Subject: Oh My God? - The Hazards of Divinity - Part 2 (BETA)
From: Brett Handy
Date: 10/7/1997, 12:40 AM
To: "'fanfic@fanfic.com'" <fanfic@fanfic.com>

     As the shifting patterns finally resolved into a 
coherent image, I felt a tremor run along Urd's hand and I 
looked at her in concern.  "What's wrong", I asked worriedly. 
 
     Urd smiled, "Nothing at all", she said, smiling, "I think 
I just got all my powers back". 
 
     I looked at her in surprise and she nodded, "I'm feeling 
better than I have in weeks", she insisted, "There must be a 
powersource here that we can tap into". 
 
     We'd appeared in a clearing, in what looked like a deep 
forrest.  The trees looked almost normal, a bit like oak 
trees.  The sun was shining and the sky was a brilliant blue.  
I took a deep breath and savoured the sweet smell of morning. 
"Well", I said, "At least the air's nice and clean". 
 
     Urd stretched her arms and recited a quick spell, a 
glowing bolt of energy flew from her hands into the sky, 
"There's definitely a powersource here", she said firmly. 
 
     There was a rustling in the bushes and a small child 
broke from the treeline, fleeing from some unknown predetor.  
The young boy noticed us and waved his arms, shouting, "Run! 
some trolls are coming this way!". 
 
     Urd and I exchanged a confused glance as the boy ran 
right past us and into the bushes on the other side of the 
clearing.  A moment later we realised what he was talking 
about, as a pair of hulking figures lumbered into the 
clearing.  They were carrying huge axes and stood a good ten 
feet tall.  On spotting us the two of them charged. 
 
     I drew my sabre and stepped in front of Urd, "I'll keep 
'em busy", I said. 
 
     Urd threw me a curious glace, "Why bother?", she asked, 
raising her hand.  This time a rolling ball of fire leapt 
towards the two startled trolls.  They didn't have time to 
wonder what had hit them as they were consumed in Urd's magic. 
 
     "Where the hell did those come from?", I wondered out 
loud. 


                            An Oh My God FanFic

                          The Hazards of Divinity

                                  PART 2

                                    by

                                Brett Handy


 
     "There are creatures like that all over the country 
Milord", a voice answered me from the trees. 
 
     A middle-aged man stepped out from cover, the young boy 
was clinging to his leg.  He was dressed in tattered clothing 
and his eyes looked tired, "Ever since the monsters' homeland 
was destroyed, the surviving creatures have been causing havoc 
all across Valus", he explained. 
 
     "Valus?", I asked. 
 
     The man gave me a confused look, "That's this country's 
name", he explained, "I used to be mayor of a village just to 
the south of here.  You must be from a distant kingdom indeed 
Milord...". 
 
     "You could say that", I replied, then I noticed that 
there were several other people watching us from the treeline 
and I put the sword away.  "What about your village?", I 
asked. 
 
     "It was destroyed two days ago", an old lady said, 
stepping out from where she was hiding.  One by one the 
villagers appeared, until there were nearly thirty people in 
the little clearing, "Our soldiers couldn't stand up to the 
monsters advance". 
 
     "And you've nowhere to go?", I frowned. 
 
     The mayor shook his head, "We are on our way to the 
capital", he explained, "to beg help from the princess, but we 
were attacked by those creatures...". 
 
     I exchanged a glance with Urd and she nodded, "How far is 
it to the capital?", I asked. 
 
     "Three or four days walk to the south", the Mayor 
replied, giving me a hopeful look. 
 
     Urd tapped on my shoulder and we walked a little apart 
from the villagers, "You realise that we've still got to find 
the next portal", she reminded me. 
 
     I gave her a curious look, "You'd just abandon these 
people?", I asked. 
 
     "NO!", she denied quickly, "But if we're going to get 
home, we can't be stopping off to help everyone we meet". 
 
     I pulled Skuld's tracking device out of my pack, "Where 
is the next portal that will take us closer to Washu?", I 
asked it. 
 
     The screen lit up with a map of our general area and 
there was a blinking arrow point off to the southwest of the 
screen.  I showed it to Urd, "It's not really that far out of 
our way", I said carefully. 
 
     Urd huffed slightly, "All right!", she said, "let's get 
moving". 
 
     We walked over to the mayor, "Lead the way!", I said, 
"We'll go with you". 
 
     There was a small cheer from the villagers and several of 
the younger children swarmed around us as we took to the path 
through the forrest.  Urd's expression, which started out 
rather downcast, brightened at the children's antics.  As it 
neared evening we came to the edge of the forest and the Mayor 
turned to me, "Should we make camp here Milord?", he asked. 
 
     I sighed, throughout our conversations the Mayor insisted 
on called me 'Milord', no matter how hard I protested that I 
wasn't a noble.  "That's probably a good idea", I replied, "We 
don't know what's waiting for us outside the forest".  The 
villagers split up and began to locate wood for the fire, and 
water to drink.  In no time we had a nice little camp all set 
up, some of the village women began cooking some food over the 
campfire. 
 
     I leaned up against a comfortable tree and watched the 
embers of the fire drift up into the air.  After a few minutes 
one of the younger women approached me cautiously, "Here 
Milord", she said carefully, holding out a plate of food. 
 
     "Thank you", I said noticing how empty my stomach felt,  
I began to eat it until I noticed that the young lady was 
sitting close by, watching me. 
 
     I looked at her curiously and she blushed, "Oh", she 
said, in an embarrassed tone of voice, "It's just that I've 
never met a Lord before". 
 
     "Well", I said carefully, "I'm not exactly a Lord". 
 
                                  ****** 
 
     Urd shook her head in frustration, they were suppose to 
be finding their way home, and here Brett was playing 'Knight' 
to a bunch of refugees.  She took a few bites of the food that 
the village women had prepared and grimaced at the taste.  
"Brett's cooking was much better", she muttered, placing the 
plate on the ground. 
 
