The Masters next move would have been to see to the unconscious Elena the Abomination while I saw to the needs of the Water Orc my Master newest servant Christine. Sadly due to some interesting information learned by Mandy the Simulacrum from the supposed Simulacrum of Drago and observed by Kameron things were of course going to become interesting. I should also make note in advance about a ripple in time that has drastically changed the past and the present. For indeed the Master had changed and his Empire had grown and the Underworld was no longer something he had grown beyond. Instead he had taken the time ten years ago to found a University on Aurora called the Network which in turn was nothing for than a front for a Crime Syndicate which was now controlled by the Masters first apprentice Kal’Rath Alet’tar his own first apprentice Vash Laren and of course yours truly.
To make matters simple the so called simulacrum of Drago had shall we say in the past been using a relic Wand of Wonder in the past and had actually changed more than just a little bit. The Master had already deduced that something had changed which was why he had instructed one of his personal simulacrums Mandy to be precise to look into the situation.
Meanwhile the Master had been checking in on Kal’Rath and Dark Changling Vash Laren his apprentice among other things who together were running the Network University basically a Magical University which was in reality a front for a Criminal Syndicate based out of Aurora in Ochain. Suffice to say the Master did not exactly run it on paper but when he had in reality financed and oversaw the entire operation you could just as well say that he did. It’s not that by themselves extortion, racketeering, murder-for-hire, or the selling of hard to acquire substances were really all that bad. After all in reality the entire network is actually quite small rarely ever more than two hundred members at a time. Of course with the Master’s communication network it was often quite easy to place a member near a target without their notice. Really he wanted to find out if the Mordalfus situation was getting of hand and to assign someone to look into the operations of the Loyalists. Strictly second hand observations to be sure.
On another note there was the business he had helped another of his former apprentices set up right in the middle of Center in Perciphea. It operated under the name of Markessa’s Companions Service and Inn. Suffice to say but after a trip to the Plane of Shadow some twelve years in the past my Master had realized that something was missing from perhaps the most diverse place on the planet. So of course my Master saw a niche and decided to fill it and who better to run it then his former apprentice the Warforged Markessa Nogar. Now she was actually quite different than most Warforged but while interesting she was nothing like Tiberius. For she actually had been constructed with Psion qualities and looked distinctly female but perhaps it was the fact that she did not need to sleep that made her the perfect choice for the job. She actually ran two operations out of the same location a Courtesan Service and of course the Inn and Restaurant. Of course while the food in Center is perhaps the most drool you will ever find with the whole stone to flesh meat situation. The service and the décor are beyond top rate for no expense was spared to provide an elegant dining as well as sexual experience. Suffice to say a popular place for those who are up and coming or who have already made it who prefer their discretion.
The Master had wanted to check in with Markessa to make sure she kept an eye on the political operation within Center. For the elections were heating up and with Justice being the most recent up and coming Gang in town the Master wanted to make sure she kept an eye out for Loyalists looking to frame Justice since it looked like they had landed on their to do list or should I honestly say there to die list. The Master figured something more had to be going on then was obvious but facts were missing and he realized that he needed to find those facts sooner than later. While he did not plan to actually forge a direct merger of his Operations with Justice he did decide at that moment that after witnessing firsthand how hotheaded Justice could be he was not going to put any of the Network operatives at risk.
Obviously the Loyalists were going to be a problem for their factions were deeply entrenched in almost every aspect of life in Perciphea. What with the Corruption District which was run by General Nefarious they controlled at least fifty percent of the armed forces of the entire nation which included of the course the Templar’s. One could of course not forget the Estate District ran by Klon Barr who had been given a kill order on Justice by the Mysterious Leader of the Loyalists. He of course seemed the weakest link since he was actually helping Justice indirectly with the Orphanage and Magical Academy that Drago had already set up. With at least fifty percent of their financial capitol coming from the Estate District which had only recently been absorbed by the Loyalists the Master would have to deal with him. Of course Internal Affairs and Crane would eventually play a part but I would soon find that perhaps there was more to their District then meets the eye. Let’s not forget of course the Drug District and Samuel Dickens who in my mind was not that bad. Be it as a person or the District he oversaw but then again we have Kameron on our side and even the temporary alliance which Justice had forged had cost Kameron his life.
