Sophia's Choice...

[Ysne58 236]

Well, I was not expecting that, but it certainly makes things more interesting.

 

My next favorite doctor is David Tennant. I'm still haven't decided whether I like Matt Smith or not. I'd love to see a series around River Song.

[wolfie2kX 528]

Well.. It's the only thing that made any sense, if you think about it. Deylen was attempting to use Mortifying Pillory. If nothing else, he was trying to poison public opinion of Sophia and the Seraphim as a whole - something "The Powers That Be" (as Etherian put it, I.e. the Carnach) would be wanting. So why send them on a wild goose chase, breaking the spell and his chance to get ahead?

 

Don't forget - the Dragons are supposed to be cunning and devious. Nothing says that cunning and devious has to be for evil. Some of the most cunning deceptions have been for the forces of good...

 

Tennant was OK.. The writing was a bit retarded - Case in point - Journey's End - the "grand finale" episode where Earth gets stolen and gives them an excuse to pull everyone into one episode.. TOO over the top. But then there's the other finale - where Tennant regenerates into Smith. That one had class - right up until the last 20 minutes where the Dr goes on his grand tour to say bye bye to everyone - at that point, it got a bit.. tacky.

[Etherian 76]

While falling off the cliff of assumption. I smile at your efforts here wolfie.

 

A great twist of events. A great read. It has almost become a nightly ritual reading your installments after work & dinner. The story is absolutely keeping my attention.

 

Thank You!

 

I remain,

[wolfie2kX 528]

Thanks...!

 

Tonight's installment is kind of short - about 3 printed pages worth - but it's important to set up the action to come.

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Time to Face the Strange

Sophia emerged from the hidden stairway and almost ran into Lurinda.

“Excuse me!” Sophia said, “I didn’t see you there.”

“It’s all right, No damage done.” Lurinda replied.

“You look as if you were expecting me,” Sophia said as she made her way to her quarters.

“As a matter of fact, I was. Your squad members couldn’t find you to report in that they couldn’t find that Elf who interrupted the wake. I told them he’s likely long gone by now and let them get some rest.”

“No, I’m fairly certain they wouldn’t have and thank you for doing that.” Sophia said.

“How can you be so certain?” Lurinda asked.

“Simple, I found him myself. He wasn’t an elf. It was one of our friends in disguise” Sophia replied.

“Cheeky of him, but likely the right action. By the way, how did you get into the cave?”

“It most certainly was the right action - so all is forgiven. And I got into the cave system by another entrance. By the way, our guests are now camping out there.”

“Both of them?”

“No, all of them.” Sophia said as they arrived at her door. She opened it and they went inside. After the events of the previous days, Sophia systematically went through her all of her quarters – just in case one of those human slaves had managed to sneak in and hide.

“Are you looking for something?” Lurinda asked.

“More like a ‘someone’. The three slaves that arrived with the Archmage’s party apparently didn’t depart with them. I’d rather not start discussing things only to have one pop out and yell ‘surprise!’”

“Should I get a team on it?”

“Later. Let’s just take a few moments to relax and catch up.” Sophia said as she sat down. Lurinda followed suit. “First off, Smitty is in the cave on the northern island we use for survival training, with Loromir and Orphas. We’ll need to get them all some food. ”

“I’ll make arrangements.”

“In the mean time, I’ll let Karem know her favorite charge hasn’t abandoned her so she won’t have a fit.” Sophia said. “Secondly, Testa knows our little secret.”

Lurinda’s eyes opened a bit wider. “How?”

“I didn’t tell him. He figured it out on his own likely the same way Loromir did. He’s been watching our warriors in battles and apparently, saw things happen. He’s also joining our little club. He also figured out how Deylen knew what he was accusing me of. It seems it was a matter of body language. Ker likes to lick her lips whenever she’s around Dragons – apparently her favorite ‘snack’. And apparently, she can also see through their disguise.”

“That would tend to explain it.” Lurinda acknowledged. “There’s something disturbing about Ker – I can’t quite put my finger on what it is.”

“From what Testa said, Ker’s mind was lost during her transformation into her current state. Her Elvish biology mixed with that of a flea – and the flea won.”

“Yuck! I knew there was something I didn’t like about her!” Lurinda shuddered at the thought.

“Your reaction is understandable, but given the good she has done over the past decade, I’m more than willing to overlook her shortcomings. She did, single-handedly, defend the T-Energy hub that spawned her from the invading enemy. And let’s not forget the countless other battles that were won since with her aid.”

“Yes, I know, you’re right, but she still creeps me out,” Lurinda shuddered involuntarily.

“No matter. So what do you think we’re going to find at the library tomorrow?” Sophia said, changing the subject.

“I, of course, won’t be going, but you should be able to find plenty of information from the era of the First Elven Empire. One thing about Maria, she made sure we were packrats when it came to storing information. Even if it didn’t seem important at the time, no matter how trivial, she made sure the information made it to the archives.”

“Sounds like a policy that I will need to continue for certain.” Sophia agreed.

“When you get there, be sure to talk to Tara.” Lurinda suggested. “She is the chief archivist at the archives. She will be able to point you in the right direction. And you might think twice about keeping that policy alive. There is several millennia’s worth of data stored there. ”

“And..?” Sophia prompted.

“You really have no idea how much is stored there. Do you?” Lurinda asked.

“I can’t say I’ve ever been there, so the answer is ‘no’.” Sophia replied.

“It’s been said that you could bury the whole of Seraphim Island as deep as say, Testa is tall with the scrolls, books and other assorted bits of information – twice over. It’s also been said that all of Ancaria’s forests have given their existence several times over to make the paper contained in those archives. Some have said the volume of information would be enough to sink Seraphim Island under the sea. Let’s just say there’s an awful lot of information stored there. Finding what you need without any sort of direction could take several Elven lifetimes. ”

“I see. That is quite a lot of information, indeed. Hopefully, what we need will be there.”

“Exactly what are you looking for?” Lurinda asked.

“I communed with the helmet the other night. I was hoping to find out more about a few things. First of all, Maria locked certain information away. Things like why we Seraphim are considered a ‘finite resource’. Why are there no new Seraphim? Can we create new Seraphim?”

“Sophia! That borders on blasphemy!” Lurinda interjected. “Only the Creator can create Seraphim! It is written in our sacred texts!”

“I know about that, Lurinda. But other species – Elves, Humans, Orcs, Lizardmen, Kobolds, Dwarves, and every plant and animal on Ancaria can reproduce. So why is it we’re unable to do so? Do you realize that there are only just so many of us? What would happen to Ancaria if some disaster befell the Seraphim race and we were wiped out? What would the creator have to say about us should he ever return?”

Lurinda sat and pondered what Sophia just said for a moment. While it did indeed border on heresy, Sophia did make a good point. Seraphim weren’t the type to give up. And the war of the last decade had taken many of their sister’s lives.

“Did the helmet tell you anything specific about when the information was blocked?” Lurinda asked.

“Yes. It was something like the year 2494 of the First Elvish Empire.” Sophia replied. “It also said it was blocked by the Second Queen of the Seraphim. I thought I was the second queen, but apparently, according to the helmet, I’m the third.”

“Hmm. That was a very, very long time ago. My memory of the time is rather fuzzy. You realize that we’re now living in the Forty-Third Elven Empire?”

“I have no recollection of that era either. And yet, we all must have been there. Now you see my dilemma.”

“I do. Sophia, I do. Anyhow, I am going to head off. I’ll go hunt up Karem and Sumi and let them know about Smitty. You need some rest – tomorrow, I suspect will be a long day,” Lurinda said.

“If there’s as much information stored there, then I have no doubt you’re right about that.” Sophia replied. “I just hope we find something we can use.”

On that note, Lurinda left and Sophia turned in for the night.

[Omnicide 26]

I'm trying to figure out how the Seraphim don't go crazy from being alive so long. Do they just forget about that fact after a hundred years or so?

[wolfie2kX 528]

It's all a matter of perspective, I suppose. We're mere mortals and we humans think it's something that would cause insanity - but that doesn't mean it has to be so.