     She looked around and noticed Brett sitting talking to 
one of the younger village women, he was laughing and she was 
blushing slightly.  Urd frowned and muttered a quick spell.  
No one noticed the small pop and the three little figures that 
appeared in her place.  The Mini-Urds scattered into the 
forest, moving around to where Brett was sitting. 
 
     "What do you mean you're not a Lord?", the girl asked, 
"You're wearing beautifully crafted armour and a sword like 
we've never seen". 
 
     Brett shook his head, "A good friend of mine made this 
for me as a birthday present", he explained, "And this type of 
sword is quite common where I come from". 
 
     The girl looked confused, "But you've got a sorceress 
serving you!", she protested. 
 
     The mini-Urd's bristled, until Brett laughed again, 
"Urd?", he laughed, "Serving me?!??!".  He laughed for a few 
minutes, as the girl became more and more confused. 
 
     "What's so funny?", the young woman asked. 
 
     "Urd wouldn't serve anyone", he replied, "She's the 
second most stubborn person I know!".  The Mini-Urd #1 had a 
strong urge to smack him with a tree branch, she was 
restrained by the other two. 
 
     The girl looked confused, "If you don't like her, why are 
you travelling with her?", she asked. 
 
     Brett shook his head, "I didn't say that I didn't like 
her", he replied, looking up at the stars and smiling, 
"Exactly the opposite actually". 
 
     "Oh", the girl said quietly, her eyes downcast, "I didn't 
realise the two of you were promised to each other". 
 
     "What?", Brett asked, his eyes snapping back from 
stargazing, "We're not engaged or anything", he said. 
 
     The girl's eyes sparkled slightly, "Would you like some 
more food?", she asked, noticing that Brett had finished his 
plate. 
 
     Brett nodded, "Thanks", he said, "I'd appreciate that". 
 
     "My pleasure", she said softly, hurrying back to the 
fire. 
 
     The mini-Urds pulled back slightly to have a conference.  
"I still want to smack him for that stubborn comment", Mini- 
Urd #1 complained. 
 
     Mini-Urd #2 had an serious expression on her face, "That 
girl could be trouble", she said, "I recognised the look she 
was giving Brett, even if Brett didn't". 
 
     "Brett would never even consider her", Mini-Urd #3 
commented, "He's too stuck on us!". 
 
     The three sat down to consider, "How about we turn the 
girl into a frog?", Mini-Urd #1 suggested. 
 
     "We could talk to her", Mini-Urd #2 added. 
 
     "I keep telling you that she's no competition!", Mini-Urd 
#3 insisted. 
 
     "What do you think you're doing?", came a trio of voices 
surrounding the Mini-Urd's.  The three little Urds looked 
around to find themselves confronted with three equally little 
Bretts. 
 
     Mini-Brett #1 gave Mini-Urd #1 a steady look, "What's 
this about turing someone into a frog?", he asked. 
 
     "Talk to who?", Mini-Brett #2 asked. 
 
     "Who's no competition for who?", Mini-Brett #3 inquired.  
There was no response from the three little Urds.  The Mini- 
Brett's exchanged a knowing look, "They're jealous!", all 
three concluded at once. 
 
     "WE ARE NOT!!!!", the three Mini-Urd's fumed.  What 
followed was a rough and tumble brawl.  In the end the score 
was 3 to 0 in Urd's favour.   
 
     "LET US UP!!!", Mini-Bretts 1 through 3 shouted angrily.  
Each of them were tied up and being sat on by a very satisfied 
looking Mini-Urd. 
 
     "No!", chorused the three Mini-Urds. 
 
     "COME ON!", Brett #1 insisted, "That girl will be back 
soon!". 
 
     "All the more reason you should stay here!", said Mini- 
Urd #2. 
 
     Mini Urd #3 thought for a moment, "If we let you go, 
you've got to answer the next three questions we ask you with 
a 'Yes'!", said. 
 
     The other Urds nodded.  The three Bretts exchanged 
forbidding glances, "What kind of questions?", Mini-Brett #2 
asked. 
 
     "That's for us to know and you to fear!", Mini-Urd #1 
said, "Now is it a deal?". 
 
     The three Bretts exchanged a long suffering look at each 
other before they all nodded.  With a puff of smoke Brett and 
Urd reappeared in their normal forms, just as the young 
village 
girl returned.  She passed Brett the food and looked over Urd 
closely.  Brett cautiously ate the food, giving Urd a nervous 
glance occasionally.  There was a palpable tension in the air 
as the three sat quietly looking at each other.  After a 
marathon effort, Brett managed to eat the rest of the food and 
smiled at the young girl, "Thanks for the food, I appreciate 
it". 
 
     "Not at all", she replied, blushing, "After all you saved 
our lives". 
 
     "Actually", Urd said, breaking into the conversation, 
"*I* was the one that blasted the trolls". 
 
     The girl looked at her with distaste, "I'm sure that if 
you hadn't have been here, Lord Brett would have defeated them 
all anyway", she said quickly. 
 
     Urd laughed, "Brett would have been squashed to a pulp", 
Urd said, then she looked at Brett, "Right?", she asked. 
 
     Brett sighed, "Yes", he replied blandly. 
 
     The girl looked at Brett in amazement, "You can't mean 
that!", she said, "You're a Knight at the very least!". 
 
     "But Brett wouldn't know what to do without his loving 
wife", Urd continued, "Right?", she asked Brett, wrapping one 
of her arms around him. 
 
     Brett's face blanched, but he replied with a weak, "Yes".  
The young girl did a double-take, "He's your husband?", she 
asked Urd in amazement. 
 
     Urd shrugged, "He said that didn't he?", she asked. 
 
