon from escaping and to prevent his defenses from functioning.  It helped that Nin moved first, before Posiedon could react.  When Posiedon tried to run, Nin tripped him with his chain, and then beat him to a bloody pulp.  Poor Posiedon.  At least I never put a scratch on him.  
	I am now waiting to see how Ee and Morwen do in their matches.  It should be very interesting to see what happens.  And then after that, we will see if we have done well enough to reach my goal of attaining the King’s favor and the status attendant to being his personal adventuring company.


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## Altalazar (Sep 24, 2007)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-Five – Final Results 

	In the end, we were all triumphant in the games.  We four became the King’s Own Adventuring Party, though we need to come up with a name beyond that simple fact.  Apparently the King, King Vermos Antos VIII thinks that “Dragonslayers” is too specific and narrow a descriptor for the adventuring party that represents his interests.  We shall have to put some thought into that.  Which means Ee won’t be shouting out our name this time.  
	There was no overall cash prize for winning, but we did come away with quite a few other benefits.  None of these will directly pay me back for the 30,000 gold piece outlay to Ee, but then I consider it money well spent.  And I’m sure Ee will spend it well.  Something we did all obtain for our victory was a golem warhorse to carry us in our travels, not only across the land, but across water, and through the very ether itself, though only once a day.  Unlike most constructions of magic, they are intelligent, though only as intelligent as an ordinary warhorse.  
	For the King’s service, we also have braclets of friendship that allow us to be summoned to the King’s presence at his command, presumably for emergencies.  One hopes that Ee is not summoned while he’s off in the woods taking care of his barbarian needs.  
	The King has offered each of us a dozen of his best troops to guard each of our own strongholds, whatever they may be.  I happily accepted this offer, and placed them under my command at my home in Cauldron.  The King also will finance the construction of a fortress for us all to gather.  Posiedon has volunteered a location for its construction deep in the bowels of Cauldron’s magically inert volcano.  Plans will have to be drawn up soon!
	But before any plans could be made, and before we could even collect on our consignments from two months before, disaster struck Cauldron yet again.  

Book XXII – Souless Pillars

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-Six – I lose a cook and gain a farmer

	It started with a cook.  Rather, it started for me with MY cook.  Shari.  She was one of my promising cook’s assistants in my primary kitchen in my home.  She woke up one night screaming, bringing in the other kitchen staff and then eventually, myself.  I probed her mind and tried to get her to calm down, but she was literally insane with terror.  I quickly linked with her mind and soothed away her insanity, setting her right.  And I discovered that she was not insane at all.  Someone else was.  Someone who was inhabiting her body, suppressing her soul deep beneath him.  This possessor did not know where he was or how he got “there.”  
	He said his name was Nadir.  From what he told me, he must have lived in the reign of King Antos I, nearly six hundred years ago, though it was hard to tell specifics from his peasant brain.  Mostly I got images of toiling away on a farm for decades before being sucked into some horrible prison for the soul, where he festered for centuries, unable to die, not really alive.  Sort of like some of the more fossilized judges I used to deal with in my lawerly days.  
	Not wanting to sacrifice a cook (good ones are so hard to find), I took him to the temple of Pelor to see if they could help him there.  I could say the idea just popped into my head, and that would be true, but it was Morwen that put it there.  She contacted him and asked for help and she was already at the temple.  Apparently there were many others similarly afflicted.  
	Unfortunately, there was nothing the clerics could do beyond transforming the insane possessors into sane possessors.  Posiedon soon joined us and we worked over as many minds as we could.  Before the night was over, we had cured almost eighty of the afflicted of their insanity.  But none of their possession.  Pelor cautioined against banishing them.  He said it would not be a good thing.  But then, good for who?  Shari might perhaps disagree about that.  While I said nothing out loud, I vowed to myself and to Shari that if this could not be cured in a “good” way, I would still have Higgins banish the spirit possessing her.  It was her body first, after all.  
	As we often do when perplexed by a strange problem, we consulted Tuvstarr.  She and Posiedon had the answer, this time from personal experience.  Apparently there were “soul pillars” as part of some evil scheme they had derailed some time ago.  They were supposed to be indestructible, but apparently being buried in lava for several years changed that, at least for one of them.  Now it was broken and was “leaking” souls into Cauldron at the rate of 80 a day.  Soon everyone in Cauldron of weak mind or spirit would be replaced if we did not act soon.  
	Posiedon also gave us the means to act.  He had a cylindrical vessel capable of navigating the lava.  And we had a certain box liberated from a white dragon many moons ago that, by its presence, could greatly cool a large area.  We decided then we would delve down into the lava with the box and let it cool the lava over two days until we could then tunnel into it and “rescue” the pillars.  
	Nin thought we should take different action.  “I think it is just wrong to possess someone for so long.  We should destroy all of the pillars and the possessors!”  
	It sounded good to me, but I was out voted.  Instead, we would drag the pillars to the surface, one by one, and then take them to the plane of Limbo where three powerful clerics, of three different orders would banish and destroy each pillar.  Similarly we could free on Limbo each of the possessed, though their numbers will be greatly swelled by the time we get the last pillar free.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-Seven – Deep Delving

	It did not take long to find the five largest pillars.  After two days of cooling, I disintegrated my way into the rock around them and freed them, freezing the entire area further with blasts of cold emanating from my mind.  We then attached the pillar to the back of Posiedon’s cylinder with large, thick chains and slowly towed them to the surface, making it up the 800 feet long before the chains melted.  
	The sixth pillar was smaller, but also easy to find and restore.  It was the seventh that gave us real trouble.  It was lodged some five miles deep in the magma.  We only found it with the aid of Tuvstarrs powerful divination magic.  And then after we arrived at its location, we determined that the trip back up would likely melt any chains we could use to bind it.  We seemed to be stuck until Tuvstarr finally sighed and rolled up her sleeves, whispering soft words of magic.  “I wish…” was all that I heard before I saw the pillar glow and then vanish.  Talk about an expensive way to move a little slab of rock.  
	Higgins told me later that it was a more of a limited wish than a full wish, but it still taxed Tuvstarr greatly.  On the surface again, we surveyed the pillar from down deep and saw that it was clearly damaged.  Its surface was scarred and blistered and arcs of energy sputtered forth from it every few minutes, releasing a soul in a shower of colorful light.  It was very beautiful to behold.  I wondered how many more sparks would issue forth before I would have to do all of my own cooking.  
	It took us over five days to free the seven pillars.  In that time, nearly four hundred souls had taken residence in residents of Cauldron.  So it took us nearly a week to take the pillars to Limbo and then each of the possessed citizens there as well to be freed from their unwanted travelers.  
	Our task complete, we finally were able to rest and bask in our victory.  Four weeks later, we finally collected our spoils from the possessions of the twin dragons we defeated below the sea.  We each collected the princely sum of 57,188 pieces of gold.  I then promptly handed over 30,000 of that to Ee, payment in full for our victory.  I wondered what he would do with all of that coin.  My coin was already dedicated to a project of my own.  I returned to my laboratory and sat down with a small pile of smooth, soft stones.  I picked one up and held it in my palm as I began to concentrate.  I felt my mind flow into it, making it feel warm to the touch.  I had much work to do.


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## Altalazar (Sep 29, 2007)

Book XXIII

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-Eight – We Are All Doomed

	My plans for enoblement were once again rudely interrupted, this time by a rather sniveling little creature who came to my door and bothered me (after an appropriate ten minute wait).  The creature turned out to be a Kobold who claimed to be named Meepos.  He was almost pathetic in stature, probably from a great deal of practice at having to deal with being one of the weaker and less-regarded of the sentient races.  He bore a message.  
	The message stated, in ornate script, “Doomed.  You are all Doomed Doomed DOOMED!  Muwahahahahaha!”
	Apparently I was not the only one to get this message.  Tuvstarr, Posiedon, and Morwen also received an identical message from an identical Kobold.  
	Tuvstarr and Posiedon had already started on tracking down the mysterious author of our notes.  Tuvstarr determined through various divinations and scrying that the kobold received the notes from a black cloaked figure in a cavern with red glowing walls.  It was very familiar.  It was the area we cleared out for the soul pillars.  The figure was also familiar, but no one could quite place him.  
	Next to him was a watermelon sized sphere of many colors that appeared to contain something else.  We had to get in to look for ourselves to determine what it was.  Apparently, it was why we were “doomed.”  (As we later found out).  Posiedon, always cautious, decided that we should teleport down in his cylinder as opposed to on our own, so we’d have refuge from the lava.  We made our preparations and then transported 800 feet down below the streets of Cauldron.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-Nine – We Meet Our Doom-Maker

	Posiedon tried to have his vessel appear such that the “watermelon” would be inside of it, but it ended up on the outside, not that it ultimately mattered.  He opened the door so we could listen to the black cloaked figure give a rather long-winded speech.  
	“So, at last, the ‘mighty’ Posiedon and his ilk have come to challenge me!  You who were so arrogant you would not let me challenge you in your so-called games, and whose rules kept my ‘pets’ from participating, effectively banning me from my rightful place as victor, by the King’s side!  You are all pathetic.  You, Tuvstarr, your synchophantic ‘winners’ who lowered themselves to play your ‘games’ are all beneath me!  And now, you are beneath everyone in Cauldron, where you will meet your doom!  Minions!  Ready the attack!”  
	Tuvstarr by now had studied the “watermelon” carefully and determined that the eight colored spheres surrounding it were linked to like-colored pendants around the necks of various creatures we now saw surrounding us.  Two white dragons, gargantuan in size, flanked us, along with a mindflayer, a vampire, a beholder, a drow, a lich-queen, and an orc.  Posiedon was about to strike at the cloaked figure, who despite our close proximity, we still could not identify, when suddenly the white dragon standing behind him lowered her head and swallowed the black cloaked figure whole, snuffing out his life in an instant.  Anger flared in the dragon’s eyes, and some resignation as well.  Despite her snack, she still was going to attack us.  
	Any thought of escape (which was not present with Posiedon in any case) vanished as Tuvstarr quickly told us that the magical artifact inside the spheres (which were immobile and impenetrable) was slowly unraveling the fabric of the epic spell that kept the volcano from erupting and erasing Cauldron.  We had days, hours, or perhaps minutes before that happened.  We needed to get to it as soon as we could or else we’d be risking the loss of some rather expensive (and hard won) real estate.  
	Morwen bravely jumped out into the fray, along with Tuvstarr.  Magic flared, blades danced, and dead flesh fell from the lich queen, though she did not fall.  The orc was spared by the anti-magic eye of the beholder.  Unfortunately, the next instant found the beholder surrounded by not one but FIVE huge astral constructs, courtesy of Posiedon and two of his cohorts, apparently aided by a stoppage of time.  They quickly cut down the eye tyrant, sparing us its eyes.  It was disappointing to me, since I had never faced a beholder before, though I had conversed with a rather jovial one in a village that I was not supposed to remember (and now would never ever forget).  
	The two white dragons positioned themselves around the five constructs and quickly cut them down, first with their frosty breath, and then with their razor sharp claws, teeth, and tails.  Butthey were quickly replaced by more.  The drow dodged and weaved his way toward Posiedon’s craft and then inside, where he with a few quick slashes of his double blades, nearly killed one of Posiedon’s cohorts.  Meanwhile, the lich queen sent off some dark magic of her own and dusted several more constructs.  
	Tuvstarr shed some light on the situation, casting a powerful magic that should have instantly blinded all creatures of evil within the cave, regardless of whatever protections they might have had.  Unfortunately, not every foe was evil, though the mindflayer spent the remainder of the fight wandering around, feeling for the walls before it was struck down by Posiedon (who had changed his form to that of a huge mountain troll).  
	The lich queen and vampire were also quickly vanquished.  As fate would have it, the orc was grappled by a giant hand of magic created by Tuvstarr, and he lasted to the bitter end.  
	The two dragons were mighty in size, but they simply could not stand up to the punishment of the constructs, Posiedon, and the combined magic of Tuvstarr, Nimue, and Higgins.  
	Late to the fray was our “friend” Meepos, who was not what he appeared.  His real name we may never know.  He fought with the speed of the most epic of martial arts masters, his open-handed blows having the force of a dragon’s tail.  I took careful aim at his small form and threw the entire might of my brain into a disintegration ray.  The kobold, untouched by anything to that point, vanished into a pile of dust.  
	The opponents vanquished, we freed the artifact from the spheres of force, but then were left with the problem of what to do about it.  Tuvstarr quickly determined that the only way to destroy it was to use a magical disjunction on it, but she had not prepared that powerful enchantment.  Unsure of the time we had left, she shifted to the astral plane and rested there a day to prepare before returning to our own plane a moment later.  After a quick weaving (and subsequent unweaving) of magic, the artifact was no more.  Cauldron was saved, yet again.  Only one question remained one which will forever be left unanswered, even by the gods:
	“Just who the heck was that guy?”


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## Altalazar (Oct 12, 2007)

Book XXIV

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Sixty – Noble Largesse

	One of the perks of our new station in the Kingdom is that we are often invited to dine with nobles throughout the realm. Over the past several months, I have taken up every noble who has offered an invitation, teleporting myself to many a banquet in many a fancy noble hall across the face of the Kingdom. Predictably, Ee was not much interested in such "fancy pants" gatherings as he called them, but Nin and Morwen showed an interest, so I brought them along. Strangely, Morwen would sometimes absent herself from the proceedings for a time, though I should say this is normal for her. I get the sense that she has a lot more going on than she would ever care to admit. That said, she did know how to use her "assets" as a woman to great effect at these parties, dressing in clothes that generously could be called a dress, if worn on a halfling. Nin seemed to mostly enjoy making people at these fancy gatherings uncomfortable with the fact that he was an orc, a noble one at that.
	At the latest gathering, this time at a Castle in Aldeberon in one of the further provinces, I spied something that looked very familiar. A painting. It was not the artistry or the artist that caught my eye. It was the subject matter itself. It showed a map of a territory I know I have never been, but that I have seen before. When I pointed it out to Higgins, he said it looked familiar to him as well. I asked the hostess to tell me about the painting.
	"Oh, that is just a map, nothing special. I bought it in town from an artist - he's dead now, so it is sure to be worth something. His name was Davinchee or something like that."
	She walked away after giving that "helpful" information and then it hit me - The map was similar to one of my three treasure maps I bought many moons ago but still have yet to exploit (so many parties to attend and planes to save). This painting resembled the map that I had that I was unable to discern the location of and unable to teleport to, no matter how hard I tried. The artist's map, however, showed additional land to the east of my map, and perhaps that would be sufficient to teleport near the map's location.
	I gathered my fellow noble partiers around me and we made ready to go back to Cauldron (to grab Ee) before heading out in search of what lies at the end of my treasure map. We spent the night at the castle, so as not to insult our hosts, and then left the next day. I found Ee still out in the woods. He had been very busy out there.
"Me building me own village. Population Ee."
	Ee's attempts at construction were not very impressive. Mostly he had built a lot of survival shelters. I suggested to him that perhaps he ought to get some contractors to build the more permanent structures.
	"Me here!" he said to my suggestion. I told him about the treasure map and so, hearing the mention of gold, he was ready to go. This despite his returning to me the 30,000 gold coins I had paid him for the tournament months before. I guess even Ee has his pride.
	We made plans to depart in three days so we would be leaving on the day before our secret moon was at its fullest. We knew this would make us stronger for a day. We decided to take every advantage we could get going into the unknown.

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Sixty-One – Wrongful Imprisonment

While I was waiting for the moon, my information network informed me that there was someone who was wrongfully imprisoned in the jails of Cauldron. Apparently a Bartender named Brup had a problem with this individual and falsely accused him of stealing ten gold from his bar. Not wanting injustice on my watch, I sent some of my best attorneys to rectify the situation. Soon, the man was free. The only unfortunate thing was that he had already been feeding me lots of information from inside the jail. But that can be rectified. I have guards there as well. Now the only loose end is seeing that Brup finds his way inside that jail. But that will have to wait.