 

Seraphim have a warrior culture. They train for combat - and one of the side effects of combat is loss. You will eventually lose comrades, friends and the like. It's all a matter of how you deal with that sort of thing. They are likely better able to deal with that thing than others.

[Etherian 76]

I'm trying to figure out how the Seraphim don't go crazy from being alive so long. Do they just forget about that fact after a hundred years or so?

 

The Seraphim being immortal. It would be logical to say their DNA is unlike our mortal DNA. Therefore, they may have completely different wiring. A different way of viewing time. What is time to a Seraphim? Time as we know it could be all together different to the vastly long lives the Seraphim endure. A curse in my book, but to the Seraphim, what is a few Elven Empires.

 

Speaking of...I am curious just how long is an Elven Empire? Elves as we all know, also have abnormal long lives.

 

I remain,

[wolfie2kX 528]

Of Elves and Empires...

 

There is no set length for an Elven Empire. If you look at the dates in the previous tomes I've written - they're from 4158 of the current Ancarian calendar. This story takes place 10 years later - so in 4168 C.A.E. (Current Ancarian Era).

 

Empires come. Empires go. It all depends on who's in control and how wisely "the powers that be" run the show. For all we know, the Elves could have experimented numerous times with other forms of government between Empires, too. There could be several "Elven Republics" that have come and gone.

 

The point of that passage wasn't meant to give an exact number of years - just to convey that it's been a really, really, really long time since those records were sealed.

 

And btw.. Seraphim are what can be called "relatively immortal" - that is, under "normal" circumstances, they can pretty much live forever. They can, however, be killed by way of the usual kinds of things - sword fights, gun shot wounds, poison, accidents with whirring machinery, being run over by that Flintstones type car (the one in the car museum off of the southern tip of that Dryad Island where the Earth Lord resides), etc...

 

P.S. I'd provide the link to the easter egg featuring the car museum, except of course the Sacred Wiki is still down..

Edited February 16, 2013 by wolfie2kX

[Etherian 76]

And that class is what is known as school!

 

I remain,

[wolfie2kX 528]

OK folks... Today's episode is a bit on the long side. I apologize in advance. It was supposed to be a short interlude but things kinda spiraled out of control with a life of it's own. Still, I think it turned out well enough.

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

The Escape

 

The following morning, Sophia woke early. Truth be told, she didn’t sleep well at all. The previous night’s discussion, especially Lurinda’s disapproval, haunted her. But Sophia knew she needed to know what she was up against. Blindly following dogma was fine when your entire race’s existence wasn’t at stake. But she did see that things weren’t going well for the Seraphim as a whole. There were many Seraphim she knew from a decade in the past that were no longer among the living. The most notable, of course, was Maria.

 

There must have been some (at the time) good reason why Maria blocked access to that information. But what in all that is holy was that reason?

 

Sophia took a quick bath and got dressed in her usual armor. Sitting around pondering these problems wasn’t going to get them solved. She went to the mess hall and ordered a quick breakfast and asked the server for a meal for five. The kitchen matron, who was standing nearby was about to object, but Sophia gave her a withering look that made her think twice. She took the food and put it in her pack. She sat down briefly and ate her breakfast heartily.

 

Her next stop was to visit Karem. Sophia decided it would be a good thing to have a small, sharp stiletto with her – in case she needed to prick a finger for a drop of blood.

 

On her way there, she noticed she was being watched by a muscular Human lurking behind a building. She walked nonchalantly past him, her swords at her side, as if she hadn’t noticed. The Human didn’t see it coming until it was far too late. Sophia sprung into action and neatly swung her right fist directly into the man’s face while grabbing his arm with her left, pulling him closer into the punch. Her victim’s nose began bleeding profusely as his head snapped backwards. He crumpled to the ground in a bloody heap.

 

Sophia looked at his face as she bent over him. She recognized him instantly as being one of the Archmage’s minions.

A pair of Seraphim ran up to offer their assistance.

 

“Please take him to the holding cells. He’s one of the wanted humans who were part of the Archmage’s group yesterday.” Sophia said.

 

“Yes, my Queen!” the pair said in unison and hauled their prisoner away.

 

Sophia continued along the path and arrived at the armory without further incident. She knocked on the door. Sumi answered it.

 

“Good morning!” Sophia greeted.

 

“Good morning - though I wouldn’t quite be saying that to Karem. She is most upset.” Sumi replied.

 

“She is?”

 

“Yes. It seems her favorite protégé vanished last night.” Sumi replied. “He also cleared out all evidence of his stay with us.”

 

“Smitty?” Sophia asked.

 

“Yes! Smitty!” Karem responded, “Now what am I going to do?”

 

“But...”

 

“I’m sorry, Sophia, but with all that went on yesterday, the funeral and wake and the confusion afterwards, he simply cleaned up and left! I should have left someone behind guarding him! I honestly thought he liked it here and was going to stay with us!”

 

“KAREM! Snap out of it!” Sophia interjected before Karem could continue. “Smitty’s fine. Didn’t Lurinda find you last night?”

 

“Um... No. I haven’t seen her since the wake.” Karem replied. “He’s still with us?”

 

“Odd. I knew she was upset, but she did say she would come find you. And yes, Smitty’s fine. We had a bit of a problem with some of the Archmage’s pets. Three of them didn’t leave with his group last night. We’re guessing they’re still somewhere on the island. Actually, I just cold cocked one of them and sent him to the holding cells. Our friend Loromir caught the Archmage’s ranting last night and took action – they hid Smitty until this crisis is over.”

 

“What a relief!” Karem sighed.

 

“Yes,” Sophia said, as there was another knock on the door. Sumi answered and one of the two Seraphim guards Sophia turned the prisoner over to, came rushing in.

 

“My Queen! We have a problem!” the Seraphim said.

 

“What is it?”

 

“There’s a hostage situation in the detention area!” she continued.

 

“What happened?”

 

“There are some prisoners who have apparently escaped and are holding the guards and Lurinda hostage. We don’t know much more than that, other than they want safe passage off of the island for themselves and all of the prisoners being held there.”

 

Sophia shook her head. She was expecting some shenanigans but a prison break? “Do we know who is doing this?”

 

“No idea, ma’am!” the Seraphim replied. “They do appear to be human and similarly dressed as the prisoner you had us take to the detention center.”

 

“Ah... So that’s where his cohorts were lurking about. Do we have a list of the other prisoners in there who they’re trying to liberate?”

 

“Not entirely. We do know there is a human named DeMordrey and one of the runners you sent to Ciria Delith. I also believe there’s an Orc in there. Beyond that, I didn’t see anyone else.”

 

“Good. What about your prisoner – the one with the nose bleed?”

 

“We never quite got to the detention center – so we still have him in custody, the guard replied.

 

“Let’s go then,” Sophia said with cold certainty. “I’m really getting sick and tired of these stupid little games. Karem, can you go to the cavern and fetch our secret weapons? Meet us at the detention area.”

 

Karem smiled, “Yes my queen, on my way.” And she took off for the tower.

 

“In the meantime, let’s go see what we can do about dealing with this situation,” Sophia said to the guard. “Sumi, mind the store.”

Sophia left with the guard and made her way to the prison.

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

A short while later, Karem had made it to the tower, went inside and made it down the hallway to the entrance to t he underground lair. She made it about halfway down the steps and almost tripped over Smitty – who, along with Loromir and Orphas were on their way up.

 

“SMITTY!” Karem gushed with joy, “It’s good to see you. You had me worried!” She reached down and hugged the Dwarf. “It’s good to see you as well Loromir and Orphas.”

 

“Och! It’s good to see ye as well Karem. Fear not! I had no intention of abandoning ye. It seems there was a bit of a scuffle at the wake last night and my friends here whisked me away to a cave where we couldn’t be found.”

 

“I heard. Speaking of scuffles... Sophia needs our help. It seems those troublemakers have been cornered near the detention center,” Karem said.

 

“In that case, let’s get going!” Loromir said.

 

“But what about me?” Smitty asked uncertainly.

 

“I’m fairly sure that Sophia decided that you should come too.” Karem said. “She did say she wanted me to get her secret weapons!”

 

“Then it’s a good thing I packed Bessie!” Smitty said.