     She then proceeded to slap Brett and walk off angrily.  
Urd was grinning broadly and Brett gave her a look that could 
freeze water, "Was that necessary?", he asked 
 
     "YES!", Urd replied grabbing him by the chin and looking 
him in the eyes, "You are mine!".  She then proceeded to kiss 
him soundly. 
 
     "Geeze!", Brett sighed, "You're really possessive!". 
 
     After a few moments Urd grinned, "Now will you please 
take me back to our tent and make wild passionate love to 
me?", she asked. 
                                  ****** 
 
     The next morning we broke camp as the sun rose and 
started out into the plains.  Not only wasn't Urd talking to 
me (that stems from me *not* saying yes to her last question), 
word had somehow gotten around that I was married to her.  
Most of the people had kept a polite distance from Urd 
yesterday, not wanting to go too near a powerful sorceress.  
Today I found that I had the same problem, only the Mayor 
walked close enough to talk to easily. 
 
     As we moved across the rolling grasslands, he told me the 
tale of how the continent was formed.  Apparently the Gods and 
Demons of this universe had fought each other to extinction, 
and in the process had split the continents.  The sub- 
continent we were on was called Lodoss.  I slipped back in 
line to where Urd was walking, "No wonder there's power here 
to burn", she commented after I'd retold her the story. 
 
     I nodded, "We're the only ones that are tapping into a 
power that was meant for hundreds", she continued. 
 
     I grinned at her, "You still haven't noticed have you?", 
I asked curiously. 
 
     "What haven't I noticed?", she retorted. 
 
     "Remember last night?", I said, she nodded and I smiled, 
"How do you think I did that 'split into three' trick with no 
powers?". 
 
     Urd's eye's widened and she examined my brow 
thoughtfully, "Well that's unusual", she said, looking 
closely, "Both the marks are there".  She offered me a small 
mirror and I examined myself carefully.  Urd was correct, the 
single diamond-shaped marking that I'd received with my wish 
had returned, but the vertical lines were still there too. 
 
     "So what does that mean?", I asked, confused. 
 
     Urd shrugged, "Damned if I know", she replied, "I've 
never seen anything like it before". 
 
     "You're a great help!", I said sarcastically. 
 
     Urd smiled innocently in response.  The march south was 
pretty uneventful, aside from Urd's continued attempts to... 
bring us closer together (which were becoming quite routine 
by now).  In a little under the four days that the Mayor had 
suggested, we crested the top of a hill and before us stood 
the royal city of Valus.  The crowd of villagers let out a cry 
of delight and began to barrel down the hill towards the 
distant city. 
 
     Urd and I were walking down the hill at a more sedate 
pace, until I noticed a troop of horseman riding out of the 
city, directly towards our refugees.  The two of us quickened 
our pace and caught up to our group just as the horsemen 
arrived. 
 
     The captain of the troops pulled his formation up in a 
straight line, "HOLD!", he cried out. 
 
     The Mayor stepped forward, "Why are you stopping us?", he 
demanded, "Our village was destroyed.. we've come seeking 
shelter..". 
 
     "I'm sorry", the Captain said, he eye's were downcast, 
"We cannot allow you into the city". 
 
     The villagers murmured uneasily, "What are you talking 
about?", the Mayor asked in a shocked voice, "Since when are 
we no longer allowed in our country's capital?". 
 
     "We're under orders not to allow anyone into the city", 
The captain repeated, "that means everyone!".  He straightened 
up in his seat and drew his sword, "You must leave now", he 
ordered. 
 
     I pushed my way through the crowd and up beside the 
mayor, "Captain", I asked, "What reason were you given for 
stopping us?". 
 
     He looked at me carefully, noting my body armour and 
sword, "Monsters have been appearing all over the country, 
some disguised as peasants... we cannot compromise the cities' 
security", he explained, "Do not come any closer or you will 
regret it". 
 
     The villagers groaned in disappointment, "Could you at 
least provide some supplies or tents for us?", I asked, "It's 
been quite a walk..". 
 
     "No", he said bluntly, "We cannot spare anything". 
 
     His men shifter uneasily and I shook my head, "I don't 
think much of your hospitality", I replied, I felt an uneasy 
stirring in my stomach and my hands tense 
 
     There was an angry mutter from the villagers, agreeing 
with my assessment and the bowmen amongst the troops half- 
raised their crossbows.  "We don't want to kill you", the 
Captain said, "But if you don't leave right now...". 
 
     "You'll kill all these defenceless people?", I asked, 
pointing at the villagers, "They've lost everything and now 
you want to take their lives?!?!?". 
 
     Urd must have caught my expression, because she began 
moving quickly forward through the crowd.  The stirring that I 
had felt had quickly grown into a burning.  The soldiers must 
have noticed something because the Captain drew back in fear.  
The villagers began backing away from me, leaving a wide 
circle. 
 
     I felt Urd tugging on my arm, "Brett!", she insisted, 
"Come on, settle down". 
 
     I shook off Urd's grasp and pointed at the Captain's 
sword, incanting a force-bolt spell.  Instead of the familiar 
blue lightning that the spell usually produced, a writher of 
black flame lanced out from my hand, melting the startled 
officer's sword in an instant.  The crossbowmen reflexively 
loosed their quarrels at us.  Urd covered the two of us with a 
hasty forcefield and the quarrels bounced off harmlessly. 
 
     "NO!", Urd shouted, as I looked towards the bowmen, she 
redoubled the strength of her shield.  I shook myself slightly 
and gave Urd a confused look, "I wouldn't hurt them or 
anything", I said in a unsteady voice. 
 
     The footmen had reached the edge of her shield and were 
banging against it with their swords.  I looked at them 
steadily, "Leave", I ordered firmly, "If you don't you'll end 
up like that sword".  For effect I held up a hand, wreathed in 
black flame. 
 
     "Retreat!", called the Captain, "We can't defeat such 
sorcerers!".  The troop of men quickly retreated, racing back 
across the plain to the city. 
 