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Sixty-Two – The Moon is Almost Full

	Once the day of departure arrived, we wasted no time in teleporting in. It turned out that the new map allowed me to teleport within 300 feet of the location that defied all attempts at scrying or magical transportation. Walking, however, was perfectly fine. We opted to go on foot instead of on our still new golem mounts simply because we did not know what we were getting into. I created a teleportation circle back for a quick exit, if need be.
	It did not take long to find a cave entrance. Footprints in the dust looked to be over a year old. The cave itself led down a tunnel which dead-ended in a wall, one which the map clearly showed blocked the way into a large chamber. Nin and Ee started to bash the wall down, eventually allowing passage. Beyond, we found a huge ring on the far wall with a pedestal in the center of the chamber. Both were magical. Both were tied together. Both obviously formed some sort of transportation device. Looking them over, Morwen determined that the device, which was controlled by four colored stones, was functional but drained of all magical energy. It would take a fair amount of cold, electrical, fire, and acid magic to provide the charge for a single use of the ring. Summoning up my mental reserves, and aided by Nimue, Morwen, and Higgins, we were able to provide it enough energy for eight charges, though then we needed to rest. Which would then be perfect, for the next day was the full moon.
	My companions, for reasons unclear, decided they wanted to rest in this chamber. I left for my warm bed in Cauldron, wondering what strange hold the hard rock of the cave held for them. The next morning, I found out that the rock apparently had strong feelings for them as well.

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Sixty-Three - Morning Rockhug

	When I returned the next morning, the cavern again ended in a solid face of rock. Apparently the rock slowly healed itself overnight, sealing in my companions. I decided to see if they were still alive by tapping on the rock with my specially enchanted silver dagger I acquired so many moons ago. There was no response. Then I heard a voice in my head.
	"Why are you messing with Ee like this," asked Nin as I continued to tap.
	Then I asked Ee, via the mindlink, "Ee, do you hear sounds on the other side of the wall?"
	"How you know!" said Ee. "You omnishent!"
	"Ee."
	"Yes?"
	"That's me."
	"Ah!"
	"Please stand back and open a hole for me."
	I heard the sounds of shuffling as Larch started to intone magic to shape the rock and then was interrupted by Ee shouting, "No, me can!" and then the sounds of an axe striking the rock echoed down the hall. After about a minute of this, Larch again intoned magic and the way was clear.
	"Obviously, rock retreated from me blows!" said Ee.

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Sixty-Four – We Open the Iris

	Morwen activated the pedestal, which caused the large ring to slowly fill with a misty fog that then solidified. Ee was volunteered to go first. He stepped up to it and put his axe into the mist. While he seemed to have no trouble putting it in, he was unable to pull it out. Finally, Ee being Ee, he just stepped all the way through and vanished.
	I tried to contact Ee with my mindlink, but with no success. Either the plane he travelled to blocks it, he is on a plane again with a huge time differential, or Ee is no longer in any condition to talk (well, more-so than usual). Not wanting to think about it too much ourselves, we all stepped through the ring.

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Sixty-Five – Dire Circumstances

	On the other side of the ring, we found ourselves in a very sandy, windy place. I could hear mental gasps from my companions (their audible gasps drowned out by the driving wind around us and their pale faces obscurred by the sandstorm) as something rather awful happened to each of them. I felt fine, but both Higgins and I felt a warm glow from the rings we shared on our right index fingers that protected us against the ravages of the negative material plane. While this did not appear to be that plane, it seemed to have at least one similar effect. My companions felt a bit weaker.
	On the plus side, I was able to contact Ee. Ee said, "Me here. On top of rock." He seemed to be referring to a rock outcropping that was behind us as we arrived (unfortunately a rock without any ring evident). Ee said that he heard a voice in his head to "climb the rock." I had a bad feeling about that. It wasn't any of us who told him that.
	We all climbed the rock and found ourselves above the driving sand, on an oasis of rock. In the distance, we could see a few more rocks sticking up from the sand below us and then, in the far distance, we saw a huge rock oasis with a tall tower at its apex. Given that we had nowhere else to go, we made plans to head in that direction. Then the dread wraiths struck.
	Two huge creatures made of mist came up from beneath the rock. The immediately began trying to drain the life from Ee. Fortunately for Ee, his life is hard-headed, so they did not succeed, but they did keep us occupied for several minutes. Or rather, they kept Ee, Nin, and Morwen occupied. Apparently another property of this plane prevents me from manifesting any powers. Those that were already active seem intact, but no new powers could come from my mind. Higgins found he also could not cast a single spell. Only those already active or those from items, such as scrolls, seemed to function. Wonderful. I thought about, right then and there, attempting to leave, but decided to let things play out a while.
	Soon the dread wraiths were returned to the mists and we were again contemplating the tower. It was a long ways off. I did not feel like walking. I told Morwen and the others that I could get us there.
	"How?" She asked.
	"Watch," I replied. I then picked up a rock from the ground. A small, round rock that looked almost artificial in origin. In fact, it was. I know this because I dropped it there a moment earlier, when no one was paying any attention. I then held the rock and held everyone's hand and teleported us all to the base of the tower. I knew those power stones would come in handy when I made them months before. I imagined I might need them for a quick escape, so I made many to allow travel and transportation, both within and across the planes, at at time when my mental reserves were low or gone. I did not imagine I'd need to use them before I'd used any of my mental reserves at all.
	Once we were at the tower, I suggested to Larch some recon.

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Sixty-Six – The Tower

	Larch agreed, and transformed himself into a small bird. He flew up to the top of the tower, to what apparently were the only windows, two small slits at opposite sides of the tower. Inside were three lovely women, all lounging about on couches in a well-decorated room at the top of the tower. Somehow, I doubted diplomacy would help, but it was worth a try. I picked up another stone and prepared to transport everyone to the women.
	I was only slightly worried about the strange glowing ball of darkness sitting in the middle of the room.
	As it turned out, the women, vampires all, were more interested in using their mouths for sucking out vital bodily fluids than they were for talking. Interestingly, they all used rapiers rather than their negative-draining touch. Perhaps they figured that anyone who could survive here is immune. In the case of myself and Higgins, that assumption is certainly an accurate one.
	Unable to manifest powers, I spent the next several minutes in a defensive posture, watching my companions in a desperate melee against the three powerful vampires. Nin's chain was quite effective at keeping one of them on her knees, so she opted instead to try to bash Nin with her Ring of the Ram rather than trying to get up again. Nin's chain soon pounded her into gas. The others also were soon gas, and they all headed toward the fireplace. Given the lack of stairs in the room, it seemed to be the only method of egress between the levels of the tower. How inconvenient for us.
	I watched the gas carefully as it left. Higgins watched as well. Higgins, bless his heart, was able to participate more fully. He used several scrolls to both heal Morwen and harm the vampires, turning a second vampire to gas in the process. She then took a scroll of disintigrate and used it against one of the fleeing gas clouds, sending the gas to dust and dumping to the floor a bunch of equipment, including a rapier. Unfortunately, within the gas was six more vampires coming up from below.
	Nin kept three of them on their butts with his chain, but despite concentrating our efforts, we still hadn't taken down even one of the newcomers before three more vampires arrived from below. I hoped there weren't three of them per level. That would be eighteen vampires in all, and I had my doubts about us handling the nine that were before us. Then a thought came to mind, courtesy of Higgins.
	"Yes, my hair is all in place, why do you ask?"


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## Altalazar (Oct 14, 2007)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Sixty-Seven – Hair Facts

	“How do you know your hair is in place?” Higgins asked me.  
	“My mirror,” I replied, unsure where this was going.  
	“Use that against them.  They cannot approach you if you present it toward them strongly.  I can do the same with the symbol of my order.”  
	“Ah,” I replied  “But how is keeping them at bay going to help us kill them all?”  
	And with that philosophical question asked for the ages, the fighting continued.  
	Morwen charged me, leaving me wondering if she had been charmed, but she simply handed me her backpack before tumbling back into the fray.  I heard a voice in my head say “scroll. Nimue.”  
	I pulled a scroll out of the backpack, hoping it was the right one, and handed it to Nimue.  At that moment, Ee screamed with a rage so intense it could intimidate the dead.  And apparently it did, leaving at least one of the powerful vampires quivering in her velvety boots.  
	I heard another voice in my head say “what form do you want?”  I thought of the form taken by Posiedon at the tournament, but I was pretty sure that was beyond the capabilities of the scroll in question, so I tried to think of the biggest, meanest thing I could be.  I thought to her, “Fire Giant.”  
	Several seconds later, I was a fire giant, stepping over to help Morwen with flanking a vampire.  She seemed to be doing well.  
	Higgins took his own advice and held forth his holy symbol to keep the vampires at bay.  It was hard to say if it worked since they were all busy killing my other companions.  Higgins also tried to disintegrate the black sphere in the middle of the room, mumbling something about it being a “negative energy boon to vampires.”  Unfortunately, it seemed mostly intact when he was done.  Then things got really dire.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Sixty-Eight – Vampires go negative 

	The Vampires either tired of using their rapiers or decided that they wanted to end this fight and go back to their coffins.  So they started slamming their cold hands into my companions, quickly sucking all of their life away with each hit.  Four vampires surrounded Morwen and nearly killed her with one sickening volley of blows.  Ee and Nin were not faring much better.  Higgins and I were immune to their life-sucking, but they chose not to attack us, perhaps figuring that spell casters, even those that look rather like giants, were no threat.  I decided it was time to go.  
	“Gather around me,” I told everyone over the mindlink.  “We’re getting out of here.”  
	My companions gathered up around me.  One benefit to my giant size was that I was able to reach them all, even Morwen, who was surrounded.  I linked to my stone and then in the next instant we were standing out on the rocks outside the tower.  I could have tried to plane shift us from there, but I decided better safe than sorry, in case plane shifting did not work.  The last thing the vampires saw of us was Higgins reading a scroll to disintegrate another one of their gaseous friends.  
	Fortunately, my other stones worked and we plane shifted out of there in the next instant.  If only we could have eliminated the other two gaseous vampires.  But at least we eliminated two of them for next time.  
	I still could do no powers, but knew that I could with some rest.  Not wanting to wait (with all my companions feeling the horrible after-effects of the vampires’ touch, I used a stone to teleport us all to my stronghold, where they could all use my restorative bed to repair the damage wrought by my companion’s close brush with the negative material plane.  Then it was time for me to use the restorative power of my own bed to get some much-needed rest.  

Book XXV – Ee’s Village People

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Sixty-Nine – Stones Unturned

	The first thing I did once I had a good night’s rest was I went over the combat with the vampires and determined what stones I would need to do battle with them again.  Then I used the trick showed to me by Tuvstarr to travel to the astral plane in order to obtain more time to complete the stones.  By the next day, the job was complete.  I was ready to return.  As was Higgins.  In fact, Higgins had found an even better solution to our problem.  But I wanted to wait until the moon was full again to maximize our advantage.  That meant waiting another month.  
	Two days into my wait, I received word from Ee.  
	“Cordozo?  Me ee.”  
	“Yes?”
	“Me need help.  Cordozo transport Ee to village?  All villagers safe.  Village gone.  Ee need go.”
	“Sure, Ee.” I replied, then I was standing by Ee’s side.  Then we were back at my stronghold.  “Do you need any help?  Should I get the others?”  
	“Ee want help.  Ee go without help.  Bye,” Ee, mounted on his golem warhose, then stepped onto the teleportation circle I had just created for him and vanished.  
	Figuring that Ee was going to just get himself into trouble, I rounded up my companions and we all stepped onto the teleportation circle to Ee’s (former) village.  What we saw was astounding.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Seventy – Damn, That’s a Big Tree

	Where Ee’s village used to stand, there was nothing but a huge tree.  And I when I say huge, I mean gargantuan.  No, Colossal.   Actually, even bigger than that.  It was at least five hundred feet wide at the base, and its upper limbs seemed to cover the landscape with shade for miles.  The creaking and groaning of the branches above us and the ground below us seemed to indicate that it was still growing at an incredible rate.  If it kept that up, no doubt the world would be…
	“Destroyer!” said Higgins.  “That’s the tree of Magnus, a demon, destroyer of worlds.  Magnus has been held captive and controlled by an artifact known as the ‘Seed of Magnus’ for eons.  Once planted, it establishes a link with the life force of the world it inhabits.  It can only be defeated if this connection to the seed is destroyed.  The tree itself is like a touch of the abyss from whence it came.  It kills all living things.”
	“Magnus was defeated by the demon lord of torture and bloodletting, Lazbral’thull, who uses the seed to command Magnus to do his bidding.  Magnus desires to be free of this above all else.  That and he desires vengeance.”
	“How long until we are all devoured?” I asked idly.  
	“The tree grows at least a mile every six hours.” 
	“I guess the vampires really can wait for a month,” I said as we started to head for the base of the tree.  
	Camped out at the base of the tree were well over a hundred orcs led by over a dozen trolls.  While they did not pose much of a threat, I was in a hurry.  After their rather pathetic volley of arrows (which bounced harmlessly off of my adamantine body), I acted.  In one instant I was standing amongst their right wing, bursting forth with fire in a huge sphere around me, then I was standing in their center, bursting forth with more fire from my second mind.  Nearly one hundred orc corpses and ten troll corpses lay smouldering at my feet.  
	Wanting to explore one of my newly discovered powers, I approached one of the remaining trolls and touched it with a black finger.  The troll shuddered and screamed, and then its whole body was absorbed into my own, leaving nothing of the troll behind.  Unfortunately, I looked rather like a troll myself, but I knew that would only be temporary.  What was also temporary was the huge boost I felt to myself as the troll’s strength of being coursed throughout my body.  I could get to like this.  If only I didn’t have to look like a troll.  
	My companions quickly finished off the stragglers.  Then we approached the base of the tree.


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## AnonymousOne (Oct 16, 2007)

Hmmmm someone needs a "Create RoundUp" spell.


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## Altalazar (Oct 21, 2007)

I think we'd need an "Epic Create Roundup Spell"...  