 

“Bessie?” Karem asked with a faint hint of jealousy.

 

“Aye! The cannon strapped to me back.”

 

Karem laughed, “Let’s get going then.”

 

The foursome left the cave and made their way to the prison.

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

Sophia and the guard arrived at the detention area and took cover. No sense advertising their position until it was necessary. They made their way to the position held by the other guard and her prisoner who was still out of it.

 

“What’s the situation?” Sophia asked.

 

“No change, ma’am!” the second guard replied. “They’re holed up near the entrance, behind the desk. They haven’t made any demands since we got here.”

 

“Exactly what are their demands?” Sophia asked.

 

“They want to leave the island along with any prisoners they see fit to take with them. They have Lurinda and the guards and have threatened to kill them if you don’t comply,” the second guard replied.

 

“Tactical analysis, please.” Sophia asked.

 

“I don’t see any options at the moment. We did, after all, build the prison ourselves. There is only one entrance to the building and the door is currently closed. The window facing us is too small to see through at this distance, so getting a shot off and hitting an appropriate target from here is highly unlikely. There are no other entrances so they’re fairly secure at the moment.”

 

“Good analysis. That’s about how I see it.” Sophia replied grimly.

 

Karem, the disguised dragons and Smitty arrived in much the way Sophia did, by way of as much stealth as possible.

 

“Is everyone all right in there?” Karem asked.

 

“We don’t know much, except two Humans are barricaded inside the detention center. We can’t see inside to see what’s going on.” Sophia replied.

 

“I think we might be able to help with that,” Loromir said, “but...” as he pointed to the two guards.

 

“Uh... Right.” Sophia said, “You two – take this prisoner and retreat back toward the tower. Have Manda take a look at him.”

 

The two Seraphim looked at each other as if their queen had gone mad, but they obediently grabbed the still unconscious prisoner and made their way toward the tower.

 

After they left, Loromir cautiously stuck his head out around the corner to have a look at the building itself. “I must commend the architect. I can barely see anything. There are three bright auras near the front door and another pair that are clearly tainted. There also seems to be one far in the back of the building, Here, Orphas, have a look,” he said, as he backed up to make room.

 

Orphas stuck his head around the corner to have a peek. “I see what you mean. It looks as if they’ve got the Seraphim squarely in front of the door – so if we go storming in, they would be the first to be killed, presumably by our own attack,” he said as he pulled back.

 

“So what do you suggest?” Sophia asked.

 

“I say we give them what they want,” Orphas said.

“We can’t do that.” Sophia replied. “They want access to the portal to get off of the island, presumably to report back to Deylen and his cronies. We don’t know what they know and what they don’t, but we can’t take the chance.”

 

“Oh... I don’t mean actually give them their freedom!” Orphas corrected himself. “I mean agree to let them go – then Loromir and I ambush them in an area where we can’t be seen by anyone and take them out.”

 

“Ah. I see. Do you think you can pull it off without the hostages being hurt?” Sophia inquired.

 

“We can, within reason, estimate the chances of success to be quite good.” Orphas replied.

 

“I concur. I don’t see any easy way to deal with this situation.” Loromir agreed. “It’s either this or starve them out. That will likely take several days and will equally be harmful to your sisters and the other prisoners inside.”

 

“We also don’t know how well they’re armed,” Orphas said, “While it’s true that you disarmed them when they arrived, it’s impossible to tell what sort of weapons they’ve gotten their hands on or cobbled together after they dropped out of sight.”

 

“You two make a very convincing argument,” Sophia sighed. “Let’s do it. What do you have in mind?”

 

“There’s one thing we need to know – are there any windows on the sides of the prison adjacent to the side facing us now?” Loromir asked.

 

“No. there is only the one facing us.” Sophia replied.

 

“In that case wait for us to get into position. Then tell them they can have clear access to the portal. When they come out, make sure you keep their attention focused on yourself and leave everything else to us.” Orphas said.

 

“How will I know when you’re ready?” Sophia asked.

 

“Sophia, you forget who you’re dealing with!” Loromir laughed.

 

“Oh.”

 

With that, Loromir and Orphas withdrew down the path a small ways so they were out of sight of the front of the prison. A few moments later, two rather large flying shapes descended on the prison building from the rear, one on either side.

 

Sophia stood up and stepped out into the open. “You, in the prison. I am Queen Sophia and I want to talk to you.”

 

A moment later, “Yes, we know who you are, heretic queen! We are not interested in chit chat. We want clear access to the portal for ourselves and our comrades. We’re also going to be liberating your prisoners. Make any funny moves and we will kill our hostages.”

 

“Kill them and there isn’t a place on Ancaria you can hide where I won’t find you and bring you to justice – slowly and painfully,” Sophia said.

 

“Trust me; you don’t want to try us. Our lives aren’t that important. Not nearly as important as your Seraphim are to you!” said the voice from inside.

 

“Very well. I’ll let you go.” Sophia said with mock resignation.

 

“Good, now you’re seeing things our way! Drop your weapons – ALL of them!” said the voice.

 

Sophia complied as she dropped her swords to the ground.

 

“Now then, remove your armor,” continued the voice.

 

“Excuse me?” Sophia said.

 

“Your armor – take it off. Take it ALL off!” the voice insisted.

 

“What are you - a band of perverts or something?” Sophia said.

 

“No. We’re very desperate and determined and we know you Seraphim fight dirty by hiding weapons in your armor. Remove the armor and we can be sure you’re completely disarmed.”

 

“Very well.” said Sophia as she started removing her armor.

 

Moments later, Sophia stood in the sunshine, naked.

 

“Good. Now turn around and raise your hands,” the voice said.

 

Sophia complied and a moment later, heard the door creak open slowly.

 

“Smart move. Now then, you will start walking, as you are, to the portal. You will keep your hands up at all times. Should we meet anyone on the way, you will tell them to back off or else one of the hostages will be harmed,” the voice said – which now clearly belonged to one of the human slaves.

 

“Sure... Let’s get on with it. It’s still rather chilly,” Sophia said.

 

“That’ll be the least of your worries where you’re going. Now move!”

 

Sophia complied; she started walking down the path toward the portal. She could hear a few footsteps behind her in the dirt.

 

Behind her, the two slaves, DeMordrey and the runner who Lurinda sent to Ciria Delith emerged. The slaves each had Seraphim with arms firmly bound behind them and a wicked knife to their throats. As they cleared the building, Loromir and Orphas bellowed as only a dragon could and pounced on the two startled slaves. Each one of them grabbed one in a claw. The slaves went limp as the dragons held them as Lurinda and the guard collapsed to the ground.

 

“You can turn around, Sophia,” Loromir said. “It’s over.”

 

“Thank the creator!” Sophia exclaimed as she turned around and ran for her blades.

 

Meanwhile DeMordrey and the runner panicked and ran back into the detention block.

 

Sophia ran up to Lurinda and checked to see if she was all right. Sophia used her blade to cut the rope that bound Lurinda’s arms. Smitty meanwhile leapt into action as well, going to the aid of the detention center guard by cutting her free of her bonds.

 

Lurinda moaned slightly as Sophia did her best to make her more comfortable. Smitty did likewise with the guard.

“I’ll be right back,” Smitty said, “I’ll go get a medic!” And with a surprising turn of speed, he ran down the path toward the tower.

 

“This one is dead.” Loromir said.

 

“As is this one,” Orphas added, “and he smells bad – like he’s been dead for a long time.”

 

“Mine too! Positively rotten!” Loromir concurred.

 

“Put those two down! And change back into your disguises before Smitty brings half the island up here!” Sophia said.

 

“Ha ha ha ha! Yes, of course!” said Loromir as he and Orphas dropped the carcasses and flew off to where they left their clothes.

 

Sophia took a quick look at the detention area guard to make sure she too was comfortable then grabbed her armor and began getting dressed. It was a good thing as Manda and four other Seraphim arrived with stretchers and medical kits to help the wounded.

 

“Well, well, trying to seduce the poor humans with your charms?” joked Manda.

 

“Not exactly, it was the only way to get them out of there. They demanded I remove my armor to prove I was disarmed.

 

“I see. So what happened here after that?” Manda asked.