     Urd dropped the shield and gave me a cautious look, "Are 
you all right?", she asked. 
 
     I looked at the hand that was still wreathed in black 
flames, "Not really", I replied, "What the hell is this 
stuff?". 
 
     Urd grimaced, "Hell is right", she said, "That kind of 
flame can only be produced by a demon... and at those 
levels... a pretty powerful one at that". 
 
     I shook my head, "I cast those spells exactly the same 
way you taught me", I argued, "With my normal powers back, 
they should have worked right!". 
 
     Urd shrugged, "Well", she mused, "Remember that not only 
were the Gods destroyed, so were the Demons, there must be a 
lot of untapped evil energy in this universe...". 
 
     I shuddered, "And now I'm the focus of it?", I asked. 
 
     Urd walked over and hugged me gently, "Brett", she said 
seriously, "Just remember who you are and why we're here, 
that's all I ask, don't let it change you and it won't make a 
difference". 
 
     I smiled slightly, "Oh?", I asked, "I thought *you* were 
the one that wanted to make some changes about me?". 
 
     "Of course!", Urd replied, smiling, "But those are 
changes that I know we both would enjoy". 
 
                                  ****** 
 
     The frightened villagers had regrouped a few hundred 
meters away and were looking at us fearfully.  "Please Lord 
Sorcerer", the mayor begged of Brett fearfully, "Don't harm 
us...". 
 
     He shook his head, "I'm not a sorcerer", he said calmly, 
"I have no intention of harming you". 
 
     The gates to the city which had opened for the soldiers 
to retreat through opened again, this time a smaller group 
rode through the gates.  Brett tried to relax, taking several 
deep breaths. The people riding towards them didn't appear 
very threatening.  One was wearing a long set of robes, with a 
hood and carrying a large staff, the other was wearing white 
clothing and was carrying some kind of mace.  Between the two 
men rode a young woman, she was also in white robes and her 
expression was one of grave concern. 
 
     They approached slowly and dismounted from their horses, 
"Greetings to you, travellers", the tall man said, throwing 
back his hood. 
 
     Brett nodded cautiously, "G'day". 
 
     "I'm to understand that you are here to attack the city, 
destroy everything and sacrifice all the women and children to 
a dark power", he said, leaning against his staff, "Or at 
least that's the impression that I was given by the guard 
captain". 
 
     Brett sighed, "Not at all", he replied, gesturing to the 
villagers (who reflexively gasped), "These people had their 
village destroyed, were attacked by monsters and your guards 
wouldn't let them into the city!". 
 
     The younger man in the white robes looked around in 
concern, "There *is* some kind of dark power around here, 
Slayn", he said to his companion. 
 
     Slayn nodded, "I feel it too", he agreed. 
 
     "But there's also something else", the woman with them 
announced, "Something powerful... yet gentle... something 
kind... yet chaotic...". 
 
     The two men looked at her strangely and she shrugged, 
"That's what I feel", she said. 
 
     Brett gave Urd a small smile, "She must be reading you", 
he whispered.  Urd gave Brett a frosty glance and then nodded 
to the newcomers, "Who are you?", she asked bluntly. 
 
     Slayn smiled, "You already know my name", he said, then 
he indicated his companions, "This is Laylia, a priestess of 
Marfa and Eto a priest of Falis". 
 
     Urd nodded, "My name is Urd", she introduced herself.  
The three then turned to Brett and he shrugged, "My name's 
Brett", he said. 
 
     "Why did you attack the garrison from the city", Slayn 
asked carefully, "Do you usually go around burning swords?". 
 
     "Only if they're pointed at me", Brett said blandly.  
Brett then looked at the villagers, "Those men were ready to 
hurt these villagers", he explained, "They couldn't defend 
themselves against armed men on horseback!". 
 
     Eto nodded, "I understand", he said, "It is every good 
person's duty to defend the helpless". 
 
     Laylia looked at Urd closely, "Where are you from?", she 
asked curiously. 
 
     Urd gave her a blank look, "Very far away", she said. 
 
     The mayor of the village (who had found the courage to 
stand close enough to listen) spoke up, "They appeared in a 
clearing, right out of thin air", he said, "and saved us from 
a pair of trolls". 
 
     "Trolls?", Slayn asked, "How close?". 
 
     "Three days march to the north", Brett replied.  Brett 
looked at the trio in front of him, "Can I assume you three 
will take care of these people now?", he asked, "Because Urd 
and I have somewhere else we need to be". 
 
     "Where's that?", Eto asked curiously. 
 
     "None of your damn business!", Urd snapped. 
 
     Slayn smiled gently at Urd, "If you tell us where you're 
going we might be able to provide you with some transport or 
supplies", he said. 
 
     Brett shrugged, "We're going south west", he explained. 
 
     Laylia looked concerned, "That's very dangerous country", 
she warned. 
 
     Urd smiled, "We're very dangerous people", she replied, 
grinning. 
 
     Eto laughed, "That may be the case", he allowed, "But if 
you'd like to rest before your journey, I'm sure that we could 
find you room in the city". 
 
     Brett jerked a thumb at the villagers, "Does that go for 
our friends too?", he asked.   
 
     Eto nodded, "Of course", he said, "I would never turn 
anyone away, neither would the princess".  The three climbed 
back on their horses and set off at a slow walk.  The 
villagers clambered after them.  Leaving Brett and Urd 
standing in the middle of the field, looking at each other 
wearily. 
 
     "I could do with sleeping on a bed for a change", Urd 
allowed, "And I could do with a bath". 
 
     Brett nodded, "A bed would be nice", he said, "But I 
wonder what they want in return.. there's always a catch".  
The two companions began to trudge after the mob, heading into 
the city. 
 