	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Seventy-One – Heading Toward the Root of the Problem

	As we walked into the tree, I got an uneasy feeling.  The “cave” of wood ahead of us twisted and turned in strange directions.  The “tunnel” itself was round and smooth.  There was a thick, earthy odor and the walls seemed to be pulsating with a rhythmic wind.  It was also terribly humid.  The humidity was so thick that there were standing pools of water along the floor that covered most of the surfaces.  
	About five hundred feet in, the tunnel opened up into a larger chamber.  There was a path along the center of the chamber that was above the water, but the rest of the floor was covered in at least ankle-deep water that was constantly dripped on from above.  The uneasy feeling continued, probably partly due to the fact that we had no clue how to stop this thing or how to get the seed un-seeded in our world.  I suggested we consult Tuvstarr, but no one seemed interested in discussing the matter.  I was going to suggest we dump the seed on the negative material plane, since that place will destroy just about anything.  Unless the seed is somehow undead, in which case, we might just make things worse.  Oh well, it wouldn’t be the first time.  
	Any conversation quickly became futile as the floor burst forth in the large cavern in front of us and behind us with the gargantuan forms of two massive purple worms.  I glanced at Ee and wondered just what such large creatures find so tasty about him.  While I’ve often thought it would be quite handy to have precognition, as some of my psionic bretheren do, I did not need it to know that before the next minute was over, Ee was going to be in the mouth of at least one of those beasts.  I hoped that I or, even worse, Higgins, would not be joining him.  Even with a body of iron and my elemental protections, I did not imagine that it would be a pleasant experience.  Higgins made an even softer morsel.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Seventy-Two – As The Worm Turns  

	Morwen and Ee charged toward the first worm, slicing into its purple flesh.  Sure enough, as Ee charged toward it on his golem mount, the worm plucked him from his saddle and into its maw.  
	“Higgins, forward worm,” I said with a thought and then wrapped my mind around the large, but ultimately puny brain of the worm behind us.  It instantly became my gargantuan puppet.  For the moment, Higgins was safe.  
	Higgins, for his part, surged forward and nailed the forward worm with a ray of clumsiness, leaving the already rather slow beast flopping on the ground, rigid and helpless.  Ee rolled out of its maw and back into the fight, just in time for another four worms to come up from the floor, surrounding us all.  Fortunately for Higgins, the three worms near us in the rear all went for other targets.  Two went for me, both missing, and the third went for Nimue, who was riding Morwen’s golem mount.  She was plucked into the maw and then vanished from sight.  
	These worms were beginning to annoy me.  I grabbed on of my stones that I created for the vampires and put it to more immediate use.  A huge astral construct surged forth and began ripping into Nimue’s new “host.”  I wrapped my mind around the brains of the two worms that snapped at me and made them both my puppets.  I had one stay rigid as a target for my companions.  I sent the worm to the rear to attacking the other, and they soon dispatched themselves, leaving little for us to mop up.  
	All told, in less than a minute, all six gargantuan beasts were sliced into purple steaks of enormous proportions.  It was only then that I noticed that the chamber had an interior rain washing over all of us, a rain that was more acid than water.  Fortunately, my elemental protection immunized me.  Higgins was kind enough to spread that sort of protection to the rest of my companions.  Thus drenched in acid and worm blood, we left the chamber and headed further into the bowels of the tree.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Seventy-Three – Night Walkers in a Vacuum

	The next large chamber we came to at first seemed empty, but then once I stepped into the room I looked behind the corner to my right and saw a huge undead monstrosity, a Night Walker, just like the two we encountered on the way to the haunted village several moons ago.  It seems they always like to travel in pairs, because another one soon made its presence known to our fore, about a hundred feet in front of us, standing next to a large stone monolith.  
	The one to our right did something to Ee, paralyzing him.  The one to our fore attempted an area dispel, removing some of our defenses, and also dismissing my astral construct, who would otherwise have remained to help us for a little while more.  That was terribly annoying.  Even more annoying was the resistance they showed to my powers, making both my mind attacks and Higgins’s attacks useless against him for at least the first few tries.  
	Nin was having better luck.  He and Larch’s Dire Bear companion charged the Night Walker to the fore, ripping into its undead flesh.  Nin also tripped the huge creature, leaving “him” prone and vulnerable.  I’m not sure the thing ever managed to get to its feet again.  
	The creature to the right of us summoned two dread wraiths, vaporous undead creatures just like the two we had dispatched in the vampire’s realm.  Thankfully, they were much easier to deal with than before.  Larch flamestruck them both, singing Ee in the process.  He was still held between them.  Not wanting to risk any more resistance, I sent two simultaneous streams of crystal shards into the hide of the beast to my right, nearly shredding it to the bone.  One more volley after that finished it off.  Then things got strange.  
	There was a loud rushing sound, as if all the air were being blown out of the chamber.  Then there was silence.  Apparently all of the air WAS blown out of the chamber, leaving an emptiness Higgins referred to as “vacuum” just before his ears started to bleed.  Nimue’s ears bled and she passed out, approaching death rather quickly.  Fortunately as a being of iron, I did not need to breathe, but most of my companions were in dire straits.  The bear soon slumped to the ground.  Larch and Morwen made their forms that of earth elementals.  The rest of my companions felt their lungs about to explode and they did not look good.  Higgins rushed to Nimue’s side as she was sitting on Morwen’s golem mount.  Higgins, in fact, dimension doored right onto the golem mount himself, then activated its teleportation, sending them both to safety.  
	Ee finally was able to move and so quickly dispatched what was left of the dread wraiths.  Then we all gathered together and I teleported us to Higgins’s side, just in time to see him reviving Nimue from her brush with near-death.  
	We were all now standing outside the entrance to the tree once again.  Ee was hurting from the dread wraiths.  We were all feeling drained in one way or another from our previous encounters.  The next question was, did we dare venture back in as we were, or should we rest and regroup and try again in the morning.  I voted more for the latter, given our difficulties with the vacuum.  At the very least, we should procure some polymorph scrolls so all of us have a chance to survive if that happens again.  And then we could also make a quick stop at Tuvstarr’s for more intelligence on this “seed” we need to destroy.  My only fear was the tree would grow even stronger in our absence.


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## Altalazar (Oct 28, 2007)

Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Seventy-Four – Shopping Trip, Astral Tripping, Orc Tipping

	Once we were all free of the tree, and once Higgins had removed Nimue from the brink of death, I transported us all all the way back to Cauldron so we could procure supplies and consult Tuvstarr.  The most pressing need was some way to survive without air.  I was covered, as was Larch, but the rest of us had some work in that area.  I got a stone for Higgins that would sustain him in those conditions.  I think Morwen may have gotten a similar stone for Nimue.  There were only two available in the whole Kingdom (and beyond – I checked my extensive spy network and was only able to locate two).  We also located two necklaces that served a similar function.  Though they were cheaper, they would not work with any amulets we already had, so that limited their use to those of us with unadorned necks.  
	A few polymorph scrolls also seemed prudent, along with a handful of other scrolls Higgins picked up.  I did not ask him what they were, but I assumed they would potentially be handy for the fight ahead.  
	We all gathered together again at Tuvstarr’s, where she told us that the only way we could destroy the seed’s connection to our plane was to remove it to another plane.  That was all well and good, but that did not quite sound like destroying it.  I informed everyone that my vote was still that we take it to the negative material plane.  Not much could survive there.  Though I suppose the positive material plane could have a similar effect if it just absorbed energy and exploded.  What I did not say was that my vote was the only one that counted, because I did not think anyone else had the means to take it to another plane.  Well, except perhaps Higgins.  But Higgins always gave me his proxy.  
	After Tuvstarr, we were all back at the entrance to the tree.  It had grown in our absence.  Morwen again suggested we depart to places Astral to rest and rejuvenate.  I did not see why we could not just wait here and do the same thing, but she had concerns about further population disruptions if we did not hurry.  Six of one, half dozen of the other, as my mother always would say.  Or was that my contract’s professor in legal studies?  No matter.  
	I went to the Astral with everyone save Ee and Nin, who watched the tree to make sure nothing happened for the few seconds we would be absent.  On the Astral, I concentrated and a full day passed.  I activated some of my powers, with the remaining points I had, to last a full 24 hours, straining my brain to the maximum.  Higgins was kind enough to heal the blood pouring from my ears.  I then waited the remaining eight hours of rest before activating a handful of other powers to last a day.  Assuming we complete our mission within 16 hours, I should be ok.  And I should have far more mental reserves to deal with whatever it is deep in the bark of that demon monstrosity.  
	Thus refreshed, I had Higgins return us to the tree (with that special spell of his that allows us to travel much more directly when changing planes – I’ll have to research a version of that for myself – it would be much more convenient).  
	We were about to head into the tree when I remembered that I was no longer “feeling the troll”, so to speak.  I looked around for an orc.  “Larch, can you take flight and see if your eagle eyes can spot any of orc stragglers?”  
	“Sure,” Larch said, and then he took flight.  It did not take long for him to spot about 800 feet away, at another entrance, two orcs apparently “guarding” it.  
	“Higgins, hide me,” I said and then turned to walk off, my body disappearing within the cloak of Higgins’s magic before I took my second step.  By my third step, I was no longer on the ground, my body flying at high speed toward the orcs.  I wanted to surprise them.  
	A few seconds later, my unseen blackened finger touched one of the orcs, leaving him in a pile of dust, and revealing myself before him looking rather orcish myself.  I hoped to fool him enough with my appearance to make a quick getaway.  But then the orc attacked.  It was then that I remembered that orcs have not proven much more than an annoyance for many moons.  I got out my mirror and looked at myself.  Horrible.  Horrid.  I looked like an orc, alright.  It was frightening.  I tried to adjust my hair.  I also tried to file down my nails which now looked much longer than was fashionable.  
	In the meanwhile, the orc continued to try and attack me, its swings bouncing off of my various layers of protection.  Briefly, I wondered if he could ever hope to get through.  Then I remembered that my skin was not only orcish in texture, but was made of iron.  The orc’s puny weapon was not likely to dent it.  My nail filing complete, I turned from the orc and walked back to my companions.  It was not mercy that spared him.  I thought it might be handy to have an orc to absorb for later.  If only I had some means of taking him with me.  I would have to work on that.  As it was, the orc’s departed mate filled me with great strength and power, and would continue to do so for the next hour.  Hopefully, that would be plenty of time to accomplish our mission.  
As I approached Ee, I heard his thoughts in my mind.  “Where’s Cordozo!?”  
Ee then spoke, “Where’s Cordozo!?”  
Ah Ee, were it not for the possibility of separation, I would never need to waste my strength to link up with his mind.  So refreshing.  And such a gift.  If one wishes to know what it feels like to be a telepath, its boons as well as its bane, one need only spend time around Ee.  I assured Ee that the orc was I, and then headed toward his position.  
Once I reached my companions, we all grasped hands and then I teleported us to the last room we had occupied.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Seventy-Five – Moving is a Pain

	Apparently, the tree is a restless sort.  The room was no longer where we left it.  We ended up bouncing through bark until we finally found an open corridor within the bowels of the tree.  It hurt somewhat, taking away the temporary vigor granted to us by Larch before our entrance.  Oh well.  At least it saved us some time walking.  
	We did not have to walk long before finding another chamber.  This chamber was large.  Higgins had protected everyone from acid long before we entered, so we were ready for more of the trees sap, but the chamber was dry.  It was so dry that we all heard rather clearly the scratching of a thousand or more giant feet scraping along the walls and ceilings.  A creature larger than the purple worms came scurrying along the wall at as, like a centipede from hell.  (Later, I determined that this was a ‘Megapede’).  
	Ee and Morwen jumped forward, surrounding its head, if you can call it that, inflicting great harm on it.  Larch stepped right up to its maw and slammed his elemental fists right into it.  I tried to disintegrate it, but its carapace proved too thick to penetrate, so I left only a small wound on its face.  Then Higgins, having learned from our bout with the worms how clumsy large beasts like this can be, pointed a finger and drained away what little agility the beast had, leaving it a flopping, helpless mountain of insectoid flesh.  We finished it off pretty quickly and then resumed our trek into the tree.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Seventy-Six – Between a Rock and a Soft Boneless Pile of Flesh

	The tree really doesn’t seem to like us.  The next “room” we found was more of a rounded corridor, about 30 feet in width.  The path we walked led into the room, then slowly squeezed itself off, leaving only the way forward open.  Unfortunately, the way forward was filled completely with a large ball of flesh about 30 feet in diameter that perfectly sealed off the width of the room.  
	Morwen grabbed Nin and used her bracers to transport them both to the other side of the beast.  There, Nin laid into it with his chain, doing massive damage that the beast seemed mostly to ignore.  Then, the beast rolled backward, nearly engulfing Nin and Morwen.  Fortunately, they deftly stepped back out of the way.  Before the beast could roll forward again and engulf the rest of us, I pointed a finger at it and disintegrated it, leaving behind a pile of dust.  
	Larch later informed us that the beast was a ‘gigantic bone ooze’ and that had we not killed it quickly, it would have rolled over all of us and sucked the bones right out of our bodies, leaving us as soft, fleshy pulps on the walls of the room.  It was fortunate that Nin did so much damage to it, or else there might not have been anyone left to pen this journal.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Seventy-Seven – We Fight the Tree (or is that Symbolic?) 

	We came to a seemingly final room, which the tree again was kind enough to close off on us, making only the way forward open.  Or it would have been open had there been any other way out of the room.  
	Standing at the far end of the room was a huge statue of a treant.  Of course, it animated and attacked us.  But not before two huge umber hulks came up out of the ground and tried to kill us.  
	One came up on our right, right by the (former) entrance to the room.  It was rather too close to Higgins and I for comfort.  I stepped back and dropped down on it a cylinder of energy from the negative material plane, sucking away some of its precious life force.  My second mind, harking all the way back to my very first days of adventuring, grabbed onto the mind of the beast, found purchase, and then crushed it to a pulp.  A few soft blows from Larch later, the beast was on its back.  
	That’s when the aforementioned statue animation took place.  It turned out the statue was more of a massively strong and large (huge) stone golem.  Nin, before he could charge it, was swallowed up by the tree.  We could hear him fall and hit something solid before the pit beneath him vanished.  He reappared a few seconds later, complaining about the general lack of courtesy (and air) at the bottom of the pit.  
	“Feather fall is a very nice sort of thing to have on a ring,” I mentioned to him before he charged back into the fray.  
	I sent forth another column of negative energy on the statue and on the second umber hulk.  Unfortunately, constructs don’t seem affected by negative energy.  I guess they don’t really accumulate any life experiences to lose.   The umber hulk, however, did not have that luxury.  Still, the hulk was extremely tough, and it looked to be a long struggle to bring it down.  Then Nin stepped up.  
	Nin jumped between the two hulking, huge beasts and slammed his chain into the skull of the umber hulk.  There was a sickening “snap” and the hulk’s head went soft and spongy.  The creature, who had barely a scratch on him, cluttered to the ground, lifeless.  
	“That is so Broken!” I thought to myself, looking at the creature’s neck.  
	Nin then turned his attention to the golem.  Ee, Nin, and Morwen quickly finished off the pseudo-Treant, leaving us yet again alone in the bowels of the tree.  Then the “ground” began to shake.  Another pit opened up, taking Higgins down into a pit much like Nin had been the moment before.  Higgins, however, floated softly to the bottom and then shifted dimensions to return to my side.  Then things got rather grim.  
	The whole room began to fill with the tree’s foul sap.  Within a minute, the entire room was filled with it, burning us all horrible with its acidic nature.  Or it would have, had we all not been protected.  First, by Higgins, and then later, by the cages of force that surrounded all of us.  
	Then the floor opened up and we went shooting down a long tube, buffeted around by the journey, but well protected from the acid.  I probably would have been hurt rather badly had my body of iron not absorbed all of the shock.  Higgins’s skin of stone helped him as well.  The mental complaints of my companions suggested that they were not faring quite so well.  After several minutes of this bumpy ride, we were all deposited in a large chamber, free of the boxes of force.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Seventy-Eight – Now We’re Talking!

	The room was covered with all sorts of different, chattering faces.  Once we were arrived and settled, some of the faces turned to us.  It looked like the time for fighting was over and the time for talking had begun.  I cleared my throat.  I looked up at the faces and prepared my best in-court voice.  
	“Greetings!  I must say, normally our potential employers are just a little more subtle about the fact that they are secretly demons intent on the destruction of our entire plane when they come to us and ask us to do a job for them.  So, what is it we can do for you?”  I beamed at them with my best jury smile.  My eyes sparkled.