 

“Our friends hid in the shadows behind the building and when they came out, they jumped those two over there. How are Lurinda and the guard?”

 

“They appear to have been drugged with something. What with exactly, I’m not sure yet.”

 

“OK. You take care of them. I’ve got a couple of prisoners to lock up.” Sophia said.

 

Sophia then went inside the detention area, cautiously. No sense getting jumped by anyone who was on the loose in the building. The reception area was clear. No sign of DeMordrey, the runner nor anyone else. She went behind the table in the room and through the first door.

 

She went up to the first pair of cells opposed to each other and looked in both – they were empty. She went to the second pair and they too were empty as were the third and fourth.

 

Sophia reached the fifth and final pair and found one occupant in one of the cells. It was a lone Orc.

 

“Looking for something?” he growled.

 

“Why yes, a Human and an Elf.” Sophia replied.

 

“Grr.. DeMordreck or something or other and that puny Elfling. They were set free by those two undead Humans when they took over the prison. They haven’t been back since and quite honestly, I’m glad they’re gone. All that Human could do was prattle endlessly about how important he was and the Elfling didn’t do anything but blubber endlessly about being used by some conspiracy or other.”

 

“Undead you say? Yes, that would tend to make sense. But I distinctly saw them run back in here when we took out those two walking corpses.” Sophia retorted.

 

“I heard them making demands earlier. And I heard them open the door and leave. Then I heard a bone chilling howl and that was pretty much it until you walked in here,” the Orc recounted.

 

“I don’t doubt what you’re saying. But I also don’t doubt what I saw either. It seems they were taken out of here by some other means. By the way – how is it they didn’t liberate you?” Sophia asked.

 

“I suppose it’s because I’m an Orc.”

 

“And? Is that supposed to mean something? Some of my best friends are Orcs!” Sophia said.

 

“Well, while you might be quite chummy with some of my kind, other races on Ancaria don’t feel the same way about my kind.”

 

“That is somewhat understandable given what happened a decade ago.” Sophia acknowledged.

 

“Well, if those blasted Dwarves and Elves hadn’t taken their sweet time getting the portal network into Nor Plat, things might have been different. We were having a lot of problems at the time. Namely there was a famine going on. Crops don’t grow when it doesn’t rain. We needed the portals to shorten our trade routes. So yes, some of my people acted in haste and it backfired on them,” the Orc said with much bitterness in his voice.

 

“So what were you put in here for?” Sophia asked.

 

“Does it matter any more?”

 

“Yes. It matters to me.” Sophia prompted.

 

“I was put in here for dealing weapons,” the Orc replied.

 

“What sort of weapons?” Sophia asked.

 

“All sorts. Dwarven made, Swords, knives, battle axes – weapons of all kinds. Top quality stuff.”

 

“And when did all this take place?”

 

“Roughly five years ago.”

 

“Who were you dealing your weapons to?”

 

“Other Orcs, of course. Isn’t all of this in my file?” the Orc asked.

 

“I’m sure it is,” Sophia replied, “but I have a need to know now and I don’t have time to look it up. Who were you buying the weapons from?”

 

“I’d rather not say.”

 

“Why not?” Sophia said, “It might actually help your case.”

 

Smitty burst into the room just then. “Sophia! Och, yer all right.”

 

The Orc smiled, “It was him!”

 

“Och! What did I do now?” Smitty asked.

 

“This Orc is accusing you of supplying him with contraband weapons.” Sophia explained.

 

“HA! Now isn’t that rich!” Smitty replied. “If that were true, I’d be rolling in gold pieces!"

 

“Smitty, how long ago did you notice the Dwarves were selling inferior arms to other races?” Sophia said, being sure to emphasize the word inferior to the Orc.

 

“Och, it was well before the invasion. About fifteen years.”

 

“What do you mean ‘inferior’?” the Orc said.

 

“Inferior as in junk. Practice weapons made by apprentices instead of higher quality arms made by journeymen or masters.” Smitty replied.

 

The smugness left the Orc.

 

“So you see, I tend to think you’ve spent long enough time in our care.” Sophia said matter of factly. “In fact, I think I’m going to release you today.”

 

“Uh... No... I haven’t seen the error of my ways yet!” the Orc dissembled, clearly with panic in his voice.

 

“No. You see, I don’t have much to worry about when it comes to you. Selling junk isn’t nearly as big an offense as selling high quality weapons. Don’t fret; I’m sure your fellow Orcs will be quite happy to see you.”

 

“Surely you jest. If I go back there, they’ll kill me for selling them crap.”

 

“Maybe so, then again, you could always go visit the person you bought those weapons from and go work for him.”

 

The Orc turned a few shades lighter green than he already was – the equivalent of a Human or Elf going pale. “I – I – I don’t think that would work out either. He doesn’t tolerate failure. I’d likely last longer with my own kind. At least, they’d put me on trial before killing me.”

 

“You don’t say. So you DO in fact, know who ‘he’ is...” Sophia said.

 

“Of course I do! I’ll tell you if you keep me locked up!” the Orc pleaded.

 

“Very well, then. Who is it?”

 

“Master Blacksmith Groderic, it was the Master Blacksmith!” the Orc confessed.

 

“I thought as much. Very well, you’re sentence stands as it is.” Sophia said.

 

As Sophia turned to walked out, she put a hand on Smitty’s shoulder, indicating he should come along.

 

“Did he just volunteer to stay in prison?” Smitty asked.

 

“Yep. He sure did. And he’s given me another bit of evidence against the Master Blacksmith. He’s also corroborated everything you’ve told us about his dealings.”

 

“He did?”

 

“Didn’t you see him lose a shade or two of green?” Sophia asked.

 

“Er.. Aye, I did. I’ve got no idea what that means though.”

 

“It means he knew what your father and his cronies were up to.”

 

“Och... I see...”

 

“So now, while I consider him to be free, we will hold him as a material witness.” Sophia said.

 

The pair left the detention building and walked over to Manda who was looking over the corpses of the two ‘slaves’.

 

“So what have you found?” Sophia asked.

 

“Lurinda and the guard appear to be fine, even if they’re in a deep sleep. These two, now are a different story,” Manda said as she pointed at the corpses. Amazingly, what appeared to be a pair of perfectly healthy specimens of Human beings the day before were now heavily decomposed corpses – mostly bones with bits of flesh still rotting away on them. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say someone’s been delving into the dark arts. And by dark, I mean pitch black dark.”

 

“Necromancers.” Sophia said.

 

“Those would be the ones. These bodies appear to have been dead for the better part of a year, at least.” Manda said.

 

“And yet, just this morning, they appeared to be perfectly healthy living Humans.”

 

“Oh, and by the way, the one you hit in the face earlier this morning, he’s dead as well.”

 

Loromir and Orphas strode up and joined the conversation. “PHEW! Those two smell nasty!” Loromir said.

 

“And to think I was about eat that thing!” Orphas added.

 

“How much, if anything, do you two know about necromancy?” Sophia asked.

 

“Necromancy? What’s that?” Orphas asked.

 

“It’s a field of dark magic that has to do with bringing dead bodies back to life.” Manda said.

 

“My apologies. That is something we do not know anything about. We have no use for anything like that. When we kill, we generally do so to eat.” Orphas said.

 

“Excuse me for butting in,” Smitty chimed in, “but it’s kind of obvious who did this, isn’t it?”

 

“Well, yes.” Sophia said.

 

“Then why not pay him a visit and ask him directly?” Smitty asked.

 

“Why not indeed. I suppose the answer to that has to do with the depth of the corruption. We can take out the Archmage and Master Blacksmith but I have a bad feeling that would be like cutting off the head of a hydra - two more will sprout from its place.” Sophia answered. “At any rate, I want these remains utterly destroyed. The same goes for the one in your medical bay.”

 

“I’m on my way,” Manda acknowledged.

 

“In the meantime, let’s get back to the tower and get you something to eat!

Edited February 17, 2013 by wolfie2kX

[Ysne58 236]

Fascinating.

[Etherian 76]

Write that in a book!

 

emphasis added. Splashes page with all favorable embelishments of emphasis.

 

Bravo! wolfie.