Speaking of Kameron I had already seen that his well I don’t really quite know what to call exactly it but suffice to say his temper more often than not gets him into more trouble than he can often handle. I will not even go into the whole affair with the Dark Changling Monk Marketh Abolay who almost took his life some twelve years in the past. Since after all that day was a day filled with blessings and curses shall we say. The blessing was that one of Marketh’s companions the Dark Changling Wizard Picard had been trying to gain the Masters favor to find an apprenticeship for a cousin of his named you guessed it Vash. While the curse had to do more with his other traveling companion the Dark Changling Arcane Maren the Wizard-Rogue-Mindbender-Assassin. Who had of course taken a liking to Kameron but of course he had vanished for twelve years otherwise I am sure Kameron would have been slain and his soul burned into a magic item by his best friend Picard.
So moving on Mandy had begun her discussion with the presumed simulacrum of Drago who actually wished to be called by another name Lazarus. It is worth noting that Mandy does possess the intelligence of the Master so it was fairly obvious for her to deduce that Lazarus was likely more powerful then he should have seemed. She of course had begun her discussion diplomatically and soon had found out in telepathic confidence that Lazarus was likely the soul of a former outsider using the simulacrums body as a host to enable it to redeem its soul. She even offered to aid it and even keep its identity a secret which would be shared only with the Masters inner circle. She also made sure to let him know that she would be his official liaison and the Master would not publically acknowledge any of their dealings unless there was a threat of a kill order.
Things should have proceeded smoothly after that for the Master at the moment was waiting for his Earth Elemental to emerge from the earth with Elana and probing his new acquisition the Water Orc Christine with eyes filled with lust. No doubt that was why he had missed Kameron deciding to take action and order his Abomination friend Eagle to grab Lazarus while he put up an anti-magic field. Mandy it seemed had failed to conceal her interest in Lazarus and the potential profit that might be gained for the insight that could be gained from him. Kameron was not fooled which is something worth noting for the record
Kameron went in action ordering Eagle to take hold of Lazarus while he drew his mace and summoned forth an anti-magic field. Mandy who would have flown off Lazarus was left to stand there helpless while her telepathy and her link to the Master were cut off. I should note that orders had been issued concerning Kameron. He was considered DO or dangerous observe as opposed to KO for standing kill order or DA for dangerous avoid at all costs. So Mandy did not immediately take action against Kameron. For while she and Armana had concluded a method to take him down if necessary after their failure to keep an eye on him before they also realized that unless they had a KO on Kameron it was not worth the risk. So it was a standoff which left the Master to come up with a solution to the problem as usual.
Alth was speaking for Mordalfus who had departed for the roof and asked Kameron to cease and desist but it was of course to no avail. Armana meanwhile followed Mordalfus for it seemed that someone had arrived on the roof of the Safehouse. The Master believed he would be able to resist the anti-magic field of Kameron’s but his magic proved too strong. So the Master fell back to his formidable diplomatic skills. Kameron would not be moved of course as he felt since he had not witnessed the creation of Lazarus then something had to be wrong. Even Alth, and Drago or for the matter Lazarus were unable to move him from his course. Thankfully the Master realized that perhaps he could rely on one of Kameron’s weaknesses dealing with women. It’s ironic that children, drug dealers, and abusers of women were on Kameron’s hot list and the only one the Master shared with him was children.
Sadly that was not the end of the problem for while the Master had persuaded Kameron to let him deal with Lazarus he then started moving for the unconscious Elena yet another Abomination. I had been left to guard her along with Mandy and the Master’s Earth Elemental once again it was the Master order that held me back. He had dropped his anti-magic field to make his approach and while I had remained hidden and invisible the thought did cross my mind to just put him down. Don’t get me wrong I like Kameron it’s just that he is just so unpredictable and chaotic it can be really unnerving at times. Thankfully his efforts were halted by an order from Mordalfus who had come down from the roof to rebuke Kameron.