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## Altalazar (Nov 4, 2007)

Three different “factions” of faces stared down at us.  They were almost all talking at once.  I heard mention of desire for freedom, ruling the plane, and for killing Lazbral’Thull.  I negotiated in good faith, bringing all of the factions together, with a little bit of help from my companions.  After oration that would have acquitted a serial murderer, I sat back, satisfied, as all of the faces smiled down upon us.  
	“I just want to go back to my home plane,” the demon-tree smoothly lied to me, apparently with the delusion that it could actually fool an epic lawyer such as myself.  
	“Oh, but of course, I sympathize for your plight and I’ll help you any way I can,” I lied back, confident that the tree would believe every word I said.  “As I said before, we’ve worked for demons before, so working for you is old hat.”  
	I heard in my mind the loud protests of Morwen’s voice, but I mentally assured her that I knew the demon-tree was full of purple worm dung.  (As it most assuredly was, given past encounters.)  
	“Enough talking!” the faces all shouted in unison, and then we were all transported (if you can call it that) through the innards of the tree to the final battle with the tree’s current “master.”  The ride was a bit bumpy.  Higgins took the transit time to lay some enchantments on my companions, offering them additional protections and powers for the coming battle.  I waited until the last moment, just before we were dumped into the room, to activate one of my power stones to call an ectoplasmic guardian.  Higgins used that moment to haste us all.  Then our faces met the barky floor.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Seventy-Nine – Druid from Hell

	The room we found ourselves in was of gigantic proportions.  It was divided into two halves by long tentacles that met in the middle of the room just short of a large, glowing seed-shaped object encased behind a box of magical force.  This, apparently, was the seed.  
	Just to our flanks were two huge Treants.  At the far end of the room was a gargantuan creature that reminded me of a dragon but which was actually a fiendish tyrannosaurus (according to Larch’s mind).  Standing right in front of it was a demonic angel.  Or rather, it was an angel, but my eyes saw through this and instead saw a hag of a druid.  She and her “pet” were standing on a ten foot high plateau at the rear of the chamber.  Flanking her, not on the plateau, but in front of it, were two more Night Walkers, their large hands eager to grab and destroy whatever weapons they could reach.  
	When I finally was able to act, I felt the stone in my hand complete its magic and then I directed my ectoplasmic friend to appear right in front of the druid.  He lunged at her and wrapped his huge arms around her body, holding her fast.  I hoped he would prevent her from weaving magic against us, but it was not to be.  She walked out of his grasp as if he were made of air, not ectoplasm, and her “pet” began to tear into him.  I decided then that he would need some assistance.  
	In the meanwhile, the two treants were quickly dispatched by Ee’s Axe, Morwen’s rapier, and Nin’s chain.  Then the druid acted.  
	I had just finished summoning two of my valkries to surround the tyrannosaur when suddenly my vision was filled with fire.  A wall of flames erupted from the ground in front of us, filling the width of the cavern from floor to ceiling and cutting us off.  Higgins noted in his mind that this would cut the druid off from targeting us as well, but I somehow doubt she expected her wall to last long.  And she was correct, because the second part of my mind, the part not occupied with the valkries, brought down the fire wall.  
	Just as the wall vanished, more fire arrived, this time from the “heavens,” courtesy of our demonic angel druid friend.  Acting quickly, I dampened the fire and divine energy with my mind down to minimal levels, reducing it from a bang to a whimper.  
	My main mind focused its attention back on the battle at the far end of the room.  My valkeries were holding their own, even as my ectoplasmic guardian was flanked by the two Night Walkers.  Then Moria was swallowed whole by the dinosaur.  To her credit, she kept her head together well enough to teleport herself free, but just to bolster her, I sent forth two more valkries to further flank the gargantuan beast.  
	Morwen grabbed Nin and dimensioned them both to flank one of the Night Walkers.  At that moment, the tree began to “help” us.  All of the air was removed from half of the chamber, leaving us in good shape, but not Nin or Morwen, who were now standing in vacuum.  Nin held fast, but Morwen immediately passed out.  Nin, eager for the kill, sighed and transported them back to Higgins.  
	Ee, eager for a fight, ran straight into the vacuum, right up to the wall of force.  He could not get through, so he flew up and over, landing just on the other side of the box of force.  
	Morwen, aided by Higgins, sought to return to the fight, but she could not cross the vacuum barrier without risking asphyxia again.  So she and Nimue stayed just at the edge of the air (which was expanded outwards by the tree at their request) and tried to target the druid with ranged magic.  
	Nin, meanwhile, jumped back to face the druid (who now stood at the back of the platform at the far end of the room) and he managed to slow her down as she tried to escape.  She tripped once, but managed to get to her feet and run down toward the middle of the chamber.  
	Higgins disintegrated the box of force with a scroll, leaving it open for us to go for the seed, but the druid apparently put it right back up.  
	As if to emphasize the fact that the only part of the room that still had air in it was the back part where most of us were standing, the druid sent a whirlwind through us, smashing us all around and picking Nimue right up into the air.  She would have been swept away had she not been brought back to the dirt by Larch dispelling the the funnel.  
	The tyrannosaur was finally brought down by the combined might of four valkries and my astral construct, leaving them all free to pursue the druid.  One of the Night Walkers was sucked down a pit by the tree.  I somehow doubt it can escape.  The second one concealed itself and headed toward Ee, but it ultimately did not last long.  
	The druid, surrounded and wounded, activated some magic and vanished, leaving us alone with the tree and the seed.  I disintegrated the wall once again and Larch charged for the seed, grabbing it as he was shocked from strange energy discharges.  I ran in after him and grabbed him, instantly transporting us to the negative material plane, then back again, pausing only long enough for Larch to drop the seed.  I then brought us back to the tree chamber, just in time for everything to start to collapse.  

	Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Eighty – If a Tree Falls in the Prime Material Plane…

	The tree was obviously imploding.  It could not be very happy.  I quickly gathered up my companions for a safe transport outside of the tree.  Morwen balked at first, wanting to loot the bodies, so I gave her a second to verify that there was not much loot to be found.  Then I brought us out some distance from the tree.  We got to sit and watch it slowly collapse over about twenty minutes.  It probably would have hurt had we remained inside.  
	Thus, the plane saved, we returned to Cauldron.  The King was very happy with us.  Though the tree had not sprouted within the kingdom, it was clear enough that all lands would have been in jeopardy had we not acted.  We were paid close to 100,000 gold in coins, gems, and other valuables.  He also gave us a daern’s instant fortress, a crystal ball, an amulet of second chances, and something just for me, a cognizance crystal of middling power.  I could already hear the words in my mind from Morwen, “Sell sell sell.”  Still, it was a suitable reward.  But that was not the real reward.  
	“In honor of your service to the realm, and to the world, I bestow upon you all the title of Baron (or Baroness) of the Kingdom, with appropriate land and honors to follow.  
	Finally!  Finally I am getting my due.  Finally I have a title that will survive me, a real entry into the nobility!  Now I just need to work my way up toward Duke – only four or so levels of nobility to go!

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Eighty-One – A small matter of vampires

	As my first act as Baron, I am going to go back to the strange plane of those blood sucking rapier-wielding woman and clean out their tower of evil.  Higgins and I have been stockpiling stones and scrolls specifically for the occasion.  In three weeks time, when the moon is right, we will go back.  And this time, it is they who will be caught off guard.  Oh yes, they are going to pay!
	Now I just need to finish sharpening my stakes.


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## Altalazar (Nov 12, 2007)

Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Eighty-Two – Murky Mystery

	About a week later, I was engaged in the creation of more stones for my upcoming visit to the plane of negative evil, home of the vampire tower, when one of my followers, a commoner named Raelon, came staggering into my stronghold in Cauldron.  Apparently, the small mountain community of Raven's Hollow, which has long lived in peace under the watchful proetction of its night-Protectors, an enclave of Paladins in a mountain fortress just above Raven's Hollow, has gone silent.  No more trade or travellers come from there and now an alarm has been raised.  
	“The people and the land have gone sour,” Raelon told me, after we had tended to his wounds.  “It happened suddenly, after a strange storm about a week prior.  The storm led to a brown-stained rain.  Soon after it began to fall, people acted strangely.”
	“What do you mean by ‘strangely,’” I asked him.  
	“They seemed to all act in concert, even the paladins with the villagers.  The last thing I saw, from a distance, before I ran, was a rider being pulled from his horse by a large group of villagers.  I did not tally long, lest I be caught as well.  A paladin on a horse almost rode me down as I escaped.”  
	This seemed like a noble enough purpose, at least for Posiedon and Morwen, if no one else.  I decided to contact them and see what they could come up with.  
	Posiedon scryed on several people known to Raelon.  Only a few were scryable, the rest were not.  Which either meant they were dead or they were somewhere they could not be seen magically.  Neither option was particularly helpful.  The last clear vision we saw was of a paladin on a horse, her blank face covered in brown stains that were hard to see because the entire scene was covered in a brown haze.  
	Divinations proved most unhelpful.  It seemed we had to take a closer look.  
	Between Posiedon and myself, we managed to transport all of us to the paladin.  Morwen, Tuvstarr, Posiedon, and myself, along with our cohorts and several golem warhorses.  We all were mounted, with some mounts shared, in an attempt to keep our feet out of the brown mud that seems to cover the entire landscape hear Raven’s Hollow.  
	As soon as the paladin saw us, she reared up her horse and charged.  Strangely, both she and her mount had the same blank looks on their faces and both were covered in brownish stains from head to toe.  Thinking quickly, which is all a psion need do, Posiedon engulfed both the paladin and her mount in a cocoon of ectoplasm, stopping them mid-charge.  
	We quickly surrounded her, then attempted to tend to her.  Posiedon linked with her mind and attempted to repair any damage he could find.  I know from my own use of that power (which I actually gave to him in the first place), this would take at least ten minutes of concentrating hard.  Unfortunately, within a minute, brown, muddy villagers stood up from the ground around us and began to charge us, their sharpened farm implements held high.  
	Before they could close the distance, one of Posiedon’s disciples raised a barrier of ectoplasm around us in a large dome, keeping the former farmers away from us.  They kept at the barrier, slowly wearing it down.  They would have made it through had the barrier not been renewed several times.  
	Poseidon ultimately determined that the paladin’s mind was fine.  Her name was Persephone, and she communicated to him via mindlink that she has no control over her body, and this has been true since about half an hour after the rain started a week earlier.  We tried many magical and psionic cures to try and save her.  Nothing seemed to help her.  Posiedon was contemplating trying to leap her forward in time, sans mud, to see if that would help her.  
	Tuvstarr examined the brown substance carefully, and determined that it was water mixed with a fine powder of bark dust.  The bark was from a tree not native to this plane, at least so far as Tuvstarr could determine, which was usually good enough to know for sure.  
	Testing a theory, Tuvstarr, thought back to her days as an apprentice, and then used one of the most basic magics she learned, prestigiditation, the sort of magic one uses to shine one’s boots.  And it worked!  Persephone was clear of the substance and clear of its control.  And the ectoplasmic dome around us kept the rain at bay.  Then we saw more trouble.  

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Eighty-Three – More Paladins, More Wands, More Teleportation 

	The villagers we kept easily at bay.  But then we saw four more paladins come riding in on warhorses.  They were apt to bring down the ectoplasm far faster than was comfortable.  We quickly transported everyone back to the Capitol.  There we were safe.  There we also found at least a half-dozen wands of prestidigitation, something which we would find great use for with the villagers.  Unfortunately, even that many would cover only a small fraction of the over 3,000 villagers and paladins that occupied the community of Raven’s Hollow.  But it was a start.  
	We could not scry anyone in the paladins’ keep, but Persephone knew a location near the keep and so we attempted to teleport just outside the gate.  Fortunately, this worked.  
	The gate was down, but with four of Posiedon’s behemouths of ectoplasm, it was quickly raised.  We managed to get inside just as a few hundred villagers charged us.  The gate was raised at the same time from within.  One construct quickly blocked the gate with his body, cutting off the villagers.  At the same time, paladins came from each flank, from the east and west towers astride the gatehouse.  Some were held in ectoplasm, some were time-hopped forward, and the rest were cleaned, giving us more allies in our fight.  
	We then turned our attention to the remaining door ahead of us, the one that led to the central atrium of the keep.  As it happened, we did not need to open it.  It was opened for us.  
	After it opened, paladins streamed in.  They looked different than the others.  They had not just brown sludge, but large splinters of wood piercing their flesh everywhere.  There were seven of them.  The council of six leadership, and then the castellan of the paladins himself.  This would prove to be a tough fight.  

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Eighty-Four – Night Twist

	We were careful to do only non-lethat damage to the paladins.  Unfortuantely, they were not kind enough to return the favor.  One of the circle was taken down by the constructs.  Then the rest retreated to the atrium, to protect the true menace.  There, we saw a huge tree, with long flailing limbs.  
	Posiedon, Tuvstarr, Morwen, and Nimue charged into the atrium to face it.  Morwen tumbled behind it, hoping for assistance flanking the tree.  Assistance never came.  
	Within seconds, six limbs tore into Morwen’s flesh, ripping most of it from her body, and leaving her unconscious on the ground behind the tree.  Then a great wind began to flow, blasting everyone back.  Finally, a huge, weird vision of death vercame Nimue, nearly killing her instantly.  
	None of Posiedon’s ectoplasmic beasts could enter the atrium, nor could any other summoned beasts.  Posiedon send wave after wave of sharp crystal shards into the hide of the tree, wounding it again and again.  But just when it was close to falling, the circule of paladins would surround it and heal it, first laying on hands, later, using their more conventional healing magic.  
	We had a short scare at one point as all five of the circle cast their shield of protection over the tree, taking half of its wounds as they came.  Had Tuvstarr not dispelled that magic, we would probably have killed all of the paladins before the tree even came close to falling.  
	In the end, though it was a tough fight, the tree simply could not survive our epic onslaught.  More importantly, we managed to avoid killing a single innocent villager or paladin.  We had to pick out the splinters by hand after the fight, and then we had a few thousand villagers to clean, but we saved the village and the paladins.  The paladins, in particular, were very grateful.  They offered us a “favor,” whatever that might mean.  
	The tree itself held nothing but seven strange, magical “acorns,” for lack of a better word.  These acorns protected it from negative energy and boosted all of its various attributes, making them a valuable find.  
	Tuvstarr finally settled the murky mystery of the tree.  The Night Twist grew from a fragment of the great demon tree that we had recently vanquished.  The rain was shards of its bark, coming down upon the populace after the giant splinter of a fragment landed in the atrium and began spreading its foul, demonic evil into the keep and the village.  
	While we heard no further reports of trouble, it does not bode well for us if further splinters from the huge demon tree have landed elsewhere to spread their evil.  I will keep the eyes and ears of my great information network, now nearly 700 strong, wide open for signs of this evil.  
	Now, there are some vampires to vanquish who have waited far too long.


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## Altalazar (Nov 18, 2007)

Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Eighty-Five – The Moon is Aligned

	After carefully preparing for several weeks, our secret moon was full, and we were ready to go dust some vampires.  Just before we left, Larch found a still pool of water and attempted to scry some of the vampires in order to see where they were and what they were up to.  After several failed attempts, we finally viewed three of them sitting in the sitting room at the top of their tower.  
	Higgins spent several minutes preparing all of us with various magical protections and enhancements for the battle ahead.  In particular, he put a planar bubble around myself, himself, Larch, and Nimue to bring with us the native magic of our home plane.  There would be no problems will spells or powers this time.  
	Fully prepared, we joined hands, and Higgins shifted us directly into their midst.  They were caught completely by surprise.  Within seconds, two of the three vampires were slain, and then disintegrated into dust.  The third was nearly down, but survived long enough to send a signal to the rest of them before she, too, was mere dust on the wind, dumping the contents of her body onto the marble floor.  Unfortunately, that signal was enough to cause us some trouble.  

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Eighty-Six – Anti-magic of a different kind

	The entire room was sheathed in anti-magic.  We did not know where it came from.  It made it very dark.  We also heard a rushing of air.  Higgins rushed to the fireplace to stop it up.  Nimue and Morwen joined him.  Larch transformed himself into an elemental of fire to shed some light.  What he saw was not encouraging.  The small window slits that were originally in this room were gone.  And thick, black smoke was filling into the room from the ceiling from a fist-sized hole.  Larch’s fist soon filled that hole, but this just revealed another hole as a source for the smoke.  
	Quickly tiring of the situation, I shouted to Nin and Morwen to put their adamantine weapons to use on the tower walls.  Morwen started, but made little headway.  Then Nin stepped up, putting the full power of his attack into his swings, he hit the wall with both ends of his swinging chain, probably faster than one solid blow per second.  Within fifteen seconds, the wall was rubble.  The last few hits of his chain got stuck in something, which we had to help him pull it out from.  Then one more swing opened up the wall wide enough for us to step through it.  Not wanting to wait for any more surprises, I jumped through the hole.  As suspected, the anti-magic did not extend much beyond the tower and so soon all of us were floating in the air by the tower, courtesy of Higgins’s earlier magic.  
	From out vantage outside the tower, we saw a vampire standing on the roof holding some rope and supplies and another vampire standing on the ground about a hundred feet away from the tower.  Nin flew toward the tower vampire and quickly reduced him to gas.  Thinking quickly, I grabbed Morwen and transported her to the vampire on the ground, where she quickly reduced her to gas as well.  Then they both “ran.”  
	Higgins pursued the tower gaseous vampire, flying around the tower just in time to target her before her mist disappeared into the sandstorms raging below us.  Higgins pulled out a scroll and as the magical writing slowly dissolved, taking the paper with them, the vampire soon followed suit, her gas reduced to dust, her belongings clanging out onto the rocky ground beneath her.  
	I chased down the vampire by Morwen, but it fled quickly into the mist and then was lost in the blowing sand.  At this point, Morwen brought something to my attention.  