                                  ****** 
 
     Brett and Urd were led into the main audience hall of the 
palace, "Looks like they're not taking any chances", Brett 
commented to Urd quietly.  They were being escorted by at 
least fifty armoured knights. 
 
     A man in herald's robes approached them as they neared 
the entrance, "You'll have to leave your sword here", he said 
apologetically to Brett.  Brett shrugged and turned it over to 
the official.  
 
     "Now then", the herald continued, "Do either of you have 
any titles?". 
 
     Urd frowned, "What does that have to do with anything?", 
she asked. 
 
     "Well", the herald said, "I have to know how to introduce 
you to Her Majesty". 
 
     Brett and Urd exchanged thoughtful looks, "If I remember 
correctly", Urd said, thinking hard, "When you first arrived 
it was to replace Destiny...". 
 
     "And that means?", Brett asked curiously. 
 
     "Well", Urd said, "He was always called 'The Lord Of 
Destiny'". 
 
     Brett frowned and looked at her strangely, "Why's that?", 
he asked.  Urd shrugged, "It's a title you've got anyway", she 
said. 
 
     The herald looked satisfied, "Very well then", he said, 
"The Lord of Destiny then?".  Brett looked a little 
uncomfortable, but nodded.  Then noticed a strange feminine 
figure walking across the hall and he stared curiously, "Who 
or what is that?", he asked one of the Knights, indicating the 
person. 
 
     The Knight laughed, "What?", he asked, "Haven't you ever 
seen an elf before?". 
 
     Brett confused, "Elf?", he asked. 
 
     The Knight nodded, "She's a High Elf", he explained. 
 
     Urd was discussing something with the herald when Brett 
returned.  A few moments later the entrance doors opened and 
the two companions followed the herald into the room, 
"Presenting Lord Brett and Lady Urd, from the demise of 
Destiny", the herald announced grandly. 
 
     Brett shot Urd a disapproving glance as the two of them 
walked into the room, to which she just smiled sweetly.  They 
approached a large throne at the end of the hall, on it sat a 
rather young girl, wearing a too-large crown.  "Greetings 
strangers", she said formally, "I welcome you to my kingdom". 
 
     "Thank you your majesty", Brett replied, bowing slightly. 
 
     Urd also bowed, and mumbled something polite.  There was 
an awkward silence in the room which was broken by Slayn 
clearing his throat, "Perhaps our new guests could enlighten 
us as to where they have come from?", he asked. 
 
     "I told you there would be a catch", Brett said blandly 
(and loudly) to Urd.  There was an angry muttering around the 
room, "Please don't think that I'm being rude", he said, 
smiling apologetically to the Queen (who was looking on with 
an air of disapproval), "I'm just feeling a little tired". 
 
     The young queen smiled slightly, "Well then", she said, 
"Perhaps we should continue this tomorrow... ".  She looked 
across the room to where Eto was standing talking to a young 
man dressed in armour, "Eto, would you and Parn please show 
our guests to their room?". 
 
     Eto smiled and nodded, indicating that Brett and Urd 
should follow him.  As the newcomers left the room there was 
another angry muttering around the room, "Your Majesty!", a 
guard captain exclaimed, "How can you tolerate such bare-faced 
insolence?!?". 
 
     "He's right!", another said, "They're sorcerers damn it! 
who knows what kind of devilry they're capable of!". 
 
     "Yes", Slayn commented sarcastically, "You never can tell 
with sorcerers!". 
 
     The courtier that made the comment blanched slightly, "I 
didn't mean you Milord Slayn", he apologised. 
 
     "Enough", the Queen said sharply, "They're guests for the 
moment, and I want them treated as such!".  She stood and 
walked down from the throne, "I think that they've got quite a 
tale behind them", she commented to Slayn as he escorted her 
from the room, "A most interesting tale". 
 
                                  ****** 
 
     "I'm sure you'll like your rooms", Eto commented as he 
led us along the corridor, "They overlook the Royal 
Gardens...". 
 
     He began to prattle on about how nice the gardens were 
and I took the opportunity to examine our escorts.  Eto seemed 
honest enough, rather open and very friendly.  The other 
escort had been introduced as Parn and he seemed rather 
troubled.  I gave him a curious glance, "You look a little 
troubled", I commented to him quietly, "Something wrong?". 
 
     He gave me an unfriendly stare, "You were rather rude to 
Her Majesty", he replied, "I didn't like that". 
 
     I shrugged, "So far I'm not particularly impressed with 
this country's hospitality either", I replied shortly. 
 
     "How dare you!", Parn said, placing a gauntleted hand on 
my arm, "You speak without regard for station or rank!". 
 
     "Yup", I replied, smiling, "Rank and Station don't really 
change a person's heart, if I've misjudged Her Majesty, I'll 
apologise later". 
 
     Parn thought for a moment, one hand still on his sword, 
"I still think you're being rather insolent", he chided me. 
 
     "Look mate", I said, noticing that Urd and Eto had turned 
the corner ahead, "I have no desire to burn you down to a 
little cinder, or run my sword through you, I'm a traveller 
who just wants to go home". 
 
     Parn looked a me for a long moment and nodded, "I believe 
you", he said, the he grinned, "But I don't want to have to 
cut you limb from limb either, so how about a little more 
courtesy for people?". 
 
     I grinned back and shook my head, "I must be tired if I'm 
being that rude, I apologise", I extended my hand to him and 
he shook it firmly. 
 
     I looked around for Urd and Eto, "Err.. I think we've 
lost our companions", I observed. 
 
     "Oh don't worry", Parn said, "Eto was going to give you 
two a grand tour".  He scratched his head thoughtfully, "Well, 
if you're tired I can just show you to your room", he 
suggested. 
 
     I grinned, "That would be great", I replied, "That way I 
get to use the bath without Urd bugging me". 
 
     He raised his eyebrow, "Oh?", he asked, "I wouldn't have 
thought she'd be such a bother?". 
 