Kameron I could tell did not like that and decided to transport himself away to his temple of Ares in the Waste. Thankfully he was still in the guise of Ulfgar the Dwarf and his acting skills allowed him to pull off that he was another recruit visiting the temple. Armana had of course borrowed the Masters crystal ball to observe the situation and make sure that Kameron did not start anything that the Master would have to finish. The Master even spoke to him thru the link he had created and Kameron told him he was alright and just needed to cool off and to let him know when he was needed.
Looking back it was quite ironic for the Master needed him then but he of course realized that he had work to do and he could not afford to let Kameron’s chaotic moods get in the way. He also was digesting the information from Armana regarding two new allies who had been told to visit on this very day by Tiberius. It seemed he must have travelled back to the past as well and events were just now catching up. The Master and I had put it together that very moment must have been when Drago, Mordalfus, Kameron and Ti had vanished on the Plane of Shadow and right before the self proclaimed Virgil the Great the Awakened Plant who claimed quite convincingly that she was product of a dragon and a mortal.
It fell into place for if they had not returned the Master might never had escaped from what I tend to call the “The Seduction of the Master” at the Counting House on a Demi-Plane called Azzagrat adjacent to the Plane of Shadow. The Master had been there to locate a renegade of Graz’zt who had created the Demi-Plane named Raxivort. Raxivort had of course stolen something from the hidden vault of Graz’zt and the Master wanted access to that vault in exchange for providing a way to contact Bel the Master Father and rival of Graz’zt. It might not have worked for while in a sector called Samora the wiles of its ruler Maretta the Succubi Sorcerer had failed to even impress the Master when he had arrived at the Counting House her den of ill repute and actual inspiration for Markessa’s Companions Service and Inn.
I should mention that it was due to the actions of Kameron and his duel with Dark Changling Monk Marketh Abolay that had put Maretta on alert and caused her to summon her cadre of protectors called the Lady’s Lancers a patrol of thirteen female Half-Fiends. I shall make a long story short for while the other inspiration was the Inn/Tavern/Restaurant known by many names perhaps my favorite “You want it we got it!” was where members of Justice had decided to go spend some time waiting the five hours it was due to take for Picard to acquire a new spear for Kameron. Let us just say they made quite an impression in the area where you can fight for you food then have it prepared and served to you. Mainly due to the fact that the storytelling skills of the Awakened Plant Virgil had proved impressive enough for them to make killing gambling on their success much to the anger of many.
Meanwhile the Master had been enjoying what had only been a dream to him before in the loving arms of Delilah Varosh a Dark Changling Half-Fiend Rogue-Sorceress who had drawn the other Ladies Lancers into an orgy of flesh and blood with them that I had feared the Master would never escape. He had even had me pass a number of Avasculate spell into rings of spell storing that had been acquired by Lazarus just to get him to leave. Suffice to say Justice returned and were able to pull the Master away from his pleasure and focus his mind back on business. This also eventually led to him returning for Delilah after making the deal with Raxivort acquiring a Staff of the Magi for his efforts. The Master even offering her a life as a companion and business partner which she accepted and they have been together ever since much to my dismay.
Let me just say perhaps she was a useful bit of chaos in the Masters life that allowed him to acquire the patience to put up with Kameron. Seriously Delilah is a chaotic individual but thankfully a smart one so her frequent sexual pranks and tricks have only served to make her as my Master would say a pleasant distraction. To make it clear she makes the worst of Tiberius and Kameron almost pale in comparison. Her only saving grace so far has been that she is a wild Becomer like the Master used to be before we met and she truly loves him. Their daughter Shay Quickshar thankfully has helped her to calm down and a fiercer protector I doubt a child has ever known.
With Kameron off brooding the Master was left to perform an interrogation of Elena. Not what you might think by the way for while he could have turned her over to Kal’Rath for interrogation he chose instead a magical mind probe to delve into the recesses of her mind. The Master was kind and even elicited questions from the remaining members of Justice to assist in her interrogation. The Master dived in with a vigor I often only see when he is with one of his many consorts and soon the life of Elena was laid bare.