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Eighty-Seven – A New Voice in Morwen’s Head

	“There’s a voice in my head that isn’t yours,” Morwen told me.  
	“What is this voice saying?”  
	“He’s asking for us to rescue him from his confinement at the bottom of the tower.  He has asked that we teleport to his location.”  
	Thinking back on what happened the last time we teleported into a level of the tower with no windows, I rolled up my sleeves and said, “Sure thing,” before disintegrating a 20 foot wide hole in the side of the base of the tower.  
	Seconds later, we were all in the room, surrounding a man.  Or rather, a former man, because this man was now a vampire.  
	“I asked you to teleport to me,” he said, looking at Morwen.  
	Before she could answer, I responded, “it will be a cold day in hell before we listen to mysterious voices that want us to teleport into rooms with no exits, particularly after what happened just a few levels above you.”  
	Apparently aware of the futility of questioning my reasoning, the vampire said, “My name is Largger.  I am a vampire, but I have learned the error of my ways.  I have taken a pledge of non-violence.  Ages ago, I was spreading evil through the land.  I created the dozen vampires you faced here and together, we hurt many.  We came to this plane as a base of operations, perfect for striking out against the world of the living.  But then something changed in me.  I saw the harm I had done to others and I understood that it was wrong and that it had to stop.  I used the black orb to seal off this plane, trapping all of us here.  I could not defeat the twelve, but they could not rid themselves of me, either.  They sealed me into this tower and have been plotting escape ever since, luring others here to feed upon as they plotted.”  
	“If they could not escape,” I asked, “How did they lure others here?”  
	“They have done magical experiments, particularly two of them, and found a way to transport paper to other planes.  They used this power to transport maps to “treasure” that have lured many an adventurer here to their doom.”  
	“I see,” I said, fingering the treasure map in my pack.  “So what do you want from us?”  
	“Nothing now.  You have freed me.  I can depart.  The others will never leave this place.  Even now, they have fled this tower with their coffins in their bags of holding.  You will never find them in the storms.”  
	“That’s what you think,” I said.  “I am not leaving here until every single last one of them is hunted down and destroyed.”  I then turned my mind outward to the vampires.  “Come back to the tower,” I told them, “come back and we’ll help you leave this place in exchange for your possessions of magic.”  I received no response.  I guess no talking was going to matter to them.  They knew their fate was sealed.  
	I found a puddle of water for Larch to scry them.  He scryed the gaseous one first, finding her position.  We quickly transported to her and then reduced her to dust.  We found two more the same way, scrying them as they ran, surrounding them, and destroying them.  Unfortunately, we ran out of scrying when there were three remaining.  We left the plane for the night, then returned the next day and finished off the remaining three.  Largger was still there, waiting for us, when we returned.  
	After inventorying all of their possessions, we noted that there was only enough equipment for ten of them.  “Where are the possessions of the two we destroyed on our first visit?  For that matter, where are the bodies and possessions of all of the adventurers that met their end here?”  
	“I do not know,” was all Largger would say.  No matter.  We got what we came here for.  We ended the undeath of these foul creatures and took everything of value that they owned.  Now it was time to return home.  

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Eighty-Eight – My Companions Choose Poorly

	“Do you want to come back to Cauldron with us,” Morwen asked the good vampire.  
	“I know not where that is,” he replied, “but my sense is that my fate is to take me through this archway.”  He pointed at another portal like the one that originally transported us to this plane.  He arranged the stones in front of it and activated it.  
	“Do you want us to go with you?” Morwen asked.  
	“I do not mind if you wish to do so,” he replied.  
	“Uh…” I said.  “I’m NOT going through another one of those portals, particularly not blind, with no idea what is on the other side.”  
	“I think we should go with him,” Morwen said, and Nin agreed.  Something inside me said that if Morwen was advocating this, this definitely was the wrong way to go, even though Morwen did not seem to be as unwise as this feeling indicated.  I should definitely trust my feelings more.  My feeling turned out to be right.  
	“We should go back to Cauldron.  We do not need to go with him.  Let him follow his own path,” I implored.  They ignored.  
	I sat and watched with a frown as Largger, Morwen, Nimue, Nin, and Larch all entered the ring and vanished.  I tried to reach them, to no avail.  They were gone and I could not touch them.  Then the ring cycled down and closed.  Finally, I got a response.  
	“I think we have a problem.”  
	I listened to the explanation that followed.  The portal took them to a barren world.  A world that was covered in black rock, in large craters that never held lava, bombarded from the sky.  It was also a world without magic.  Were it not for the planar bubbles around Larch and Nimue, I would not even have been able to contact them.  They would have been trapped.  I sure would not have followed.  
	Larch assured me that he could get them all home.  “How can you do that,” I asked.  
	“I don’t need to get into that, just trust me,” he replied.  
	“Uh, sure.”  
	I waited.  They explored for over an hour.  I waited.  I reminded them that the planar bubble only lasts a few hours.  Finally, I heard from Morwen.
	“Help! Come get us.”  
	“Larch?”
	“I lied, I guess I can’t get us out.”  
	I sighed.  I really did not want to go get them.  But if the bubbles worked for them, they should continue to work for me.  I transported Higgins and myself to them, then announced, “grab my hand, we’re leaving now,” then did just that, Higgins returning us directly to Cauldron.  
	“No more portals,” I said as I walked up the stairs of my stronghold to my room.  I did not wait to see where my companions went.  

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Eighty-Nine – Trouble In Cauldron – Small Fires

	My followers informed me that there was trouble of a small sort in Cauldron since we left.  Three rooms in my abode had been burned, albeit only shortly.  Someone or something had thrown in oil-soaked rags through open windows on each of my three floors.  Two bedrooms and my dining table were singed.  No one saw anything.  This will bear further investigation.  I wondered if this had anything to do with the strange dreams I’ve had lately about many people, only some of whom were my followers.  
	I also discovered that there was a small earthquake in Cauldron that has utterly destroyed the construction done on Nin’s temple.  And Nin’s architect is no longer available, as he is busy with Ee, helping to rebuild his peoples’ village in the woods outside of Cauldron’s Crater.  
	Dreams, fires, and earthquakes.  What else is there to occupy us?  Time to get to work investigating.  But first, I decide I need a short rest.  I retire to my room to find Crystal waiting for me, as she often is.  She has grown much over the time I have known her.  Her telepathic skills are progressing quite nicely.  She did not even need to open her mouth to greet me, and so it was with a closed mouth and a solemn expression that she said to me as I entered, “I’m pregnant.”


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## Altalazar (Dec 31, 2007)

Book XXVI – A Dream To Some

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Ninety – Breakfast

	I groggily sat up in bed as the first rays of the sun hit my bedroom window.  As always, Higgins was there, ready with the morning’s news.  
	“Good morning, suh!  Lovely day today.  Ninety-five percent of Cauldron appears to have been reduced to rubble, along with the proportionate population.  Breakfast will be ready shortly!”
	Such utter devestation!  Suddenly, I felt very worried, and I hesitated before I asked the next question on my mind.  
	“Higgins?”
	“Yes suh!” (Such an impecible British accent)
	“What is for breakfast?”
	“The usual, suh!”  
	I sighed with relief.  And sure enough, a few minutes later, Higgins strode in with the usual breakfast, in all its glory, and Crystal and I enjoyed and savored every bite.  If the city is coming to an end, I just have to make sure that I get in a proper breakfast.  Anything less would be uncivilized.  All was right with the world, at least until lunch.  
	I sent Higgins off to find out more while I dined.  He soon returned.  
	“Forty left, suh, no sign of the rest.”  
	That was disturbing.  There should have been a hundred in the house.  I wondered where the rest had gone.  Outside, there was lots of rubble, but no bodies.  Fortunately, my local tavern, the Blue Tabbard, was still intact.  But only the bartender was present there.  Scattered throughout town were another fifty of my people, but only about twenty of them were accounted for.  This called for some investigation.  
	“Stay here, love,” I said to Crystal.  She was 13 weeks with child now, leaving a full 25 or so to go.  I was not to risk my heir on this foolishness.  
	My breakfast done, I left bed and headed out into what was left of the city.  

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Ninety-One – My companions minus one

	I found all of my companions were with us.  I heard from Morwen first, through the link.  The link seemed much stronger and louder than usual.  Or perhaps it was just that her voice was less subdued.  We soon met up with Nin and Larch.  Ee came from the outside of the city.  He had stranger news to report.  Apparently there was nothing but mist outside of the city walls.  Ee’s village was there, but empty, with nothing but the road back to town evident in the mist.  
	Now it ws obvious.  Cauldron was not gone.  We were.  What a relief.  I was worried that we’d have to rebuild the entire city AGAIN.  We tried to find Tuvstarr, but she was gone.  Skylar was there, and we put her to work researching.  Then we headed toward Poseidon’s tower, one of the 5% of the structures still intact in town, along with my buildings, Nin’s tents, City Hall, Saint Cuthbert’s Temple, and the Tip Tankard Inn.  
	On the way to P’s tower, we ran into trouble.  (And some trouble ran into Nin).  
	From out of the rubble appeared a “burglar” who was dressed to steal, wearing a mask.  He also appeared to have a jagged scar on his face reminiscent of Morwen’s scar.  We apparently inturrpted him just after he had murdred two villagers who looked rather like the two people Morwen was concerned with when people were being “occupied” by spirits several months ago.  I asked Morwen about this, about who they were, but Morwen pretended not to hear as she tumbled behind the burglar and stabbed him through the heart.  
	At the same time, someone else came out of the rubble to our left, someone who said his name was “Kyrnyn” and whom Nin seemed to recognize.  Nin then tried to stop him as Kyrnyn ran right over Larch and into Nin’s body, vanishing from sight.  
	My own demon came to haunt me.  A judge appeared, gavel in hand.  I recognized him from Desbury.  He was the most corrupt of the bunch.  
	“You’re out of order, Cordozo!” he shouted at me as he ran forward with the gavel held high.  Instinctively avoiding the judge’s wrath, I grabbed Higgins and transported us both to the far side of Morwen up the street.  But the judge was undaunted.  He ran out of the rubble beside me there and continued his assault.  
	Higgins was faced with the etiquette coach behind me.  The coach threw up a tray of 40 silverware of the finest sort and let it all fall down into the mud.  With a speed I did not think possible, Higgles managed to catch with his bare hands seven of the set, keeping them from the mud as the man laughed at him.  
	Behind me, the Mayor was assaulted, and beside her, Ee faced a pregnant woman throwing babies at him.  For every baby he failed to catch, another pregnant woman appeared to throw some more.  Ee was rather upset.  
	Morwen continued her fight.  The burglar slashed her face with his blade and laughed at her.  She stabbed him again and again until he finally vanished in a heap.  
	I faced my judge and did something I’d dreamed of doing so many times, but never had the courage or the skill to do.  I crushed his worthless, corrupt brain with my own, leaving him an empty corpse on the ground.  It was so satisfying, I can barely find the words to describe it.  And it was so worth it, despite what happened next.  The judge’s body reformed and then he was joined by another corrupt judge from Desbury, and they both held me out of order.  This time, I parried with the law, using my newfound powers of the mind to augment my legal understanding to an epic level of knowledge that normal lawyers could only dream of.  It was flawless.  It totally destroyed the corrupt lawbooks they were holding.  And yet they reformed again and then there were three judges facing me.  Again, it was so worth it, but I knew the only way to defeat them.  I reached into my pouch for my ultimate weapon against them.  “How much?”  
	The judges all turned around in unison, their hands held at their backs.  I suddenly knew, with certainty, that just over 100 gp would be needed for each.  I pulled three globs of 101 gold coins each from my bag and put them into each hand.  Then they vanished.  
	Higgins behind me, in a feat of servant prowess probably never before seen, and sure to be talked about for ages hence, managed to, in the space of six seconds, clean every single one of the dirty silver dining set pieces save one, and then in the next heartbeat, he cleaned the last piece, sorted them, and put them in a nice display box for use that he seemed to conjure out of nowhere.  The old man who was taunting him vanished with a flourish, saying “I’ve seen better,” as he faded away.    
	Nimue was busy with her own demons as well.  She tried to rescue someone from being attacked from behind by a  vile murderer.  But she was too late.  The poor man was beheaded.  She saved the second man, but he was ungrateful – he did not see the murderer coming.  She shouted at him as he left to “go celebrate life.”  
	Morwen was busy tying up her burglar when she suddenly realized that he was not just unconscious—he was dead.  She had, without realizing it, tied him up by his neck.  
	Thus, things had settled back to “normal.”  
	“Very strange,” said Nin.  
	“Considering all the weird stuff we have seen,” I said, “I can’t say that this was all that strange.”  It seemed more like a dream, and I said as such.  
	“No, it is a nightmare,” Morwen insisted.  
	“Well, it was very satisfying for me to kill that judge,” I said.  
	“A nightmare,” she said.  
	“I see,” I said.  “So who were those people that were ‘murdered’ by your burglar?  Family?  I’ve seen them before.”  
	“They’re important people,” she said.
	“So they ARE family,” I said.  
	“They’re important peope,” she said.  
	“Family?”  
	“They’re important people,” was all she would say, no matter how much pressed her.  She did further say that it “wouldn’t be very safe.”  
	“Safe for whom,” I asked.  
	“You’re asking too much,” Morwen said.  
	“You could send them to your new Barony,” I said.  
	“No!” she said.  Then she asked, “What do you think of this plane?”  
	“I think we already covered this,” I said.  Then I changed the subject.  “We could try plane shifting out of here at P’s.”  As it was, I had no contact with anyone not in “Cauldron.”  

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Ninety-Two – We Reach the Tower

	We were greeted at the front desk and sent up to the top-most floor to meet with Posiedon.  Posiedon stated that “most of the people who could fix this” were there.  I asked the obvious question.  
	“How do we fix this?” 
	“I’m researching it,” Posiedon said.  
	I contacted Skylar again to ask her about her research.  She essentially told me that she was busy and not to bother her.  I guess I do bother her a lot, contacting her whenever we need Tuvstarr.  But it is not like it is my fault that Tuvstarr shields her mind from contact all of the time.  Which reminds me, I’m going to have to see what I can do about that.  
	With the preliminaries out of the way, I noticed that there was one person, an elf, with Posiedon whom I did not recognize.  She was dressed very nicely.  Apparently she was also a psion, a telepath of some power.  
	“I’m Kaitlin,” she said to me.  “Pleased to meet you, Baron Cordozo.”  She told me that she woke up this morning at the inn and found herself in a city of rubble.  
	“Tell us something we don’t know,” I told her.  I noticed that not only did she have an exotic elven accent, but she also was from a city I had never heard of.  At least, that was her claim.  As I pondered this further, the ground began to shake.  I ran to the window to look outside.  
	“Oh gee, the volcano is erupting,” I said nonchalantly.  After all, it wasn’t like it was the real volcano.  And even if it were, the city was already destroyed anyway.  
	Posiedon seemed a bit more upset about this, and souted “No!” as he ran to the window.  Nin and Morwen ran in the opposite direction, shouting “Murderer!” 
	Here we go again, I thought to myself.  This time, my “friend” was the Dwarven Baron, who taunted me with the final paperwork for granting me my Barony lands.  He held a lit torch toward them threateningly.  Though I knew it to be false, I couldn’t give him the satisfaction.  I tried unsuccessfully to dominate his mind, then I charged forward to take them from him.  My fingers gripped the parchment tightly.  I was worried that the papers would rip when I saw a ray shoot past my face and hit the Baron and suddenly his grip slackened to nothing as the paper became too heavy for him to hold.  
	“Thank you, Higgins.”  
	“Very good, suh!” 
	My papers thus secure, I noticed an interesting spectacle.  There was another Dwarf Baron and there was the King himself.  Both were to either side of Kaitlin, trying to square off against each other as she tried to shield one from the other.  I wondered if she was in league with the traitor or if she were somehow manipulating them both.  This would certainly bear further investigation.  
	The ground shifted again, and this time, things were much more to our liking.  