     I winked, "Don't get me wrong", I explained, "I love her 
quite a lot, I just don't think we're ready for that yet". 
 
     He gave me a quizzical look, "You arn't married?", he 
asked. 
 
     I shook my head, "Nope", I replied.  We reached the set 
of rooms that we'd been assigned and Parn led me into the 
bedroom, "Well", he said, "There's only one bed....". 
 
     I shrugged, "Don't worry mate", I explained, "I've been 
'just sleeping' with Urd for a month or so".  He looked rather 
confused and I shook my head, "It's too complex to explain", I 
said, "We'll be fine". 
 
     Parn nodded, still confused, then he snapped his fingers, 
"That's right", he said, "The two of you are invited to dinner 
this evening, Her Majesty would like to welcome you two 
properly". 
      
     "Right", I replied, "I'll tell Urd when she gets back".  
After he left, I took the opportunity to take a bath and then 
I sat down on a large sofa and waited for Urd to arrive. 
 
     About an hour later Urd finally walked into the room and 
I grinned at her, "What the hell are you doing here?", she 
demanded, "You made me go through that damn tour all by 
myself!". 
 
     I grinned, "I took the express tour", I laughed, "The one 
with only a tour of our room!". 
 
     She gave me a look that would have frozen water and 
stomped off into the bedroom.  "OH!", I called, "We're going 
to dinner with the Queen tonight! Wear something 
presentable!". 
 
     "PRESENTABLE!?!?!?!?", Urd called, "I'll give you 
'presentable!'". 
 
                                  ****** 
 
     Urd sauntered into the room, her overly ornate dress, 
causing her to stumble slightly, almost spoiling the effect.  
Brett looked almost dazed, "You're beautiful", he said 
nervously. 
 
     Urd slimed sweetly, "How nice of you to notice", she 
replied, stepping closer to him, straightening his shirt.  
Brett was wearing his usual "uniform", a loose fitting blue 
shirt and pants, that appeared to shimmer slightly. 
 
     "Err yeah", he mumbled.  He offered Urd his arm and the 
two of them walked to the door where a pair of guards were 
waiting to take them to the royal dinner that had been 
arranged. 
 
     Brett shifted uncomfortably, it seemed like wherever he 
went he felt out of place.  Glancing at the beautiful young 
woman on his arm he shook his head in amazement, Urd could fit 
in anywhere.  He glanced at the guards, and grinned as he 
noticed that their eyes had move sharply away from Urd when he 
looked up. 
 
     A few moments later they arrived at the grand dining 
room. The door swung open grandly, Brett and Urd moved slowly 
into the room, taking in everything.  The room was 
magnificent, sculptures adorned the walls and the ceiling was 
one huge mural.  A long table was set in the middle of the 
room and two places were left near one end. 
 
     "Looks like we're late", Brett whispered to Urd. 
 
     Urd noted the stir that their entrance had caused and 
smiled back, "*Fashionably* late", she replied, "There's a 
difference".  Some servants ushered them to their seats, Brett 
was surprised and a little apprehensive as he was seated 
beside the elf-girl that he had seen earlier.  The elf-girl 
was dressed very similar to Urd, and in Brett's opinion was 
*almost* as beautiful.  A hush fell over the room as Eto 
stood, and began a prayer of thanks for the meal. 
 
     After a few moments everyone began eating.  Brett tried 
to take his queues from Urd, who seemed totally at ease.  
Attempting to relax he looked around the table noticing that 
most of the men's attention was on Urd, much to the collective 
disapproval of the ladies.  Urd verbally sparred with several 
young gentlemen, laughing politely at their jokes. 
 
     "It looks like your companion knows her way around a 
royal court", commented the elf-girl. 
 
     Brett smiled thoughtfully, "Urd just manages to fit in 
wherever she goes", he said ruefully. 
 
     "Unlike yourself?", the elf asked, smiling. 
 
     "Oh, you picked that?", Brett asked uneasily. 
 
     The elf laughed quietly, "My name is Deedlit", she 
introduced herself. 
 
     Brett nodded, "I'm pleased to meet you", he replied. 
 
     "But a bit uncomfortable about it", Deedlit said, winking 
suggestively. 
      
     "You're very preceptive", Brett replied, blushing 
slightly under her gaze. 
 
     Deedlit smiled, "So what brings you to Lodoss?", she 
asked. 
 
     Brett sighed, "We're travelling home", he replied. 
 
     "You don't sound too happy about that", Deedlit observed, 
"Why is that?". 
 
     "Oh, don't get me wrong", Brett said hastily, "I want to 
get home.. it's just that it's a very long trip.. and we're 
not sure we'll even make it".  Deedlit was distracted by the 
young man on her other side and Brett resumed eating his 
dinner. 
 
     A servant poured a glass of wine and Brett shook his 
head, "I'll just have water thanks", he explained. 
 
     "Water?", the servant asked, looking confused. 
 
     "Water?!?", one of the almost-drunk knights across the 
table from Brett exclaimed, "You don't look dirty! what do you 
need water for?". 
 
     Brett gave him a smile, "Thanks, but I don't drink", he 
replied. 
 
     The Knight laughed loudly, "Are you a priest or 
something?!?!", he joked.  One of the knight's companions 
leered at Urd, "Of course he's not, look at the woman he's 
with!". 
 
     Brett's gaze turned chilly, "What did you mean by that 
comment?", he asked casually. 
 
     The Knight laughed, "Obviously a woman like *that* 
wouldn't hang around with a priest", he snickered, making a 
filthy gesture with one hand, the other knights laughed 
rudely. 
 
     Deedlit pulled back sharply when she felt a strange surge 
of energy from Brett.  She wasn't the only one who noticed, 
Eto grabbed his head in pain and Urd looked at Brett in shock, 
"Brett! what are you doing?!??!?", Urd called quickly. 
 