 

I remain,

[Etherian 76]

Blindly following dogma was fine when your entire race’s existence wasn’t at stake.

 

Thus far. Line of the series. The Green Monster in Boston has nothing on this Home Run.

 

I remain,

 

p.s.~ indeed, I read it twice over. Hence the 2nd post.

[wolfie2kX 528]

Fascinating.

 

How Vulcan...

 

 

Write that in a book!

 

emphasis added. Splashes page with all favorable embelishments of emphasis.

 

Bravo! wolfie.

 

I remain,

 

Welp... That is pretty much what I seem to have wound up doing. When I started this, I had maybe oh.. 10 - 15 points I wanted to get to - MOST of which I have yet to get to. <sigh> Keep getting side tracked with all the distractions - and I don't mean the phone this time. As I said at the begining of the last chapter, I was going for a short interlude to the next chapter (which btw, WILL have some of that heretical stuff, promise!) and I wound up with a long winded 10 page (8.5x11") diversion. I'm now up to maybe 30 points I hope to get to - eventually. Bloody good ideas keep popping up. This last chapter was pretty much an example of just that. I had to get rid of the 3 humans, and then there was that Orc. And I kinda had to add in an element of frustration for the Seraphim (the whole necromancy thing). but then again, this is the kind of stuff that DOES appear in both games - undead, necromancy, etc... So I had to go with the flow.

 

Btw.. I know Mr Giles would be a fan... It's the 3rd time I've had Sophia buck nekkid..

 

In the mean time... I can write it, but I honestly don't know about it becoming anything more than a manuscript. Actually getting published is no easy task and I'm not entirely sure how big an audience this tome would have. I can assume that there will be at least 3 - 4 copies sold, but beyond that... I dunno. There only seems to be a few people reading - and posting feedback. There may be a few other lurkers lurking in the shadows.

Edited February 17, 2013 by wolfie2kX

[Thorin Oakshield 260]

If you want to "publish" your story, I'm hosting a website where I'm posting all my writings. It's open for the public to view, but you need to become a member there to post. Got my story based upon Sacred as well as a few others posted there as well. (makes mental note about updating last story I'm working at).

 

Annyway, check www.thorinbooks.yourbb.eu if you'd like to know more.

I'll see if I can find some time to read through your story.

 

Thorin

[Omnicide 26]

“Your armor – take it off. Take it ALL off!” the voice insisted.

 

“What are you - a band of perverts or something?” Sophia said.

 

“No. We’re very desperate and determined and we know you Seraphim fight dirty by hiding weapons in your armor. Remove the armor and we can be sure you’re completely disarmed.”

 

“Very well.” said Sophia as she started removing her armor.

 

Moments later, Sophia stood in the sunshine, naked.

 

 

Seriously, if a Seraphim was standing naked in front of me, I would forget all about being a prisoner that's attempting an escape...

[wolfie2kX 528]

Seriously, if a Seraphim was standing naked in front of me, I would forget all about being a prisoner that's attempting an escape...

 

 

Except it ain't a prisoner doin' the talking. It's one of the 'slaves' - and he's quite undead. Somehow, I kinda doubt zombies and the like can er.. um.. uh.. get excited - at least, not in THAT way..

[Etherian 76]

Somehow, I kinda doubt zombies and the like can er.. um.. uh.. get excited - at least, not in THAT way..

 

BRAINS...

 

"Send more paramedics". Famous movie line from 'The Return of the Living Dead'.

 

circa. 1985

 

I remain,

Edited February 19, 2013 by Etherian

[Thorin Oakshield 260]

Seriously, if a Seraphim was standing naked in front of me, I would forget all about being a prisoner that's attempting an escape...

 

 

Except it ain't a prisoner doin' the talking. It's one of the 'slaves' - and he's quite undead. Somehow, I kinda doubt zombies and the like can er.. um.. uh.. get excited - at least, not in THAT way..

I s'pose you've never seen the movie "Braindead" (one of Peter Jackson's early works).

In it a zombie-priest does it with a zombie-nurse and as a result they get a zombie-baby.

It's one of those movies you must have seen at least once. Just like the original "Evil Dead" and "Evil Dead II".

 

Right, enough off topic chatter. To return to topic:

 

I'm pretty sure a zombie would feel alive in a few inches the moment he got a naked Seraphim in front of him. Unless ofcourse he's attracted to Dryads or High Elves instead.

 

 

Thorin

[wolfie2kX 528]

Er.. You'd be supposin' correctly. Never saw that particular movie..

 

I seem to recall something I did see once though.. Might have been a cartoon or somesuch. Something about a zombie getting it on - and er.. losing his family jewels and other relavant equipment in the process. Feh.. Zombie porn was never quite my thing.

 

Btw, as a side note.. In the era this story takes place, there are no "High Elves" nor "Dryads" per se. At least, not in the same sense as in Sacred 2. There are only Elves and Elves that live on Dryad Island. They're still the same race. For that matter, the Wood, Dark and Ice Elves from Sacred 1 do not exist per se either. They're just regular Elves living on the other continent.

[wolfie2kX 528]

OK folks... This installment finds our heroes venturing into the lands of Sacred 1 - finally! And there are some bombshells that will be dropped. There's an important clue as to the identity of our Dwarf... Let the Heresy begin!

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

The Library

 

Sophia, the two dragons and Smitty made their way to the mess hall and got into line. It was a mercifully short one. Sophia allowed her friends to go first. Smitty got in line without hesitation. Loromir and Orphas were a bit more hesitant.

 

“Don’t mind us; we had something to eat before we got back,” Loromir announced.

 

“What did you have?” Sophia inquired.

 

“I’m not entirely sure what you call it. It was a fish – a big, very long fish. It was as long as Orphas over here. It was so big the two of us had to work together to get it out of the water!”

 

Sophia’s eyes grew in amazement. “That sounds like a Death Eel. They’ve been known to attack ships coming and going in the area just to kill the crew and eat them.”

 

“It was adequate, though I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I might.” Loromir confessed.

 

“Nor did I. Though I must admit hunting it was quite challenging.” Orphas added.

 

Smitty, by this time had managed to make his way to the front of the line. “Do ye perchance happen to have any smoked goblin today?” he asked.

 

The serving girl taking his order did a double-take. “Um... Er... Did you really say ‘smoked goblin’? Uh... No... But we’ve got a really lovely assortment of roast wild boar and roast beef. We’ve also got an assortment of root vegetables – potatoes, carrots, and parsnips.”

 

“Ah well, never hurts to ask. I’ll take whatever ye got.” Smitty replied. “Ladle it on! I’m hungry! I haven’t eaten since yesterday!”

 

“Very well! We’ve got plenty given his high and mightiness the Archmage broke up the wake and we have plenty of leftovers that need to be eaten!”

 

The serving girl handed Smitty a tray full of food. He took it and found himself a seat near Karem and promptly dug into his personal feast.

Sophia and the dragons joined them at the table. “Another half day wasted. But at least, we’re rid of the Archmage’s spies.” Sophia said.

 

“Aye! I can finally get back to doin’ what I like to do best.” Smitty said between bites. “I can finally get back to putting together my forge.”

Karem looked a bit distressed. “What’s wrong with the one we’ve got in the armory?”

 

“Nothing at all, my dear, so long as you’re tall enough to get the right angle with yer hammer blows.” Smitty replied. “That jury rigging we did somewhat worked but it just didn’t feel quite right. You see, it’s hard to connect the hammer with full force on what yer forging if yer bouncing up and down – however slightly – on a bench. Ye wind up havin’ to work twice as hard that way!”

 

“That makes sense. I hadn’t thought of that,” Karem replied. “No matter, I’ll give you a hand with building one that suits you better.”

 

“I guess that means you two will be otherwise occupied for the rest of the day.” Sophia said.

“Aye, unless you’ve got something better in mind.” Smitty said.

 

“Well, the library archives still await. No matter, Loromir and Orphas here will hopefully be enough help to dig up what we need.” Sophia said.

 

“Och... In that case, ye might as well get going. I think I’m going to be a while,” Smitty said. “No sense in burnin’ daylight!”

 

“You’re sure about that, Smitty?” Sophia asked.