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Ninety-Three – Dreams Come True

	We found ourselves standing in the actually completed stronghold of Nin, no tents, no construction.  We were on a balcony above a grand ball as people danced and enjoyed themselves.  Looking out over the horizon, I could see the lands of my Barony, even though they were too far away to really see, and they looked grand and perfect.  
	On the ballroom floor below, Higgins was leading an orchestra of servants at the party, making everything run as smooth as a waterclock.  He was smiling and happy, a thousand servants taking his lead with the noble party around him.  The Motif of the party was that of the forest, with real trees and other living things covering the walls and the floor, much to Larch’s delight.  
	I watched with amusement as assassins tried again and again to kill Morwen while she was oblivious as Nimue deftly dispatched them all, one by one, with such skill and speed that Morwen never even noticed their attempts.  
	Ee stood by my side, wearing an axe the size of a tavern, an axe that he swung around with ease, felling whatever got in his way with a single large swing.  
	What a wonderful dream, I thought, but there was business to attend to.  I walked toward Kaitlin.  
	“So, what was up with your vision of the Baron and the King,” I asked her.  
	“Oh, that was nothing,” she said, using such skillful inflection that probably 99.99% of the population of the world would have fully believed her, finding it nothing at all.  But even though her inflection was perfect, there just did not seem to be something right about that, despite her seemingly innocent explanation.  Unable to detect any deception, I decided to join her in the ultimate battle.  A battle of wits.  Putting on my best noble-game face, I feighned detecing her deception in subtle tones, and told her that “I know what you are up to.”  
	Again, she perfectly deflected my blows, and with a slight toss of her hair and a turn of her chin, she looked completely unconcerned.  Parrying further, I dealt my killing blow.  I pretended to notice her nonexistent concern, as if I had spotted a deception I really did not see.  And finally, just barely, I saw a tiny bead of sweat cascade down the back of her lovely neck.  My triple deception finally broke her façade.  She was hding something, something about the Baron and the King, and it was definitely NOT innocent.  But her skills at deflecting my words and my detection was considerable.  She would bear close watching.  
	The festivities soon ground to a close.  An air elemental appeared named “Night Air.”  She told us that she was sent into this “dream” by Tuvstarr to rescue us.  Night Air pushed us all out of the dream, one by one, back into the waking world, where it was late afternoon.  As soon as I was truly awake, I contacted Skylar and asked her where Tuvstarr was.  
	“How would I know, I was in there with you!”  
	“But of course, but you are now in Tuvstarr’s tower – presumably they can tell you there where she is.”  
	After a brief pause, Skylar told me that she was in Bellanon.  
	I gathered up my companions and headed toward Posiedon’s tower.  I knew we could get to there from his platform without my having to expend any effort, and besides, I wanted to talk with Posiedon about what happened and about Kaitlin.  As it turned out, all roads really do converge, because by the time we got there, Tuvstarr was at P’s tower.  

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Ninety-Four – Denoument at the Tower

	Apparently everything has a price.  In this case, what happened was the price paid for our vast network of mindlinks.  Posiedon just created something known as a “Psionic Accord.”  I did not know what it was, but apparently it is like a mind-golem that can perform psionic tasks and can link together minds for you permanently.  Somehow all of our frequent mind links, along with some strange property of the woman Kaitlin (she was a “society mind”), led to this alternate dream world where we were all linked together in our sleep.  Tuvstarr was not affected because of her lack of a link.  
	Posiedon’s Accord is named “Xavier.”  And the air elemental named “Night Air” was not an air elemental at all, but instead a dream walker.  She was hired by Tuvstarr to come into the dream and bring all of us out.  
	I told Posiedon and Tuvstarr about Kaitlin, after first making sure that she was not there and would not be admitted to the tower.  They said they did not know her, but that she appeared to be very educated.  
	“Of course she’s educated—she’s a psion,” Posiedon said to Tuvstarr.  
	Tuvstarr replied, “No, not all psions are educated.  Some are just pretty,” and then she gave a soft look to Posiedon and his well-kept blue hair.  I glanced at Higgins, and saw that he already had surreptitiously held up a small mirror for me to check my own hair.  Everything was in place, as always.  
	“Now, what are we to do about Kaitlin?” I asked.


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## Altalazar (Jan 6, 2008)

Book XXVII – A Book of Future Historical Importance

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Ninety-Five – The King’s Ire

	A small voice filled my head, urgent and familiar.  “Cordozo, my uncle is really, really mad!” it said.  “He will be calling you any minute!”  
	As I contemplated that, I then heard another voice, this one not mental, but magic, sent to me by a royal spell.  “The King wants you here NOW!”  was all it said.  I presumed “here” was the capitol.  While the message was urgent, I decided some caution was called for.  I contacted my companions and prepared to depart.  
	I tried to contact Skylar.  She was not available.  Apparently she was paranoid enough after the dream incident to have Tuvstarr mindblank her.  No matter.  I sent my mind out to the city at large and found one of my followers was walking nearby Tuvstarr’s library.  Bettran.  I sent him to contact Tuvstarr and determine what was going on.  
	By now, the small voice contacted me again and told me, in response to my query as to what was wrong, “I don’t know, something the worm said made him real mad.”  
	“Worm?” I asked.
	“Dragon.” She said.
	“What dragon?  What is his or her name?  What is its color?  Metal?”
	“Her name is Melves.  She is Grey, not metallic.”  
	I figured as “Dragonslayers” it would be prudent to know if a Grey was good or evil.  And if it was possibly influencing the king, not in a good way.  Bettran’s voice interrupted my train of thought at this point.  
	“Baron, I have reached the library.”  
	“Ask Tuvstarr about Grey dragons, specifically, about one named Melves.”  
	“Yes, my Baron.”  Then a pause.  “Skylar says that Tuvstarr is not here.”  
She’s probably with the King already, I thought.  “Ask Skylar to see if she can answer that, then.”  
“Yes, my Baron.”  Then another pause.  “Skylar says she will ‘look it up.’”  
By now, my companions had either joined me or had already transported (by their golem warhorses) to the Capitol.  I decided I had figured out as much as I was going to on short notice, so I took Larch and Nin by the hand and we all joined together in the waiting room of the great castle.  I was unsurprised to see Tuvstarr and Posiedon already there.  
Apparently our station truly is elevated.  We only waited five minutes for an audience.  Though we heard plenty of shouts from the king, including sputtering commentary such as “Just because he’s a king doesn’t mean he can . . . he can . . . behave like this” and other equally irate snippits, when we actually saw the King’s face, he was calm, with just a hint of red in his cheeks.  He then spoke his piece.  

Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Ninety-Six – A Library Looting

“There is a library at a school called Westphalen,” the King began.  “It is located in a small town on the outskirts of the northwestern reaches of the kingdom known as Withers.”  
I silently noted to myself that this was one of the smaller communities, one that currently lacked a Cordozo presence.  That would soon be remedied.  The King continued.  
“Stop them from looting it!” he shouted.  “Utterly destroy them!  Get back as soon as you can.”  
I noticed that as he said this, the number of guards in the halls increased, more than double what it usually was.  I noticed guards in places usually left empty.  The King was obviously greatly disturbed.  The King continued.  
“This should not be happening!” he said.  “If the library is looted, all of humanoid kind gets destroyed!”  
So, I thought to myself.  Either the King is crazy or the world is about to end.  Either possibility did not leave me with a warm feeling in the pit of my noble stomach.  
The King was rather insistent about us leaving right then, so Tuvstarr and myself transported all 12 of us to Withers.  

Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Ninety-Seven – Burning Books, Crying Tuvstarr

The village was a small one.  Twenty buildings, if that.  The school probably was the only thing of note in the entire place.  I immediately set out to make it twenty-one buildings.  I summoned forth an “establishment team” of my followers, two dozen in all, to began preparations for building an inn here and establishing a presence.  Obviously, this town, small though it is, is of some importance.  
As my followers arrived from the teleportation platform, I surveyed the scene.  The library of the school was on fire.  It was surrounded by several dozen blue “eggs” of unknown origin.  As we watched, another blue “egg” descended from above.  A door opened in its side and some creatures streamed out of it into the library.  We quickly closed the distance.  
As we ran toward the flames, Tuvstarr began an interesting monologue about how the eggs must be from the “Great Beast,” a creature that studies the universe “at large.”  At times she spoke so fast, it was hard to keep up with what she was saying, but it was clear that she was excited even as she was also horrified to see a library on fire.  
I distracted her by asking her about grey dragons.  Her long, rambling reply eventually included the magic words, “they are usually good,” which reassured me, at least for the time.  
When we reached the entrance to the library, we found two guards with crossed glaives blocking the way.  Apparently they were not the normal guards for the library.  They were covered from head to toe in strange leather armor with silver runes covering every surface.  They even had masks with runes covering their faces.  As we tried to enter, they blocked our way.  
“Move along, move along.  Nothing to see here,” they said in unison.  
“Step aside, we have business in here,” Tuvstarr told them insistently, the fire reflected in her eyes.  
The glaives burst into flame.  “You have no business here.”
“Move aside in the name of the King,” I told them, “Our authority is his authority, and you must obey.”  
“We recognize no authority,” was their only reply.  
That was all that I needed.  Clearly, they were now in violation of several statutes, including the primary statute that required all to obey us as agents of the king.  Thus established as not the legitimate staff of the library, combined with our status as King’s agents, combined with the King’s specific orders to “annihilate them” that were looting the library made it my carefully considered legal opinion that we were fully within our authority to beat these two guards like red-headed step children.  And so it began.  

Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Ninety-Eight – We Put Out the Guards, then the Fire

As we approached the door, one of the guards made three swipes of his glaive against Morwen while the other sent three against Ee.  None connected with Morwen, but Ee was hurt slightly.  Tuvstarr was urging that we keep them alive so we could question them.  I decided to help in that regard by turning the minds of one of them inwards into a closed loop, cutting his perception off from the world, making him inert.  Unfortuantely, it was soon moot, between Nimue’s lightning bolt, Ee’s axe, and Posiedon’s large fists (he had made himself a mountain troll yet again) soon had the guard a bloody pulp upon the ground.  Ironically, the other guard survived because Morwen and Tuvstarr only subdued him.  
Not stopping to examine their bodies (or their possessions) we pressed onward.  Not wishing to leave anything behind, I summoned some of my followers to take care of the bodies (and their possessions) while we entered the burning library.  
Inside, we found an empty foyer.  Smoke poured in from under the door to our right.  Not wishing to see Tuvstarr cry any further, I felt deep down inside my mind for an alternate reality, one where everything was the same, but the flames were snuffed out.  Fortunately, I only had to bend, not totally alter, reality, or I would have been severely weakened.  
The flames out, we explored the smoking room, finding nothing of interest.  Either the books there were gone or there were never any to begin with.  We quickly headed forward, to the main door of the foyer.  Through that, we saw a wondrous sight.  
From floor to ceiling, in many cramped rows of shelves, we saw books.  Books were crammed into every last available space.  There were so many books it defied counting them.  I pulled out an embroidered silk hankerchief and handed it to Tuvstarr.  She took it and absentmindedly wiped her chin free of the drool that was pooling there.  I politely declined her offer to return the now drool-soaked hankerchief back.  I diplomatically offered that she may have further need of it given all of the books here.  
Something else we saw in the room was a man in full plate armor, three others dressed in strange hardened, black armor, and a Beblith.  It was apparent that they could not see us, courtesy of a blinding brilliance that Tuvstarr had brought forth on herself just moments before we opened the door.  Apparently those not of sufficiently pure heart cannot see beyond its blinding light.  And the light extends very far.  
Guessing that the Beblith was summoned, rather than native, I dispelled it, sending it back to the foul plane where it spawned.  Morwen plunged into the room and then plunged her rapier into the hearts of several of the creatures in the room.  Tuvstarr chained a bolt of lightning through all of them.  Nin moved next to the man in plate armor, his chains ready.  The man began to voice an incantation, asking for a miracle.  Alas, his prayer went unanswered as Nin smashed the man’s mouth with his chain, ending his invocation before the final words could be uttered.  
The man’s miracle denied, he and the others remained blind, allowing us to make short work of them.  We continued to explore beyond the room, finding a spiral staircase leading up to the rear and many more doors to either side.  I had my followers continue their clean-up work behind us, taking care of these new bodies.  
	Tuvstarr and Morwen insisted on going right up the stairs.  Ee and Nin lingered.  I talked briefly to an old man we found hiding in a study.  His name was Professor Barrymore.  He did not seem to trust us, but after I talked to him and soothed him, he was quite happy to see us.  I offered to return him to the Capitol, but not immediately.  He seemed eager to go.  I sent him to the care of my followers while we continued our search of the building.  

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Ninety-Nine – Stairs up to Praxis Tome?

	On the top floor, skipping a floor with doors, we found a large classroom occupied by Beaulabre, apparently the chief scholar of the school.  He explained that the intruders were looking for a single book, something called the Praxis Tome.  As he described it, the book was a non-magical book, probably the most important non-magical book ever.  
	“It could change the course of human history,” he said.  
	“How so,” asked Tuvstarr, enthralled at the concept of such a book.
	“It could inspire an entire generation of scholars and philosophers,” he said.  
	To myself, I wondered why, if the book was so wonderful, and non-magical to boot, there weren’t already many copies of it floating around.  To me, a book can only change the world if people know about it and read it.  Otherwise it is just a pile of dead-trees.  Moreover, if it was so wonderful, why hadn’t anyone heard of it.  I was rather skeptical of the whole thing.  I did believe, however, that the invaders thought this book was important.  Given that, we would have to find it.  The old man was not much help.  
	“We don’t have that book and I have no idea where it is,” he said.  
	It is good we left at least one alive to question, then.  Perhaps we can find out from him where they would look for this tome next, and meet them there.  But first we had the rest of the library to explore.


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## Altalazar (Jan 13, 2008)

Baron Cordozo – Chapter Three-Hundred – We Explore, then we Burn

	We explored the remaineder of the library, first scouring the rooms on the first floor we had only briefly examined earlier before turning our attention to the rooms left unopened.  Morwen and Ee prepared to open the first such door while we waited in the middle of the main stacks of books to see what she found.  We did not have to wait long.  
	As soon as the door was opened, the room was filled with fire, much to Tuvstarr’s horror.  
	Higgins, with the aid of magic, was able to deftly roll out of the way as the most massive, horrible ball of fire we had ever encountered filled half the library, incinerating the books instantly, and, but for our magical protections and reflexes, it would have reduced all of us instantly to ashes.  Before we could react, we were also washed over with a blast of cold from the doorway, which was far far less harmful than the fire, but it hurt some a bit more, because of the lack of cold protection for some.  And then a loud wail of the dead filled the room, a horrid screech that seemed to make death a preferable option to avoid hearing the voice any further.  The final act was a curtain of fire that came down across the doorway, blocking our entrance and also removing the room beyond from our view.  Fortunately, when the flames and frost settled, no one was dead, though we were all certainly worried about what may come next from beyond the curtain of flames before us.  
	Apparently the heavens were aligned strangely, because despite the much more nimble reflexes of most of my companions, I reacted first.  The first thing we needed was to be able to see, so I concentrated quickly on the wall of fire, found its anchoring point, and then mentally ripped it from its moorings, causing it to sputter and die, revealing the room beyond.  I could only see two heavily armored humanoids, similar to what we saw earlier in the library.  It looked like the room beyond was much larger.  Wishing to weaken them (and hoping to weaken whomever was sending such powerful enchantments our way), I send forth a colulmn of stygian energy to drain away their life force, throwing all of my concentration into the effort.  Then, with my second mind, I quickly tried to dominate them, but they proved impervious.  Perhaps they are more automaton than human.   
	It was then that I heard a voice from the room shout “Run, they’ll kill you!”  From the tone of the voice and its inflection, I determined that this voice was for our benefit.  Though, as it ultimately turned out, it was the black armored “men” and their wizardly lord who should have taken his advice.  
	Through the doorway, I could see a large green hand of force appear and start to crush one of the armored figures.  The gestures and motion of Tuvstarr made it clear that this hand was courtesy of her magic.  Looking at her soft glow, I was again reminded that her “Blinding Glory” was still active, probably leaving all of our opponents blind from the time they opened the door.  As if in response to this, a bright flash of light covered all of us, injuring us slightly.  Apparently the wizard was now hiding amongst the books on the main library floor and aiming his magic at us.  
	I looked around for him, but Nin spotted him first and he ran toward him, his chain flying high.  
	Higgins ran forward to Morwen and held out his stone of spell storing, offering the boon of foresight to her, something we all probably ought have had the foresight to do long before ever opening that door.  
	Looking back toward the mage, I began to summon my valkries.  I knew that they would probably be no match for him toe to toe, but they would help anchor him for Nin’s chains.  
	Ee rushed forward into the room and began cutting down the armored “men” one by one.  Looking behind me, I noticed that Posiedon was gone.  I could feel waves of mental energy crackling through the ether of the room beyond the doorway, placing him within it.  
	Higgins ran away from the doorway toward Nin and enchanted his chain-arm, giving him the “dolorous blow” boon, aiding his most grievious hits.  Higgins then prepared his stone of spell storing for another little surprise for Nin.  
	By the time Nin arrived near the mage, my valkries had flanked him.  I ran back to see him, but before I could do more, he attempted to escape.  I could feel his magic start to wrap around him and transport him away.  I quickly tried to lock him down with my mind, anchoring him, for a moment, to the room, but he managed to slip away from my grasp, teleporting inside one of the eggs outside.  Well, if I cannot stop him, I can join him.  
	I quickly ran forward and grasped Higgins, Nin, and Tuvstarr, who had also run toward the mage before his quick exit.  As I weaved the power through my mind, Nin touched Higgin’s rock and became half-insubstantial just as we transported into the wizard’s blue egg.  
	Nin attacked him in rapid succession as soon as we arrived, but somehow he managed to avoid most of the blows.  It was then that I felt an alarming thought come from this wizard.  A thought of desperation.  The staff he held in his hands had great power within it.  Sensing the nearness of his own death, a plan began to form in his mind to break it in a retributive strike, searing the flesh off of all of our bodies in the cramped egg, him included.  
Thinking fast, in an effort to avoid this fate, I shoved my finger right up under the mage’s chin (in the close quarters we were in, I could barely do much else) and let the full force of my maximized crystal shards rip into his flesh.  In the next instance, his corpse lay at our feet.  
	We gathered up his body and returned to the library, just in time to see Ee, Morwen, and Posiedon finshing off the dozen or so armored “men.”  It was then that we had time to chat with the young scholar who was apparently their “guest” before we intervened.  