     The drunken knights cowered back in fear as Brett's eyes 
glowed a dull red colour and a strange aura began forming 
around him, "So you think that's funny?!?!", Brett demanded in 
a cold voice. 
 
     "N.. N... No.. ", one of the Knight stammered, "Of course 
not My lord!". 
 
     Brett's mouth twisted into a savage grin, "Oh? I could 
have sworn that you laughed earlier", he said, raising one 
hand and pointing that the group of half-drunk/half-terrified 
knights. 
 
     "Stop it now!", a firm voice ordered from the head 
of the table. 
 
     Brett glanced at the figure of the Queen, "You're 
correct", he said, "It's not these poor Knight's fault.. you 
are their ruler, they are a reflection of you!". 
 
     Urd grabbed Brett's arm, "Stop this Brett", she ordered, 
"You must not do this!". 
 
     Brett looked down at Urd's face and he shuddered 
slightly, the fire leaving his eyes.  He stumbled backwards 
and shook his head, "What's wrong with me", he gasped. 
 
     Urd helped him to a chair as a crowd of Knights wearing 
armour surrounded them in a rough circle.  "Back off", Urd 
ordered sharply to their leader, "It's your fault this is 
happening to him!". 
 
     The Knights hesitated until a clear voice rang out over 
the room, "Guards, return to your posts", the queen ordered.  
She walked around the table, followed by Eto and Slayn and 
stopped a few paces from where Brett was sitting in a chair, 
holding his head, "What is wrong with him?", she asked gently. 
 
     Eto stepped forward and gently placed a hand on Brett's 
shoulder, he closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, 
"The feeling of evil is gone", he said in amazement. 
 
     Deedlit and Parn pushed their way through the crowd that 
had gathered, Parn helped Brett to his feet, supporting him 
under one shoulder, "Let's get them to their room", he 
suggested, "We can figure it out then". 
 
                                  ****** 
 
     I awoke to the sound of voices from the next room.  
Things had become disoriented after Parn had helped me from 
the dining room and I had a vague feeling of unease. 
 
     "What exactly is he?", the Queen' voice echoed through 
the room. 
 
     "A month ago I would have been able to answer you... but 
now.. I just don't know", replied Urd's voice. 
 
     "But you are travelling with him", The Queen protested, 
"and it appears that the two of you are...", she broke off 
suddenly.  
 
     There was a low laugh from Urd, "We're good friends", she 
admitted, "But... he's a little shy". 
 
     "I know what you mean", the Queen admitted, "I have the 
same problem with a young man myself". 
 
     There was a long silence and I strained to listen.  "We 
are not from your world", Urd explained gently to the Queen, 
"We're travellers from another universe". 
 
     "That verges on the unbelievable", the Queen replied, 
"But I accept your explanation for the moment". 
 
     After another moment, Deedlit's voice entered the 
conversation, "Brett mentioned that you were going home?", she 
asked. 
 
     "Oh he did?", Urd asked, in a almost curt tone of voice, 
"When was that?". 
 
     "During dinner", Deedlit answered easily, "He said that 
it was going to be a dangerous journey". 
 
     Urd sighed, "He's right", she replied, "I don't know if 
either of us will make it home, or even if we do, I don't know 
what it will do to him". 
 
     "What do you mean", the Queen asked sharply, "is what 
happened tonight part of that?". 
 
     "Yes", Urd said quietly, "If we can't find our home 
soon... I'm afraid I'll lose him". 
 
     "Lose him?", Deedlit asked, "What do you mean?". 
 
     "Brett and I had an encounter with a demon about a year 
ago", Urd said quietly, "When I found him the demon had 
absorbed his powers and life force... the only way I could 
save him was to return his life force, but I didn't know 
exactly how much he had".  Urd's voice broke and she sobbed 
out the next sentence, "I had no time.. I divided the power in 
the demon in two and gave half to Brett". 
 
     Deedlit gasped, "He's got a part of a demon's soul in 
him!?!?", she asked in almost terror. 
 
     The Queen was also shocked, "But how did you manage to 
effect a demon?", she asked. 
 
     Urd sighed, "That's something I haven't told you yet", 
she said calmly, "Were we come from, I am a Goddess". 
 
     "A Goddess?", the Queen asked, a little catch in her 
voice. 
 
     "Does that make Brett a God?", Deedlit asked. 
 
     "That's why the demon wanted Brett's powers", Urd 
explained.  There was an awkward silence in the room and I 
unconsciously held my breath. 
 
     "So if Brett relaxes his guard, the demon comes out?", 
Deedlit asked. 
 
     "Yes", Urd said shortly, "And it's getting worse, he 
almost killed some of those soldiers outside of the city and 
then tonight after one of those Knights upset him..". 
 
     "I take it that he doesn't lose him temper often?", the 
Queen asked. 
 
     "No", Urd said firmly, "he's one of the most gentle, 
caring people I know... I've only seen him fight in self- 
defence, and certainly never over someone insulting him". 
 
     Deedlit cleared her throat, "Actually", she said 
delicately, "The Knight was insulting you". 
 
     There was silence as Urd digested the news, "So he was 
defending my honour?", she asked ruefully, "I should have 
guessed". 
 
     There was a knock on the outer door and a servant 
apologised for interrupting.  The Queen had some duties to 
attend to, so she and deedlit bid farewell to Urd.  I heard 
the door close and Urd threw a bolt across it.  A few moments 
later the door to my room opened and I quickly shut my eyes 
and feigned sleep.  Urd walked around the room, checking the 
curtains and then sat gently on the bed beside me. 
 
     "You shouldn't worry so much about me, my love", she 
whispered, brushing some of my hair from my face gently. 
 
     I opened one eye, "And you don't worry about me?", I 
asked. 
 
     Urd jumped slightly as she realised I was awake, "I've 
got to be more careful", she said, "I never can tell when 
you're awake". 
 