 

“Aye! I understand there’s plenty of leftovers the kitchen needs help getting rid of. I think I may go back for seconds!”

 

“OK then, we’re going to pay a quick visit to the medical bay to see how Lurinda and the guard are doing and then we’re off.” Sophia said. “Let’s get going then, gentlemen!”

 

Sophia and the dragons got up from the table and left the mess hall and made their way to Manda’s lair. They found Manda at her desk, looking over some papers.

 

“Ah... Sophia! I was just about to go looking for you.” Manda said.

 

“I take it you’ve got some news on Lurinda and the guard’s condition.” Sophia replied.

 

“Indeed. It seems they’ve been both dosed with a soporific substance, highly concentrated. I found a small pin prick on her neck, much like the sort you might see if you’ve been hit by a dart from a blowgun.”

 

A blowgun - like the kind used by the Dryad colonists?”

 

“Exactly right – except this puncture seems to be surrounded by a small amount of swelling, which indicates something was injected under the skin.” Manda continued. “Like a snake’s bite, except there’s only one puncture mark – so it can’t be snake.”

 

“So the big question – will they be all right?” Sophia asked.

 

“I would imagine so. I’m running a few tests to find what they were injected with. Those tests won’t be done until later today though.”

 

“Good. I’m heading to the Library then with the boys. Hopefully we’ll find what we’re looking for quickly.”

 

“Good luck with that!” Manda said. “You’ll need it!”

 

“So I’ve heard.” Sophia said as she and her companions left and made their way to the portal.

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

When Sophia, Loromir and Orphas arrived at the Seraphim Library, it was already late afternoon. There was a distinct chill in the air – one that you didn’t find on Seraphim Island even though they were more or less at the same latitude. Of course, Seraphim Island was actually a semi-active volcano and the library was tectonically as stable as land got.

 

Sophia and company made a beeline directly to the entrance of the library as the shock to their systems was uncomfortable. This was the one disadvantage of the portal system, if there was one. When traveling by land and/or sea, the temperature changes were usually gradual enough to allow one to acclimate.

 

They crossed a small bridge over a ravine and then went into an exposed patio-like area. They went down the stairs and Sophia opened the door and the trio went inside. She shut the door behind them. Not that it did much good. The air inside was almost as cold as it was outside – yet another incentive to get things done quickly and back to the more merciful warmth of home.

 

“Hello?” Sophia called out, hoping to get someone’s attention.

 

“Can I help you?” a Seraphim bundled in fur whispered as she approached from an office

 

“Sorry, this is my first time here.” Sophia replied. “I am Sophia, the new Queen.”

 

“I see...” the Seraphim replied. “What can I do for you?”

 

“I’m looking for information – very old information – from the era of the First Elven Empire.” Sophia replied.

 

“Indeed. That would be very, very old information.”

 

“Can you direct me to where I can find the files I’m looking for? Actually, I was told I should ask for Tara.” Sophia asked.

 

“Very well, come with me.”

 

The Seraphim went deeper into the building. As Sophia’s eyes acclimated to the light inside, she saw for the first time that Manda and Lurinda weren’t kidding. Every wall in the hallway was lined with bookshelves that were piled to the ceiling with books, papers and other documents. There were occasional piles in front of the shelves – likely books and things that were belonged with the other things on the shelf but there just wasn’t any room left for them on those shelves.

 

The wide hallway went on for quite a long distance. The hallway came to an end finally in a pair of arches that met with another hallway that went perpendicular to the hallway they were in. The Seraphim crossed the hallway to a matching pair of arches on the other side. The corresponding hallway on the other side stretched into the distance. The walls here, too, were festooned with books, scrolls and other documents, piled to the ceiling.

 

“By the creator!” Sophia exclaimed. “Lurinda wasn’t joking.”

 

“About what?” Loromir asked.

 

“The volume of information stored here.” Sophia replied, awestruck.

“This is stuff is merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg,” their Seraphim guide replied as they reached the end of the hallway which opened up into a room with a short staircase on the right hand side. This room was also covered floor to ceiling with books and such. “What you see here is only the last three hundred years or so worth of information!” she said as she led them up the stairs into yet another room also cluttered with books.

 

They finally arrived at another room, also covered wall to wall with books and other papers. The difference was – this was the end of the road. This room had no other exits except for the one they just came through.

 

“This room here is the one where the bulk of the information is stored. We’re a bit backlogged, unfortunately. We had a shortage of data crystals to transcribe the information to a while back. We finally found a suitable quarry for the materials needed to make them so now supply is no longer a problem,” the Seraphim said, “It’s merely a matter of catching up.”

 

“I see.” Sophia said, still awestruck by it all. “So how far back do these archives go?”

 

“All the way back to the beginning – or so I’ve been told. I’ve got far too much to do transcribing the backlog to have time to browse the information in the archive.”

 

“Excuse me,” Orphas interrupted, “but where’s Tara?”

 

“Oh, yes, of course,” the Seraphim said, “TARA is right here. The Ancarian Record Archive - TARA. TARA, we need some information.”

 

The floor in the middle of the room began to glow, and a column of light formed which then resolved itself into the image of a Seraphim.

 

“TARA is here. How may I help you?” the hologram said.

 

“Go ahead, ask away. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a few thousand pages of Orc chicken scratching to decipher from three centuries ago,” she said and left them alone.

 

“TARA, I am Sophia, Queen of the Seraphim.”

 

“Error. Last known holder of that title was Maria. Has something happened?” TARA asked.

 

“Yes, Queen Maria died five days ago. I am her replacement.”

 

“Scanning... Queen Sophia recognized. How may I assist?” TARA acknowledged.

 

“I need some information from the era known as the First Elven Empire.” Sophia inquired.

 

“One hundred million, five hundred twenty seven thousand five hundred seventy-two records exist for that era. Specify topic and date.”

 

“The year 2494 of the First Elven Empire,” Sophia added, “Can you list the major events of that year?”

 

“Accessing... There were no significant events in that year.”

“Nothing out of the ordinary?” Sophia asked.

 

“Negative. The year was remarkably average. Average rainfall, average crop yields, and average amounts of violence. The year was about as average as average gets.”

 

Sophia found herself getting nowhere on this line of questioning much to her frustration.

 

“Very well. I have a project that I need some information for.”

 

“Previous search parameters cleared. TARA is ready for a new search.” TARA replied.

 

“Do you have any information on how much Seraphim blood is required to purge someone of evil?” Sophia asked.

 

“I am unable to divulge anything regarding that line of questioning. This information is classified and limited to Seraphim only. Please remove non-Seraphim visitors and restate the question.”

 

“It’s OK Sophia, Loromir and I will wait in the next room.” Orphas said as he and Loromir left the room.

 

After a few moments, Sophia restated the question, “How much blood does it take to remove all evil from a being?”

 

“Accessing... Per the research of Urisa’N TachYon, a droplet about zero point one milligrams would be sufficient to rid a being of all impulses that could be classified as evil. To put that in lay terms, if you prick your finger, one droplet of blood should suffice.”

 

“Are there limitations as to how the blood can be delivered?”

 

“Please refine question.”

 

“Does it have to be by way of the mouth or can it be by say, a dart dipped in Seraphim blood and shot at a given subject?”

 

“Ingestion should be oral. Other factors in the being’s make up can interfere with the desired effect if injected. The subject’s body may have countermeasures to protect it from foreign substances such as Seraphim blood, so it likely won’t have the desired effect.

 

“Is there any known way to deliver such blood droplets to a target at a distance?” Sophia asked.

 

“Negative,” TARA replied. “While such devices are theoretically possible, no one has thought to invent the means as yet.”

 

“Do you have any suggestions as to who can, theoretically, devise such a device?” Sophia asked

 

“Given the native talents of various species on Ancaria, it would likely be a Dwarf,” TARA replied.

“By the way, who is “Urisa’N TachYon?” Sophia asked.

 

“Accessing... Information restricted.” TARA replied. “This information is not available to anyone currently living on Ancaria.”

 

“Is there any other information available that isn’t classified that has to do with Urisa’N TachYon?” Sophia redoubled her efforts.

 

“Affirmative. There are three documents penned by Urisa’N TachYon on file.”