The Master learned of her nature and her past friendship with Jossen who she sadly had trusted. He even learned enough additional information to find that she sought love and the person she desired just happened to be a Master Bowmaker who operated with the area of the city overseen by Justice. The fact that he was an associate of Ti’s was just a convenient occurrence. The others were quite pleased for if everything worked out she would soon become an ally of Justice something they really needed. So a consensus was reached and Elena would be taken to her shop the truth revealed and from her mind the Master was sure she would accept the terms of an alliance.
Elena had been taken to her shop and since she had been working with Ti the Master stepped back and let him take the lead and even provided a pair of sending stones to enable her to contact Ti if she ever needed assistance. The Master had even instructed me to classify her DO and assign a Network Ghoul to her exotic clothing shop to keep an eye on her and make daily reports to the Network which of course would be relayed back to the Master. Of course with Jossen’s ability to stop time it was not perfect but Elena felt sure that she could protect herself now that she had realized the Jossen had indeed become drunk with his lust for power. As an additional benefit she would assist in spreading counterintelligence with the eventual goal of destroying the rumor of the artifact pants of Mordalfus.
With a dent finally in the whole tale of Mordalfus’s pants a sense of relief had come over the Master. I realized then that the Master actually cared for Mordalfus and listened to him not just because of philosophical reasons but because he actually loved him. He reminded him of home and the Island and I even then realized that every endeavor the Master had been working on with such vigor the last twelve years had been leading to the moments that were now upon us. He did not seek to control Justice he had wanted to create an organization in the world that would enable him to one day attempt to try to bring peace, love and happiness to all and if Justice proved to be the spearhead which help make his dream a reality so much the better.
Next up would be coming to an arrangement with the Loyalists starting with Klon Barr the Head of the Estate District. I will not say the Master is as smooth a talker as say Virgil the Great or as Diplomatic as Kameron much less as intimidating as Kal’Rath but he gets the job done with his cold calculating intelligence and get others to realize that they can often not refute his logic. For while the Master had always been diplomatic before when we had first met he was shall we say more full of himself and had complete faith in his intellect to enable him to anticipate any situation. Thankfully twelve years ago the arrival of Justice into his past had helped change things. I don’t really know how much but I do know that it made him seek additional counsel from friends when in the past he would have just moved forward.
So the Master contacted our official sacrificial lamb who was given the designation Quick another of the Masters simulacrums. Quick exemplified the more carefree and liberated side of the Master and since he was often sent in to negotiate in situations where he was not expected to return the fact that he had lasted as long as he did I suppose in and of itself is a reason to be in such a good mood. Quick was able to negotiate with Klon Barr of the Estate District’s simulacrum which actually had an office on the island. He found out about the secret meeting held by He Who Shall Not Be Named and the presence of the other three district heads. Their Corruption, Drug and of course Internal Affairs had all been in attendance. It seemed that officially the Estate and the Drug district were to extend a diplomatic hand in Justice’s direction. Then of course there was the concern Klon Barr had been approached behind closed doors by HWSNBN and told to take Justice out. Or actually to eliminate Justice and bring him their souls in gems for him to use with as he saw fit.
With the Estate being the newest addition to the Loyalists to the Master it looked like an easy way to remove a potential rival. On the other had it was revealed that HWSNBN had actually said that he had found out information which had caused him to need to give Klon Barr the orders to assassinate and capture Justice no questions asked. Klon Barr obviously was not happy with the arrangement having already becoming business partners with Drago but HWSNBN did not tolerate blatant disregard for his order and if Klon Barr delayed for too long then it would be his soul in a gem.