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Three-Hundred One – The Scholar Speaks

	The man was apparently impressed that we rescued him.  I guess he expected us to die.  I was happy to correct his expectations.  
	“My name is Emery.  I was abducted by the Cult of the Forgotten Word and forced to be their slave.  They are dedicated to stealing the collective knowledge of the world in order to plunge it into darkness.  They are after the Praxis Tome.”
	Here we go again, I thought, as I parroted his next words in my own mind even before he could say it.  “… likely the most important non-arcane Tome ever to be produced by mankind.  It has the potential to inspire an entire generation of scholars and philosophers.”  
	“So we’ve heard,” I said, trying not to sound unimpressed.  
	“Once they are done here, they plan to raid two more libraries, perhaps one in Cauldron,” he continued.  Tuvstarr’s blood boiled and I could almost hear her thoughts of retribution even through her mind blank.  
	He continued to talk and we had many questions.  What he told us next was particularly interesting – and disturbing.


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## pickfoll (Jan 15, 2008)

*Your thoughts on the PC*

Could you give us a quick run down of all the PC and their cohorts from Cordozo view point?


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## Cerulean_Wings (Jan 15, 2008)

Heya, Altelazar! 

Good sir, I've read the first three chapters of your story, and I must say it captivates me. Simple to read, follow, and understand, told from the point of view of a psionic lawyer... simply perfect, I love the style.

You've got a fan in me, so do keep going with the story hour.

Edit: I forgot to mention your fabulous sense of humor! Please don't stop with the jokes in-between sentences 

Since I didn't see the "fiction" tag, should I assume it's based on a real-life campaign?


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## Altalazar (Jan 26, 2008)

Cerulean Wings - Thanks for the kind words.  And yes, this is based on a real campaign, which is still ongoing.  It started at 1st level and has now gone Epic (Cordozo is now a 23rd Level Psion).  

And Pickfoll - I think I could arrange to have Cordozo give his general opinion of those he knows.  I will be having some time for that in the next few weeks as there will probably not be any games for a month or so.  But I wonder what Cordozo's incentive is to do that...

Oh, and now here's the latest installment, with a bit of meta-game commentary at the end...


	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Three-Hundred Two – Stupid Kid, Demon Royalty

	After the rather disturbing speech (which I will get to shortly) we quickly scouted out the rest of the library to clear out any stragglers.  With forsight in place from Higgins, Morwen warned us of a room in a dark corridor, allowing us to charge in and surround one of the most impressive demons I’ve ever seen.  Apparently he was known as the “Blood Duke” and he was a mighty demon.  We found him towering over a small, prostrate child of a man sitting in a magical circle.  At first I thought the demon had trapped him there, but soon it became apparent that he had trapped himself.  It was a summoning protection circle.  And the man was whispering something to himself over and over in some strange language.  
	After nearly crushing the demon, the demon teleported away.  I tried to divert him at the last second, but his resistance to my mind was considerable, and he slipped away.  I was able to discern from the act his destination, far below the ground, thousands of miles away in what was once an impressive demon temple.  We made sure the poor sap was ok and then I inquired of my companions if they wished to pursue the demon.  They did.  So we did, courtesy of Posiedon (after I shared with him a vision of our destination).  
	The temple was hot, probably due to the lava.  We quickly surrounded and finished off the demon, then returned to the room.  
	“Don’t kill me!” shouted the rather pathetic figure in the summoning circle.  
	Higgins offered a helpful translation of what the man had been saying earlier.  “He was talking in Infernal, over and over, the phrase ‘Now do my bidding!  Slay the monsters!’”  
	“He’s a demon summoner!” shouted out Ee.  
	“He’s an idiot!” I thought to myself, then realized with the mindlink I said it to everyone.  
	“What a great demon I summoned!” he said, proudly.  “And that was my first time, too!”  
	I couldn’t bring myself to say the cliché that it was almost his last.  Instead, I shot him a dirty look.  
	Tuvstarr offered helpful suggestions, and started into a long, detailed, rather esoteric treatise on how to summon a demon and how to do it properly, and isn’t that an interesting demon you summoned, it was probably this syllable you mispronounced.”  In her excitement, she got rather close to the man, who then realized that Tuvstarr had small horns and claws herself.  
	As I walked out of the room behind Morwen, I could hear the echo of the man-boy’s screams just dying down inside my head.  
	We quickly discerned that the rest of the library was clear, except for a few more hiding patrons.  We then returned to talk to Emery about where we should go next.  
	“Now what was this about going into space?” I asked him again.  

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Three-Hundred Three – Yegga’s Lab and Tavern

	Based on Emery’s information, and my vast network of information, we tracked down a person named Yegga.  He was apparently staying at the Oxfield Traveller’s Rest in Marlette, a city of middling size just beyond the border to our Kingdom.  The Inn was easy to find, as it was the only red building in the entire city.  
	I walked in and promptly approached the main desk.  
	“I’d like to buy the inn for the night,” I told the proprietor, a large man with an even larger apron tied around his waist.  .  
	“You mean you want a room?” he asked as he dried his greasy hands on his already well-soiled apron.  
	“No, I want to buy the inn for the night,” I replied.  “We don’t want to be disturbed.”  I then placed a diamond on the counter worth a good percentage of the value of the entire building.  “Do we have a deal?”  
	The proprietor’s eyes widened, and he started to stammer, his hands sliding off the apron, “Well, we have some, uh, long-time patrons who have their own rooms, and we can’t just…” 
	“Fine fine,” I said, cutting him off, “We’ll take the whole inn except for their rooms.”  I then left Higgins to fill in the final details.  Higgins was busy negotiating having the best food in the entire city brought in for our dinner when I started looking for Yegga.  
	Yegga was soon found.  We talked to him about space.  He told us of his vessel for transporting people there.  He was excitedly talking about the vacuum of space and its dangers when the food finally arrived.  
	“Vacuum?  Oh, we’ve already dealt with that,” I said off-handedly, referring to our time in the great evil tree.  “That was not such a diffuclt thing.”  Yegga was obviously impressed by this.  He seemed eager to show off his knowledge.  I was more eager to get a finally decent meal in my belly and then a good night’s sleep.  Emery had warned us about the attackers of the library seeking to attack two further, unnamed libraries before attacking this Yegga.  I figured that gave us at least one, possibly two good night’s sleep before they showed up here.  I suggested we all retire for the night.  
	Yegga seemed eager to show us something, but I insisted he wait until morning.  I paid for the inn and I intended to enjoy it before we headed off to his lab.  
	As I lay in bed, falling asleep, my true vision still active, as always, the last thought through my mind before I drifted off was “I wonder why this entire inn is radiating magic.”  I did not wonder that after what happened in the morning.  

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Three-Hundred Four – Fight and Flight 

	After a lovely night’s rest in my inn, I woke up and went down to have a four-star breakfast, all suitably arranged for all of us by Higgins.  After enjoying our meal, we then causally ascended the steps up to Yegga’s room, so he could show us more of his work.  
	We again asked him about his lab and how he could get someone into space.  Rather than tell us, like a sane person, he pulled a book out and then exclained that “See, works great!  Here we go!”  
	And with that, we were ascending into space.  The inn, and a good chunk of the ground around it, all encased in a magical bubble of protection.  I silently wondered if we had enough of the four-star food stocked in the tavern for the journey ahead.  I can’t stand common inn food.  
	Before I dwelt too long on this, I decided to go down and check.  I figured I also ought to check on the other denizens of the inn, who may be alarmed at the sudden turn of events.  As I was walking though the kitchen, I heard a commotion in the common room.  Through the doorway, I heard a man’s voice threaten to kill the proprietor’s wife, a knife to her throat.  
	My companions rushed down the stairs to see what was happening, but none dared risk the woman’s life.  I figured we could always raise her from the dead, so I walked out from the kitchen and into the room.  Just as I stepped foot in the room, Posiedon dashed in and touched the woman and then both vanished.  I wondered if he had time hopped her.  
	The two would-be killers looked rather startled at the loss of their hostage.  Ee charged forward and they surrounded him, both stabbing him rather effectively, right in his chest, both front and back.  Ee staggered and nearly fell.  It was then that I finished my stride through the doorway.  
	“Enough of this nonsense,” I said, and then I quickly grabbed and crushed both of their brains, and they dropped lifeless to the floor.  As it turns out this was rather fortunate, as the two were two of the deadliest assassins in the entire world.  But I do not take kindly to anyone messing with MY inn.  
	We looted their corpses and calmed the patrons and then settled in for what ended up being a nine-day journey through space.  Toward the end, we saw the Great Beast, which looked like a giant turtle.  Or rather, more like a turtle the size of a world.  An entire city was seen just on the side of its neck.  As we “sailed” closer and closer, it loomed larger and larger until we could no longer make out anything but the green directly in front of us.  
	“Well, this is different,” I thought to myself.  I hoped Higgins’s preparations would be adequate to help us with the task ahead.  


==============================================

Metagame commentary:  Yes, there were two Epic assassin types about to kill Ee, one like 23rd level and one 26th (if memory serves).  And yes, using two Recall Deaths (primary and schismed) I did crush both of their brains as they both blew their saving throws (one missing it by one!), thus rather bloodlessly ending the combat within a round of its start.  That was pretty cool.  Cordozo's brain crushing hsa certainly improved with the years...


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## pickfoll (Jan 26, 2008)

Cordozo may find a little more EXP heading his way if he does give his take on the PC and their cohorts.  I have also been thinking of give Cordozo access to a nice little store that sell just psionic items that he may enjoy, that he could go to after this adventure ends.

Someone ask if Cordozo writings were fiction or not.  They are write-up of our normal weekly game. 

P.S. Turstarr wanted to say that she does NOT have horns, just claws!


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## Altalazar (May 4, 2008)

As is obvious, it has been a while - I actually have only had time to play this game twice in the past several months - and not much time to write about it either - why, you might wonder?  Because I have a new gamer in the family, born in February.  Between him and his 2 1/2 year older sister, I've had my hands full.  But now I'm starting to have a bit more time - so I hope to be playing (and writing) much more.  I have missed it!  Here's a little something to start things back on track...  


Baron Cordozo – Chapter Three-Hundred Five – Eejection

	As we got ever-closer to the world-turtle, I heard Ee come up behind me.  
	“Me the great massive turtle slayer!” he shouted, beaming proudly, his axe gleaming by his side.  
	I could sense it within the professor’s mind long before his limbs went into motion.  I heard the word “eject” form in the professor’s mind as he turned to throw a lever and he aimed a device at Ee.  The next thing we knew, Ee was floating in space behind us.  
	I quickly shot outside and then back in to retrieve him.  It was reminiscent of being inside the enormous demon tree in the blackness.  My body of iron was fine in the vacuum, but Ee was not quite so fortunate.  Thankfully, his sojourn was short.  Ee’s life thus spared from his own rashness, we prepared for our entry into the turtle.  As it turned out, as usual, Ee’s closest brush with death this day was from his own mouth rather than from any of the rather nasty foes we would soon face.  At least, that’s how the morning went.  

	Baron Cordozo – Chapter Three-Hundred Six – Arrival at Turtle-Firma

	We flew closer and closer to the turtle, until we could no longer make out anything but a vast expanse of brownish-green scales in our forward view.  Seeing the smaller details, it became apparent that we were moving at a very high rate of speed and that hitting the turtle like that would not be pleasant.  So it was with some relief that the turtle vanished from our view as the whole structure was teleported inside the beast.  
	Our relief was short lived.  While the building did come to a relative stop inside the belly (or wherever) of the beast, everything inside did not, and we were all thrown against the forward wall, along with all of the professor’s belongings.  Were it not for my metal body, I would have been badly bruised.  Higgins certainly looked the worse for wear until he healed himself.  
	Looking around outside the building, we saw an incredibly huge room.  The walls were covered with dents and scratches and it was illuminated with a dim amber glow that seemed to come from somewhere above us.  There was one extremely long door at the “south” end of the room, large enough that our entire building could have fit through it had it still been intact instead of smashed into a pile of rubble against the “east” wall.  
	Lacking any other means of egress, Morwen set about unlocking and opening the rather large door.  Half of our group took cover in the corner behind the door while the rest of us peered around its immense length to see what trouble lay ahead.  And trouble we did find.  
	Just beyond the door was an L-shaped corridor that went “south” then turned “east” out of sight, with a door on the “south” wall.  At the elbow of the hall was a desk.  Sitting behind that desk was a pale-skinned woman wearing a tunic of sea foam and lavender.  She wore a heavy gauntlet on her left hand and had a huge key-ring on her apron.  She looked peeved.  So of course we killed her.  
	And when I say we killed her, I mean that, after she bashed Ee and Morwen, after I teleported and twisted her, and after she dimension doored into the huge entry room and assumed her true form (that of a gargantuan green dragon) and spewed poison on all of us, we killed her with a few vortexes of negative energy, a smattering of astral constructs, and a disintegrate for good measure.  The keys turned out to open a few of the doors ahead that Morwen would have opened anyway, but the gauntlet was a bit more useful.  
	We found several rooms off of the hallway that were keyed to the gauntlet.  One could create hexagonal columns of force with the glove (and also turn them off).  It must have been some sort of cargo storage mechanism, though the fact that we found living creatures (and dead ones as well) in some of the rooms showed that cargo was not a limitation of their use.  The first room had a large quantity of gold stored in a force column.  We valiantly liberated it from bondage.  
	Halfway down the corridor, there was a large gold obelisk.  