 

“List them.” Sophia commanded, thinking she might get a better understanding of who this Urisa’N TachYon is or was.

 

“Accessing... ‘The Heart of Ancaria – A Metaphysical Treatise’, ‘Eliminating the Worgarian Threat – A Plan of Action’ and one untitled memorandum.”

 

“Is there a means I can get a written copy of these documents?” Sophia inquired.

 

“Affirmative. Hard copy is available at the front desk upon your departure.” TARA replied. “Will there be anything else I can assist you with today?”

 

“No, TARA, I have to digest the information you’ve given me so far and do some thinking.”

 

“If that’s the case, I will go offline now. Have a nice day!” TARA said and the glowing column of light in the shape of the Seraphim vanished into nothingness.

 

Sophia left the room and made her way through the various rooms to the hallway and toward the front desk. Two rooms over, Loromir and Orphas caught up with Sophia and the trio made their way to the front desk.

[Etherian 76]

"There's an important clue as to the identity of our Dwarf"

 

Once again, I read the last installment twice over. Missed the important clue as to our Dwarf.

 

“Do you have any suggestions as to who can, theoretically, devise such a device?” Sophia asked

 

“Given the native talents of various species on Ancaria, it would likely be a Dwarf,” TARA replied.

 

These two brief lines of question & answer is all I could drum up...if the clue resides inside. I am blind to the clue.

 

However, it does seem our little dwarf friend, who has an obvious appetite, is far more important than just being the son of the Master Blacksmith.

 

I remain,

[Etherian 76]

A side note of importance. Finally found this tidbit of information from Ker's history. Now I understand why Ker licks her lips when around Dragons.

 

If you can never publish any works from DarkMatters in book format. Perhaps some of this talent will flow into the hands of a Game Developer. Then they promptly offer you a JOB. You deserve at least the opportunity!

 

Par for the course. Another great read.

 

"The fifth and final tome in the series is a bit longer than the previous entries. I found myself having to hold back. As it is, the book STILL takes up 6 1/2 printed pages in MS Word using 12 point type. The previous entries were 2 - 4 pages each. I could have gone on added more but I wanted to go easy on the folks who will be doing the translations.

This book is different in one other aspect - it'll only be available somewhere inside the Great Machine facility - for reasons that will make sense as you get to the end of the tale.

In it we'll meet six rather familiar people and how they've drastically changed the course of Ancarian life and how they did it...

One other thing to note. I had to create new months of the year. I incorporated the month names from the Lost Diaries previously noted. The final month of the Ancarian year - assuming a 12 month calendar - is Valka. Note the final date...

So... Without further adieu...

Journal of Aesma Daeva 4

1 Yal 4158

I finally got a chance to plead my case in front of the Ministry of Warfare with regards to sentient experimentation. They were practically shaking in their boots with the reports that were filtering in from all over Ancaria. It was an easy sell. They had one stipulation. They would send volunteers.

2 Yal 4158

Our new lab in the west won’t be ready for some time, so our first experiments will have to be done in our current facility. The first volunteer arrived today at the Na’Fian portal on the west side of the city. He isn’t exactly a striking figure. Below average build. I questioned him about why he volunteered. He said he didn’t have much to look forward to. He said he had been ill and didn’t have very long to live. Something about a war injury that never quite healed right and the doctors said he didn’t have all that long to live. Eh. As long as he survives the infusion…

4 Yal 4158

Our T-Energy tank is fully stocked. Our volunteer is prepped and about as ready as he’ll ever be.

4 Yal 4158

Test Subject A’s infusion was…interesting to say the least. His infusion drained the entire tank’s worth of T-Energy. He is about 1.5 times as large as he was before, much larger than a typical Ancarian High Elf. And he is quite blue, similar in shading to our dearly departed Algernon and Ben. He retained his memories and knowledge. He knows where he is and what’s been done to him. He’s been eating like a wild beast. We’ve estimated so far, he’s eaten approximately 14 average dinners in the space of a few hours. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence of his previous injury. The T-Energy appears to have healed him. It appears Test A was a success.

5 Yal 4158

The first of the interdimensional aliens arrived in Ceria Delith this morning near the Temple of Tears in the east. It was one of those flying monstrosities and it called itself a follower of Sakkara. It appears to be sentient as well. It demanded our unconditional surrender with the obligatory “or else”…

Our Test A subject decided to face the monster. He arrived at the surface and calmly walked through the throng of people attempting to flee west. People thought it rather strange to see a rather oversized blue glow in the dark High Elf calmly walking toward the danger they were fleeing and stopped in their tracks. They did not follow our champion who stopped a few horse lengths from the invader and simply raised his arms and a large number of Fen Fires appeared out of nowhere and swarmed the invader and promptly exploded as they came into contact with this Sakkara character. The monstrosity collapsed after wave after wave of the Fen Fires hit with what seemed like ruthless abandon. After the monstrosity collapsed, the Test A subject summoned a few waves of the Fen Fires and dispersed them amongst the people who were injured by the beast. The Fen Fires promptly healed their injuries. The people were in awe of our first test subject. Some even bowed in prayer. Amazing.

6 Yal 4158

Our test subject returned to the lab and promptly devoured half of a roast hog, generously donated by an eatery owner who was about to be stepped on by the Sakkara monster but was saved by the hero of the hour. Speaking of our hero... He has decided he needs a name. He’s decided that his old name and identity just won’t do as he has changed so drastically. He’s decided that since he is the product of Test A, he would like to be known as Testa from now on.

Testa is now in the process of reading every book in my collection. He has become as ravenous in the pursuit of knowledge as his appetite for food.

7 Yal 4158

It’s amazing. In the span of a day, Testa has read every book in my extensive collection – and managed to somehow store that vast repertoire in his mind. I’ve quizzed him on a few subjects and it’s amazing. He has full recall and an amazing insight into the subjects he’s studied. He’s now in the process of assimilating my research notes and log entries with regards to our T-Energy experiments.

8 Yal 4158

Testa has completed reading my notes and has made a few suggestions on how to make the process more efficient. His suggestions have been forwarded to the construction team in the Dwarven region. He’s also come up with a possible reason as to why Algernon, Ben and the dog met their demise. It would seem that the T-Energy infusion (as we’ve done it thus far) didn’t entirely replace the being’s normal tissues. The T-Energy ate away at the tissues – all while stimulating its life force. But overall, the damage was far greater than the regenerative properties and when there was nothing left of the tissues – boom!

He suggested a tonic of his own creation that could better sustain his and any other subject’s tissues to keep himself and anyone else we subject to this treatment a longer life after the infusion.
In the meantime, the Sakkara’s remains seem to have cooled off enough to approach it. The invader appears to be made from rock. There’s not much that can be gleaned from the remains. Whatever was inside the creature is now a mass of solid rock.

4 Nosk 4158

Testa, our first creation is still amongst the living. He’s been alive for 28 days post infusion. The last few weeks have been a bit of a blur to the point where I haven’t had so much as a moment to collect my thoughts, let alone commit them to the log. Construction in the new facility is coming along nicely.

Testa, in the meanwhile has been busy. In addition to his research with us, he’s been called away numerous times to deal with our uninvited guests. Good thing he doesn’t seem to need any sleep. His appetite, on the other hand is simply astonishing. He eats enough food per day to feed a medium sized army. Good thing the military and the Seraphim are happy to contribute to his grocery list.

We seem to have hit a snag in our experimental progress. By Testa’s calculations, there isn’t enough naturally occurring free T-Energy in the east Bluestone Lake area to transform more than one or two more subjects. My analysis confirms his estimates. Unfortunately, we need far more than three of our creations to deal with the hundreds of invaders that have come through the portal.

We’ve also had a bit of an invasion of what can best be called the ‘undead’. We’ve occasionally had problems with corpses buried too close to T-Energy pools coming back to what can be called “unlife”. The appearance of the invaders, specifically the energy given off by Sakkara followers seems to have reacted with T-Energy naturally occurring in graveyards and has brought skeletons back from the great beyond.

Meanwhile, we’ve heard the tale that the Dwarves are working on something that will close the portal in the Southern Desert permanently. We wish them luck. Anything that will stem the tide of the invasion is welcome news.

