While I could talk about the Plane of Hell if I wished it is something I prefer to remain buried in the past. I would have been content to have left it there I assure you if it had not been for the hellish transformation that was forced upon the Master. For while the Master’s intellect is normally so beyond mine I am unable to keep up that actually changed. For the first time since the deal that he wrought to free me from bondage I was able to explore the raging emotions the he normally keeps in check within his soul.
Perhaps I should start at the beginning with perhaps just a little explanation. The Master and I had both believed that we would be heading to a quick rendezvous with the Network Inner Circle perhaps even in town to discuss options regarding how best to support Justice. Well that was until our vision began to blur and a dreamscape if you will began to form and we witnessed an eight year old boy transformed into what looked like Jim the Weasel familiar of Drago by a mysterious man. Of course the Jim escaped and fled the household and ran into a nearby forest.
Not so bad as dreams go I suppose but then we both felt ourselves wrenched into a new reality and suddenly I was weakened but it was nothing compared what had happened to the Master. The Master had been transformed into a Raven and had been stripped of much of his intellect as well as his power. Now perhaps the others members of Justice and that being Drago, Kameron, Mordalfus, Ti, Alth, Killer One, as well as Deataur might have been taking the transformation in stride the Master was not. Well for the matter Ti seemed upset as he had been separated from his Long Bow. But the Master’s anger burned with a furious wrath that touched on a ferocious hate of the situation I had never before seen as well as a bitter resentment that spoke of his torment and of course his eventual revenge.
To try and put the Master anguish into perspective is perhaps beyond me but I will attempt it. The Masters intellect is such that it borders on what some might call insanity but it is kept in check by all of the checks and balances that the Master has placed within his life in order to remain stable. On a personal level there was of course his hatred of his Fiendish nature but on the other had he of course could not be drawn in by the power that it bestowed upon him. For without his Fiendish part he would be a weak Changling. Not that Changling were what he considered weak but their power lay in their ability to alter their form as defined by their will. So suddenly being stuck in the form of a lowly Raven as well as one incapable of speech was someone’s idea sadistic pleasure. Of course being Amphibious was noting to slouch at for the Master loved the water and perhaps one of his secret pleasures besides creating undead was drowning his foe. Of course that meant that to suddenly have to rely on only the air a few paltry second level spells to stay safe meant he had been transformed from hunter into prey. Then there were the telepathic voices of the Network which always filled his mind with chatter both official and nonofficial communications which shall remain classified for now. As a matter of fact the final path which my Master possessed also failed him and that was his art. Normally it was a tool the Master could use to escape and find peace and joy. Except for the fact that now the Master did not possess hands which I of course did and I was even more powerful then the Master and that was something that I thought would drive the Master insane. The loss of all of both his and my magic items was yet another shock and with that final insult the Master withdrew into his mind and told me to deal with the situation.
Getting back to the others Drago had become a Weasel, Ti an Owl, Mordalfus a small cat, and Kameron was now in the form of a Badger. The others seemed suited to their new forms since they were not shape shifters since I really don’t consider Kameron a proper Changling anyway more like a sad Passer to be honest. Perhaps the Master will be able to help him in the future or at least that was his plan as I remember it. The others dealt with a pair of dogs who were actually pets with name tags and ate them. Alas one more thing due to the lack of his magic items the Master was hungry so it was left for me to check the bones of the dogs. Let me not fail to mention that Kameron had been kind enough to set aside a few strips of the dog meat for the Master while he and Ti had deboned the dogs.
The Master was inconsolable and Alth of all beings was able to calm the Master down enough for him to shift his attention to something that could occupy his intellect. First he had spoken of this no doubt being the work of Narvada the so called guardian spirit that had possessed the link originally created by Krueger Condail when Justice had been formed. The Master knew that the name Narvada was a name associated with deals so dark they made Devil Deals look downright bright. He knew that one could ask Narvada for things and all he would ask was to claim part of your body with his marks and when you body was covered you belonged to him. That knowledge of itself did not actually shake the Master what did was the knowledge and memory of the past and how it had been altered which had brought him the purest joy he had ever known. The joy of course if one did not really know the Master could have been Delilah Varosh but in reality it was their daughter Shay Quickshar. The knowledge that there was once a reality that did not once include his daughter was the shock he had needed.