Baron Cordozo – Chapter Three-Hundred Seven – Obelisk to Infinity 

	Before we completely explored the extent of the hallway, we examined the gold obelisk.  It was of a strange design, like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and by now, I’ve seen quite a lot.  Morwen threw caution (and wisdom) to the wind and reached up to touch it.  She seemed to slow down as she did so, never quite reaching it.  Then she vanished.  
	Ee and I then had a conversation.  
	“Where she go?”
	“I don’t know, Ee.”
	“Perhaps she transport.”
	“Perhaps, Ee.”
	“Perhaps you link mind.”
	“Yes, that is wise, Ee.”
	I then attempted to contact her.  I got an image of her floating out in space.  And a silent scream for help.  I quickly stepped forward and touched the obelisk.  The world melted around me, and I saw five symbols floating in front of me.  In the center was the symbol for infinity.  Above that was an insect head.  There was then a wheel, an octagon, and a small X.  Given Morwen’s screams for help, I guessed that she touched infinity.  And was still touching it.  I sighed, then reached out and touched it myself.  
	I was instantly transported to space.  Not needing to breathe, I appreciated the vast emptiness.  Then I appreciated Morwen’s lifeless body hanging in front of me.  I quickly grabbed her and transported us back to where we were.  Then I revified her, draining a bit of my own life’s essence to restore her own for the brief instant she had departed this world, figuratively and literally.  Though Morwen’s wisdom had seemed much improved of late, this reminded me of the old Morwen.  
	“Next time,” I told her, “do not touch infinity.”  I then pondered just how we might determine what we should touch.  I began to summon up a blob of ectoplasm.  Time for a little scouting ahead.  

Baron Cordozo – Chapter Three-Hundred Eight – Scouting ahead

	I sent my small blob of ectoplasm into the obelisk.  Unfortunately, I never realized just how dumb blobs of ectoplasm can be.  While he certainly is good in a fight and can follow orders, he’s not very good at describing symbols or even his surroundings.  After wasting a good portion of time trying to explain to the blob what an insect was, I gave up, dismissed him, and summoned forth Moira.  While she doesn’t last long in most of the fights I seem to find myself in these days, she has a solid head on her shoulders.  After I had Higgins make her invisible (and nearly non-detectible), I sent her into the obelisk.  
	She scouted obelisks and rooms for at least an hour.  She discovered that there are at least three different obelisk networks.  One is gold, one is blue, and one is red.  To transfer between networks one needs to go to a room that has two different color obelisks present.  
	One room she found had what looked like a library with cultists busily reading.  Another had what looked like a dining hall.  Yet another had a strange figure sitting in the dark that looked like a cross between an ogre magi and something else.  One room had four huge construct guards.  
	The most fascinating room of all had what looked like some sort of control center, with a big, strong being pulling at chains back and forth, perhaps to steer the turtle.  Cultist-looking humanoids in robes sat in rows, manipulating some manner of levers and controls.  A huge waterfall somewhere in the room made it difficult to hear anything but the sound of rushing water.  
	The final room I had her scout (but not the last room there was) had what looked like a connection to the turtle’s beating heart, perhaps using it for energy.  Guarding the strange room was two pit fiends.  Tired of our prolonged scouting, Ee was eager to jump into the fray.  
	I had Moira stay there and report while we all arranged to teleport into the room in two groups.  I handled the far group, Posiedon handled the group that would drop in up close and personal.  
	It worked rather well.  The fiends were chained to a wall, but were no less deadly.  I quickly dominated one, only to discover that while my brain controlled its mind, its mind seemed to have no control over its body.  
	We quickly swarmed them, sending blades, axes, and various flavors of magic into each of them.  They did not last long.  When one lay dead and the other nearly so, I touched the nearly dead one and absorbed his strength into my own.  Now if only that did not make me look sort of like him while its effects lasted.  

Baron Cordozo – Chapter Three-Hundred Nine – Cleaning out the hall

	That room secure, we returned back to our hall.  The remaining two rooms at the end of that corridor had more hexagonal-force-column storage rooms.  One held a rather colossal water elemental.  In return for freeing it, it attacked us and tried to kill us.  So much for gratitude.  We killed it.  Its corpse splashed out of the room and filled the hallway with water.  This is not very good for my wardrobe.  
	The second room we entered by my disintegrating a hole through the wall.  This was to avoid setting off a magical alarm that was actually on both doors, though the water elemental’s room was disabled when Tuvstarr used dispel magic on it.  Not desiring to use another spell, a hole through the wall seemed a prudent compromise.  
	This last room had several force-columns in place.  Most held decaying corpses.  A few were empty.  One held a rather distressed-looking old woman.  She had so little room in the hexagonal column that she had to stand up even as she was sleeping.  
“So, good idea to free the evil demon,” I asked.  
“No thank you,” Morwen replied.  Once Morwen used the gauntlet to lower the field, she fell to the floor.  The old woman did not look to be in good shape.  
“Higgins, heal her.”  
	Higgins weaved his magic around her and her wounds were healed.  
	“Feeling better now,” I asked her.
	“Yes, terrible,” she said.  “This woman kept torturing me.”
	“You mean the dragon?”
	“Dragon??” she said, eyes wide.
	“Yes, dragon.  We killed her.  So who are you, now?”
	“I’m Elanor Shellsville.  I teach at the Westphalen school.”  
	“Of course you do.  Do you know of a young student who fancies himself a demon summoner?”
	“Well, there was one student…”
	“He succeeded.  Tell him not to do it again.”  I sensed that the conversation was not likely to go anywhere further, probably because the only thing in her mind was visions of being tortured mixed in with images of whacking knuckles with rulers.  “Would you like to go home now?”  
	“Oh, yes!” she gushed.  
	“Posiedon, will you do the honors?”  
	Posiedon nodded and set about making a teleportation circle that would bring her to the hills outside of Westphalen.  Feeling generous, I turned and asked the professor if he would also like to go home.  
	“No, doggunnut, no!” shouted Ee, before the professor could respond.  “He brought us here, doggunnit, he can stay!”  I saw visions in Ee’s head of exactly what would happen to the professor’s foot if he took even one step toward the teleportation circle.  I didn’t quite believe that sort of thing was even possible with an axe, though Ee can be quite creative in his own way.  Fortunately, before Ee’s imagination was put to the test, the professor declined.  
	“No no, no need to send me back.  I have dreamed my whole life of coming to see the great cosmic turtle!  I wish to be nowhere else!”  
	Now that that was settled, I was famished.  “Higgins, lunch!”


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## Arkhandus (May 5, 2008)

Glee!  An update!  And congratulations on the baby, Altalazar!


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## Altalazar (May 14, 2008)

Thanks Arkhandus!  I'm happy to have a new addition to the family and I'm happy to be gaming again!  

Here's another installment:


Cordozo – Chapter Three-Hundred Ten – Back to Pit Fiends

	We returned to the room with the Pit Fiend corpses after lunch.  Looking more closely at the room, I noted that there was a sign up on a large vat that apparently fed into the heart.  Roughtly translated, it read, “best for all concerned.”  I was not sure what that meant, but it could not have been good.  The vat was filled with noxious poison.  
	Tuvstarr added a vial of poison neutralization potion to the vat.  It was quickly swallowed by the foul ichor.  There was some debate, then about the proper course of action.  
	“Higgins, can you neutralize that poison?”  
	“Yes suh, but it would take quite a long time with a lot of castings.”  
	I thought about it for a moment.  Then my impatience got the best of me.  I decided to focus my mind to bend reality around the vat.  I closed my eyes and focused hard.  “I want to get rid of that poison,” was the thought that coursed through my mind and then was rammed into our reality. When I opened my eyes, the vat was empty.  
	Then I pondered our overall situation.  We were inside of a turtle larger than the largest mountain range, floating out in the vastness of space.  Devils of the most horrid kind were minor slaves deep in its bowels.  Ancient dragons acted as mere bookkeepers.  I thought back to the tower and the vampires on that infernal plane.  I decided that something needed to be done to ensure our ultimate victory.  
	“Higgins, we need to do a little research.”  
	“Very good, suh.”  
	“Care to join me, Tuvstarr?  It may take several months.” 
	Tuvstarr whipped out her books and pens.  “It probably won’t be long enough for me to catch up on my writing, but it will have to do.”  
	Higgins, Tuvstarr, and myself then shifted to the astral, with Tuvstarr forming a bubble of alternate time-flow around us.  I asked Tuvstarr to increase the flow for us relative to the ether such that a single second would pass for every ten days we experienced.  I had my worries about where the turtle would be when we returned.  
	As I floated in the nether space, I concentrated deep within.  I crafted and built up from single tendrils of thought the formula of for a very special and powerful power of my mind.  It was a tricky construction, one that provided a mere matrix for things more useful.  I hoped I would never have to use it.  My nose was bleeding as it was just from conceiving it.  
	Higgins, for his part, took care of his own matters.  He fabricated a body of snow, and then took a bit of my flesh and animated it, providing us with a new, hooded companion, whose good looks were matched only by myself.  
	My mediation complete, we returned to our normal plane.  Even though only seconds had passed, we were now floating out in space.  Fortunatly, we were within range of the room and so I transported us back to the devil’s room.  
Cordozo – Chapter Three-Hundred Eleven – A grisly discovery

	When we returned to the chamber, the first thing I noticed was that all of our companions were lying on the floor, motionless.  In the few seconds we were gone, something had slain them all!  Even Moria’s body lay motionless on the floor of the chamber.  
	I wondered just what could slay such a band of powerful beings so quickly, and with nary a mark on their skin.  It didn’t take long for the answer to hit me.  Nothing.  
	I then looked more closely at Ee.  He was not so motionless after all.  He seemed to be chuckling.  
	“Oh my, everyone is dead,” I said.  “Let’s loot the bodies!”  
	At that moment, they all sprang back to life, my words acting as an intensely powerful, mass resurrection.  I decided just for that prank, I would decline to introduce my new “backup” wearing the plain robes.  
	My mind refreshed (along with Higgins’s and Tuvstarr’s spells), we turned to the situation at hand.  Where do we go next?
	“Where do we go next,” I asked everyone.
	“Ee want kill large demon ogre.”  
	I could only assume Ee meant the large, dangerous looking half-ogre-magi, half-something else that Moira had seen on her earlier scouting expedition.  Given our success with the devils, we opted to again teleport in all at once under our own power to achieve surprise on the beast.  
	Before we departed, Higgins cast a web of enchantment over both Ee and Morwen.  “This is the zealous wrath of my god,” he told them.  “When you face a foe that is also his foe, his wrath will fill you and empower you as long as you focus your own wrath on that foe.”  Thus prepared, we departed.  

Cordozo – Chapter Three-Hundred Twelve – Ten seconds, dead

	We arrived in the room by the power of my mind, then quickly acted to surround and overwhelm the impressive looking foe.  He was half dead before he could take a step.  And then, just to seal his fate, I smashed his ego with my own, draining his force of personality and dazing him.  Before he could recover, we had all hit him again, and he collapsed to the floor of the room.  
	His body was laden with rather impressive items of magic, but the most interesting items of all were the two tiny turtles he had up the sleeves of his robe.  What made them so interesting was not so much the fact that they were positioned as if they were hidden weapons, but the fact that, by my true sight, they were not turtles at all, they were two of the hugest, most fiendish ropers I had ever seen.  My read of the beasts’s brain as its life-force ebbed away informed me that it was his intention to throw these creatures out at us and dispel the enchantment that kept them as turtles.  What an interesting idea.  I’ll have to use that one.  I quickly concentrated on the two tiny turtle brains and squished out of them any semblance of their wills.  Now I had my own two pet turtle-ropers for later.  
	Turning my attention to the room, it looked like an observation room of some sort.  Ee seemed to think we were looking out of one of the turtle’s eyes.  There certainly was a lovely view out into space through a twin pair of windows on the “south” wall of the room.  There were also two halls leading west and east from the “north” corner of the room.  Unsure of what to expect, I sent Moira ahead, still invisible, to scout to the “east.”  Morwen, not to be let out of her own scouting role, chose not to follow my suggestion to head “west” and followed Moira.  
	They quickly found a door, which Morwen opened and peeked through.  There was a cavern of enormous proportions on the other side, the far side of which was in darkness.  Moria, her eyes seeing true, teleported to the center of the room to scout and then came back a moment later.  
	“Dragon,” was all she said.  Then she amended her report.  “Colossal dragon.”  
	Wonderful.  It seemed we were to get to engage in the ultimate test of our mettle.  
	“Well Ee, you are the one who wanted to name us ‘Dragonslayers’ – now we have a dragon to slay.  A red one.  The largest one there is.”  
	Ee’s only reply was, “Let’s go kill!”  

Cordozo – Chapter Three-Hundred Thirteen – Dragonslayers at last

	Once again, Posiedon and myself split our little band into two groups.  Posiedon took a group to get up close to the dragon while I took everyone else, aiming for a crevice in the rocks that would give at least some cover to the soft underbelly of our group.  Posiedon, Morwen, and Ee were in the close group, where they were soon joined by three huge astral constructs, courtesy of one of Posiedon’s followers.  
	Morwen, fleet-footed as ever, was poised to strike first when she realized that she could not actually see the dragon.  
	“Someone, let me know when you get rid of the darkness,” she shouted over the mindlink, obviously aiming her words at me.  Rather than answer her, I quickly concentrated on the darkness, which then evaporated.  Unfortunately for Morwen, she still could not see her.  
	Focusing my true-sight on the dragon, I realized why.  There was more than just darkness here.  The dragon was cloaked with magical invisibility, and on top of that, there were many images of the dragon bouncing around, also invisible.  Rather ineffective combination, that, but no matter.  I moved myself mentally to the other side of the cavern, closer to the beast, taking Higgins with me.  With my split mind, I focused on evaporating everything cloaking the dragon, and succeeded, peeling away her invisibility, her images, and a few other things that I did not quite identify.  Thus freed for assault, Morwen tore into the beast, her blade finding hot vengeance, fueled further by the zealous magic imbued in her by Higgins earlier.  Dragon flesh flew in all directions, splattering blood all over Morwen and even up to the cavernous ceiling above us.  I had never seen Morwen’s blade dance so deadly before.  Several of her blows sent the beast staggering, nearly stopping its heart.  The dragon did not look pleased.  
	Ee’s wrathful attacks were nearly as powerful, ripping up dragonflesh in a wild frenzy of his own.  Posiedon added to the carnage, teleporting back and forth from the front of the beast and back again with each swing.  
	Tuvstarr and others send magical attacks the dragon’s way, but they were mostly shrugged off.  My own personal simulacrum attempted to disintegrate the beast, but she resisted with ease.  
	Posiedon’s other followers drained the beasts with sharp exposures to the negative material plane, but she kept right on fighting.  Then she roared up on her hind legs and inhaled deeply.  I braced for the inevitable.  
	Because of where we stood, the beast could only target two of us with her searing breath:  Posiedon and myself.  I first felt a wave of heat headed toward me before my entire vision and being was engulfed in a wash of flames so large and so hot that I was afraid all of my flesh would be seared from my bones.  The heat was so intense it ripped through my adaptive screen and tore through my mentally-enhanced vigor, as if those protections were non-existent.  My protections gone or overwhelmed, the heat continued to burn, digging into my bare flesh, burning away the outer layers before finally dying down.  I did not look forward to testing my ability to survive that again without restoring my protections, but I did not know if I would have the opportunity to do so with all that I had to accomplish each second.  
	Higgins bravely moved forward next and threw forth a ray of entropy against the beast, sapping all of its physical attributes at once, a little bit at a time.  I was very thankful that Higgins was still hidden from view by his own magic, because I was not sure if he could survive the dragon’s fire.  
	Ee and Morwen continued to rip into the dragon’s flesh, axe and rapier sending flesh flying in a frenzy.  The dragon was clearly taxed just to keep her heart beating with some of the grievous blows dealt by them.  
	In the end, despite the dragon’s great strength, she simply could not stand against us.  I stripped away her force of personality, whipping her ego with my mind again and again, both of my minds at once, taking her sorcerous magic from her.  The dragon finally collapsed at Morwen’s and Ee’s feet, a final firey scream her only death throe.  
	Now we had truly earned the name.  Dragonslayers.  I could feel the pride emanating from Ee as he stood beside the corpse, covered in the blood and entrails of the beast, his gleaming white teeth the only part of him not stained red by blood and flesh.  
	“Ee happy!”


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