Quick with the aid of the Master was able to reach a compromise with Klon Barr basically letting him know that he had become fond of Justice and found them useful. In other words a valuable asset that he would consider protecting. He made the case that he would prefer an honorable solution as opposed to a scorched earth approach. Even following up with the fact that Klon Barr was being set up and if the people who would step up if he died were eventually taken out by Justice then they would have done the job for the Loyalists for free. Quick even told him that he obviously knew of the way Justice dealt with their enemies implying either eaten alive or their souls burned into magic items. He offered to save him and return him to life if the fight was fair and he was willing to give him information on his allies who would fight with him he would be willing to negotiate for a similar deal with them as well. So Klon Barr had related that his real body would be waiting in one place for six days and if Justice found him before then they would have a fair fight. Klon Barr even agreed to send the information regarding those he might want preserved to the Darkholm shop in town within six hours if he wanted Armand to be willing to let him negotiate for their lives later.
Of course Klon Barr had also left Quick with a warning that the Loyalists were holding on to a very powerful trump card. It seemed they had acquired proof somehow of actions taken by Mordalfus that were shall we say worthy of a Kill Order. It seemed the HTSNBN was holding onto information that could have the Templar turn on Justice and perhaps even demand the life of Mordalfus. Oddly the others had not seemed surprised had even surmised among themselves that it was not doubt another step in the campaign by Tiberius to plague Mordalfus for some slight which he had still not forgiven.
As Quick had departed the Master had noticed the others seeming somewhat uneasy both Mordalfus and Ti seemed somewhat uneasy. For as the Master had asked if anyone knew any reason why the Loyalists might want to be rid of them Mordalfus revealed the charter of Justice as left behind by Krueger Condail. It seemed to put it mildly that he wanted to bring about complete anarchy in order to eventually arrive at a harmonious utopia. Not really a totally unrealistic goal but it could stand to reason that it could stand in the way of the Loyalists plan for national or eventually global supremacy. As if that were not bad enough Ti revealed his true name.
It seemed that he was a Gargoyle named Travis Igor who was over three centuries old a mere blink to me having existed in one form or another for over five millennia but then again this is not my story. Ti informed the others of his true mission which it seemed had to do with the protection of Drago’s noble bloodline. For contacts of his had revealed to him that a cadre of ancient well by his standard of course Assassins known as Devils of the Black Sand had been intent on destroying that bloodline for centuries. Drago it seemed was the last of his line and not yet old enough to procreate and produce an offspring which it seemed would also need protection. Rumor had it that the Devils were a group that redefined the term mysterious and secretive and Ti spoke of them as if they were ghosts.
What little Ti did not consisted of an odd way to locate them which he explained related to seeking for a lack of reason or explanation which could speak of their presence. Sounded like perfect assassinations to me. Then again the art was well known to me and over the last decade by the Master as well. In effect Ti’s contacts had relayed to him that they were working for or somehow in league with the Internal Affairs District of the Loyalists. Well that was all that the Master needed to know for he decided right then and there he would need to summon his Inner Council and discuss this chain of events sooner than later. In the meantime he considered the worst and realized he would need to take a page from his younger self and initiate what he now called a protection protocol.
The Master informed Kameron that he was needed that they would indeed be heading for the Tower rumored to hold a child sparing Ghost. Once he arrived of course Kameron said he would need to prepare but the Master informed him he would take care of it but for the moment he was initiating a protection protocol until further notice. He next confirmed who would need protection from the elements and followed up with mind protection. Once it was confirmed he focused his will and cast protections against all of the elements and the mind which would last for two days upon Armana, Mandy, Eagle, Kameron, Drago, Ti, Aria and himself. As far as it came to us it extended protections that were already in place but the Master was of course through.
He informed the others that he would need to rest and within two hours be ready to start their journey. He informed them one he was ready he would need to only make a quick stop to drop off Christine and he would be ready. Of course during that hand off most likely to Vash he would need to speak in person with the Inner Circle since I had already arranged for everyone to be in attendance at Markessa’s Companions and Inn in one of the secret magically cloaked rooms of course. The Master had informed me that while Justice seemed to be in the right place he felt it was time to perhaps involve the Network and of course to make sure if things did not work out as expected what preparations would need to be taken to ensure that the Network continued to thrive.
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