The Master taking the advice of Alth who had told him he could use the link to see what it had called flashbacks within the link if he focused. In reality all of the so called flashes were in some case alterations in time itself and other times journeys into the psyche of various members of Justice. The Master dove in eager to find the logic behind these alterations and revelations intent on finding a way to break us free from the clutches of Narvada.
Meanwhile the others had found and befriended Jim the Weasel and I had surveyed the area and confirmed out location. We were on an isolated island within Perciphea and Drago had helped confirm the timeline. It seemed Jim was due to meet Drago for the first time in less than a week and we were at least six years in the past. So if this flashback stood to reason then we would be tasked with making sure that Jim made it Drago or perhaps even found a way to be free of Drago and restored to his humanity. Not that I really pushed that theory I much preferred my alternate theory which would keep Kameron and the Master peaceful. I chose for the moment to suggest that Jim had been slain and forcefully reincarnated into the Weasel we now saw before us. Which either way was sad for the ritual of binding with normal familiars normally wiped their minds clean of the majority of their former lives at the psyches of familiar and Master formed.
With the help of Kameron’s Badger nose we were able to track back to the home of the Humans who owned the dogs. Kameron it seemed was going native and even drew the attention of a wild cat name Bob that Mordalfus had spoken to. It seemed that each animal form possessed the ability to speak with their counterparts. Kameron had made himself at home eating the dog’s food and even resting in an easy chair set outside the home. Eventually he was overwhelmed by small contingent of wild cat’s intent on making him their dinner. Only Ti’s intervention as a psychic Owl slowed them down as Kameron had burrowed into the ground to save his life. Perhaps the goal of this whole flashback was to teach Kameron that discretion was indeed the better part of valor.
Well thankfully with the aid of Mordalfus and handy swarm of rats the wild cats were fed and after resting the night we were on our way back into the forest before dawn. There were of course two humans inside the house but they seemed like simple folk and I was unable to acquire any weapons to speak of. So it came to pass that while dodging giant avian predators we came upon a pit which just happened to be the home of a giant poisonous snake.
Kameron let discretion once again be his guide while the Master and I took to the air while Ti managed to become grappled by the great snake. I called to the Master to break him of his revelry with the link and he broke his concentration long enough to blast a scorching ray into the snake. With the aid of Mordalfus another swarm this time spiders and Ti they were able to take it down just as Kameron had come out of his hole. I had managed to coax Kameron out of his hole and while he was unable to heal the poison that had severely wounded Ti at least he was healed.
It was then that I felt the weakness start to fade and the knowledge that the Master had learned start to flow to me from the link we shared as we were drawn back to or proper selves. The Master had used his still formidable intellect to review all of the previous flashes that had transpired since Justice had been formed from every possible perspective. I truly wish that it was an experience that had brought wisdom and clarity. Well perhaps insight and motivation would have to do but it was the direction that might take that concerned me.
The Master was once again himself the immoral well mannered hedonistic diplomat. His intellect was back as well as the boost granted by his Cornet of Intellect and his mind was working fast and furious. To quickly for me to keep up with everything but I realized one thing while his temper was now once again under control his fury still seethed right beneath the surface. I also realized that he had ordered Armana, Mandy, and even Christine to his side. I should note that the Master rarely orders and when he does that is perhaps the only way to tell that he is angry. Let’s just say many of the undead that now serve the Master were fools that had caught him on the wrong day when he was angry. The Master had also ordered an emergency meeting of the Network Inner Council at our hidden Underground Base known as Nym’Kren or dark elven for Deep Earth within the hour.
I am not a fool I realize the Master had considered the facts if things proceeded as they had been he would soon be returned back to the helpless Raven form he had been forced to assume. That was shall we say out of the question as far as the Master was concerned and something would need to be done to make sure it never happened again at least to him. I also was thankful the Master did not order the death of Jim the Weasel to make sure that flash dealing with him would not reoccur. Not to mention the effort and likely hood that we would have been forced to perhaps take on Justice I am sure Narvada would have loved the chance to offer Jim the Weasel a deal to save his life. Either way I would like to hope that he was looking at the Narvada as the bigger threat after all Jim would now only be fourteen years old and perhaps by Hecate he could be saved and Narvada foiled without killing him.
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