5 Nosk 4158

Testa has come up with a solution for our T-Energy shortfall. He’s come up with a way to extract pure T-Energy from the land itself. The designs for the T-Energy siphons have been forwarded to the appropriate artisans have been given plans and teams of plumbers have been assembled to build a network of pipes across the face of the central continent that lead to our lab in the Dwarven region.

17 Nosk 4158

The first few siphons have been put into place and the pipeline that will feed our new facility will be ready by the end of the year. I only hope that we survive long enough to implement this grand plan. We will be leaving for the new facility tomorrow.

2 Valka 4158

Our move is finally complete. Whoever said moving was fun, never had to move a staff of thirty, their books, notes, assorted lab implements, beakers, test tubes, and the other things that make our work possible. Fortunately, there’s a portal near our destination.

The new complex is amazing. It spans several levels with all manner of controls for filling and maintaining the flow of T-Energy into the main reservoir. Speaking of which, the reservoir is an incredible sight to behold. It’s HUGE!

We even have a large contingent of Temple Guardians to provide security.

3 Valka 4158

Our second and third test subjects have arrived. They’ve been briefed on the procedure and what to expect. They’re both in agreement with everything and have signed documents to that effect. The T-Energy reservoir in the center of the new infuser is nearly full and the secondary reservoir that feeds into it is catching the overflow.

The first of our second batch of subjects is male and his records show that he’s been a naughty boy. He was first a convicted killer in civilian life who was sentenced to life in the military. I suppose the powers that be felt his talents would best be served being channeled into something more productive. It also seems he went berserk and killed several of his comrades one night in a drunken brawl. He was to be executed for his treasonous acts and would have been had it not been for our little program. Sounds like a perfect addition to our forces.

The second subject is female. She is not, however, a convict. She is actually a volunteer to the program. Her records say she’s a Dryad healer and philosopher who decided to enlist after her home was invaded by our unwelcome guests. There’s something in there about her tribe being wiped out by a nasty dragon. No matter. Anyone bent on revenge is fine by me.

4 Valka 4158

Testa briefly stopped by to inspect the volunteers before they were infused. He’s given his nod of approval to both.

The male went into the new infusion chamber and the switch was flipped. A beam shot from the reservoir and hit him square in the chest. The reservoir was nearly fully drained before it stopped. The infusion appears to have been successful.
After a few hours, the reservoir was refilled from the storage tank inside the mountain to the east and the female stepped inside the chamber. She was amazingly calm and collected for someone about to undergo the transformation.

After the two had a chance to rest a bit and feast (in much the way Testa did when he was transformed), Testa himself went in to greet his new siblings. They introduced themselves as Kuan and Kybele.

5 Valka 4158

The siphon network and the pipes leading to our facility are now complete. We are now able to refill the storage reservoir and the infusion reservoir in a matter of a few hours. With enough volunteers, we can create a rather substantial army of gifted warriors to fight for the cause.

The fourth and fifth test subjects arrived today. It seems the general populace has been given an opportunity to sign up for transformation. The military had run short of people they could spare. Testa has looked them over as well and has given his approval to both.

The male volunteer is a priest of the Church of the Creator who lost his entire congregation to an attack by what he called the “devil himself”. The female is a High Elf. Her records show she spent the last few years in the university at Thylysium and she studied philosophy. Her reason for enlistment – it was only logical to do something to save the world.

Meanwhile Kuan and Kybele have both been dispatched to areas in the most need of their enhanced services. I’m not entirely certain how useful Kuan will turn out to be. His special talent involves a rather intoxicating breath that causes those who catch a whiff of it to go insane and attack anything and everything that moves – friend or foe.

Kybele’s talent, on the other hand is a bright light that heals the injured (on our side) and reinforces them to carry on the attack. It would seem she is best suited to follow in Kuan’s footsteps, repairing our forces that were cut down by his bad breath.

6 Valka 4158

With the reservoir now fully restocked, we were able to proceed with our fourth and fifth test subjects. Since we couldn’t figure out which one should go first, we flipped a coin, an Ancarian 50 Goldpiece. The girl won the toss.

She stepped into the chamber and the switch was pulled. Her body was flooded with T-Energy just like Kuan and Kybele had been. Success! Her transfiguration went without a hitch. Again, a few hours later, the male stepped inside the chamber after the reservoir was refilled and he was likewise transformed.

The new female warrior now calls herself Forens and the male calls himself Lumen. Forens’ gift is quite useful. She can cause attacks made by the invaders to be reflected back at them. As long as she keeps her concentration up, she can reflect damage back until the enemy has destroyed themselves.

Lumen’s talent is quite impressive as well. He can cause his body to glow incredibly brightly. The light, when it hits one of the invaders, causes it to burst into flames. The only thing left of one of those Sakkara followers is a pile of molten slag. Dragons, on the other hand, wind up being a pile of charred bones and ash.

They, like their siblings, have ravenous appetites as well.

25 Valka 4158

This may well be my final entry. The invaders aren’t nearly as stupid as they seem. They’ve organized a well thought out attack strategy that called our team of five enhanced beings away from the facility to far remote places where they couldn’t easily get back. In the meantime an attack force of at least ten dragons and demons came knocking on our front door. We’ve sealed the outer door and have activated the fail-safe mechanism Testa came up with. It’s quite brilliant, really. It infuses four common Ancarian fleas into huge battle ready monsters. Should those Sakkara followers make it to the infusion chamber, they’re in for a very, very nasty surprise. I wish I had thought of that little trick myself.

We’ve sent a message to our five gifted warriors, but I fear they may not return in time.

25 Valka 4158

(later) It seems this will be my final entry. My mousey, but quick thinking assistant, the one who brought the extra food for the rats has gotten rather brave or insane. It’s hard to tell. She made a break for the Infusion chamber and reset some of the controls. We tried to talk her out of doing it. But she couldn’t take the pressure any longer.

She pulled the switch inside the room and her transformation is the most bizarre of the lot. She appears to have merged with one of those Ancarian fleas. It would seem one of the fail safe surprises jumped on her body and the two of them have somehow merged. She now has SIX arms. Her hunger and bloodlust is nearly insatiable. Her first task once she emerged from the chamber – was to attack my staff and kill half them. Worse yet, she started feeding on them by drinking their blood. She made her way to the surface and managed to get the door open. The carnage that ensued was truly a hideous sight to behold. The remote viewers placed outside of the facility caught most of it. It was quite terrifying. She jumped on the back of a dragon, bit into its neck and drained it of its life giving juices. Next, she stood before one of the Sakkara followers and waved her hands. It started obeying her. In no time at all, she and her new pet attacked its former comrades and eliminated half a dozen of them.

She jumped on the back of another dragon and sucked the life out of it as well. She then sent her pet down the path toward the fortresses guarding the facility. She had it attack the guards that were stationed there. In no time at all, they were wiped out. She is now on her way back to the facility. The flying fish aliens and the ones with the skin made of hardened bone stood no chance before her. She will be here in a few minutes and I really hate to think what she will do with me should she get back inside. Whatever it is, it isn’t likely to be pleasant. I’ve locked the doors again and reset the fail safe device.

I’ve sent the rest of my staff back to Ceria Delith by way of the portal along with my research notes and a model of the infuser. Perhaps someone can continue my work. Perhaps Testa, as long as he survives, can continue. It isn’t safe here any longer. It’s only a matter of time before my former assistant and her new pet will break through the outer door and then I’m likely finished.

I merely hope that the people of Ancaria forgive us for the Chaos we’ve unleashed upon the world.

And to think I finally learned her name just yesterday… Ker."

 

I remain,

 

 

[wolfie2kX 528]

Yeah.. That'd be the Book of Volunteers - aka the Journal of Aesama Daeva #4 - which is...er rather will be in the next CM Patch. I also referenced it in the first post on this thread as my previous tale.

 

Oh.. And the Dwarf - take note of his choice of breakfast. It makes more sense if you've played the Dwarf in Sacred UW... If not, you'll never get it.

[Ysne58 236]

Well, you would have to remember playing the dwarf, it's been so long that I don't.

 

Very well written.