     I sat up slightly so I could look her in the eye, "I 
always worry about you Urd", I said gently, "I worry about 
everyone I love".  Urd leaned forward and I kissed her gently, 
she hugged me and kissed me back, pushing me so that I was 
laid back on the bed. 
 
     Then she pulled back suddenly, "Are you all right?", she 
asked, "You collapsed after we got you back here.. I don't 
want to...". 
 
     "You don't?", I interrupted her, "Since when?". 
 
     Urd gave me a steady look, "I'm serious Brett", she said, 
"If you're still uncomfortable about this...".  In response I 
pulled her back down and kissed her firmly. 
 
                                  ****** 
 
     Urd awoke feeling warm and comfortable, Brett had one arm 
around her and she was snuggled against his side.  She sighed, 
realising that last night wasn't a dream, and an almost giddy 
feeling swept over her as she realised that she'd finally 
succeeded in her goal.  Rubbing her hands over his bare chest, 
she thought back over the evening.  She'd described Brett as 
'gentle and caring' to the Princess and Elf and she had been 
right in more ways than she'd thought. 
 
     She kissed him on the ear, then on the cheek, by the time 
she reached his lips he was awake.  He kissed her back running 
one hand over her shoulders.  "Morning lover", Urd purred. 
 
     Brett blushed slightly and smiled, "Good morning Urd", he 
replied a little awkwardly. 
 
     She pulled off the bed covers and pinned Brett's arms 
back on the bed, "What's wrong?", she asked playfully, 
"Something's worrying you". 
 
     Brett smiled up at her thoughtfully, "I guess I was 
wondering where we stand now", he admitted, "I've never been 
in this kind of relationship before... ". 
 
     Urd thumped Brett on the chest, "You think too much", she 
said firmly, "Don't think for a while, ok?".  She leant down 
and kissed him seriously. 
 
     And hour or so passed, before Brett spoke up, "So where 
do we go from here?", he asked, as he brushed out Urd's long 
flowing hair. 
 
     "Where do you want to go?", Urd asked, leaning back so 
that he could brush out a particularly knotted section. 
 
     Brett was silent for a long moment, "I love you", he said 
quietly, "I want to go home, but I don't want things to change 
when we get there". 
 
     Urd grabbed the brush in mid-stroke, "So I suppose you 
want to go off and get married or something?", she asked in an 
half-sarcastic tone, with her back to him. 
 
     He looked at her with a hurt expression on his face, 
"Would that be so horrible?", he asked quietly. 
 
     "That depends", Urd said calmly, "Did you just purpose?". 
 
     Brett sighed, "I guess it was", he admitted. 
 
     Urd turned around slowly and looked at Brett carefully, 
"You'll have to do better than that!", she said teasingly, 
striking a haughty pose, she shook out her hair, "Afterall, I 
*am* the Goddess of the Past". 
 
     Brett smiled at her and dropped to one knee, "My Lady", 
he said grandly, "I would be greatly honoured if you would 
consent to be my bride, I have little to offer... except my 
undying devotion and obedience..". 
 
     Urd laughed and grabbed the front of Brett's shirt, 
pulling him up to his feet, "Of course I'll marry you", she 
said with tears in her eyes. 
 
     Brett hugged her tightly, "I love you", he said simply. 
 
                                  ****** 
 
     I walked along the corridors of the palace with a broad 
smile on my face, I couldn't help it, I felt like I was on top 
of the world.  Urd had said yes! it was like a great weight 
was lifted from my chest, I'd finally asked her and she'd said 
yes!  Resisting the urge to jump for joy I composed my face to 
a more serious expression as we entered the royal throneroom. 
 
     "My Lord Handy, The God of Destiny", the herald announced 
me.  I gave a look of surprise to the herald and he shrugged 
apologetically.  Walking self-consciously across the room, I 
bowed to the Queen and got the shock of my life when she bowed 
back.  This created a stir around the room and a low mutter 
from some of the nobles attending. 
 
     "Lord Handy", the Queen said grandly, "We wish you luck 
on your journey and I wish you every happiness".  She had a 
glint in her eye and I realised that Urd must have told her 
about our engagement. 
 
     "Thank you your majesty", I replied, grinning sheepishly. 
 
     "My Lord", came a voice from behind me, I looked around 
to see Parn and Deedlit waiting for me, "We would be honoured 
to travel with you". 
 
     I smiled carefully, "Thank you but...", I was cut off mid 
speech, by the appearance of Urd. 
 
     Urd walked into the room and smiled at Parn, "We would be 
happy to have you come along", she said to Parn. 
 
     "We would?", I asked her quietly.  Urd elbowed me gently 
and I shrugged, "Fair enough", I allowed, "Good to have you 
along", I said to Parn. 
 
     We bid farewell to the Queen and walked through the main 
hall.  "You should know better than to argue with your 
fiancee", Parn whispered to me, "Hasn't she 'trained' you 
yet?". 
 
     There was the hollow sound of metal striking metal and 
Parn winced as Deedlit 'accidentally' banged him in the side 
with her sword, "Oh, I'm so sorry dear", she said, smiling 
sweetly. 
 
     I gave him a sympathetic smile, "You too huh?", I asked 
at his nod I sighed, "My condolences...".  Then I noticed 
Urd's glare, "I mean congratulations", I amended hastily.  
After a short walk we arrived at the stables, to find five 
horses waiting for us, four riding horses and a pack horse. 
 
     "Where's the seatbelt?", I asked nervously as I climbed 
into the saddle. 
 
     Urd laughed, "I thought you were from the 'Outback'", she 
called. 
 
     I gave her a flat stare, "I'm from Brisbane *City*", I 
replied, "I've been on a horse *once* in my life! and that was 
enough.. I preferred walking".  We started out at a slow pace, 
to allow me to get used to the horse (and him to me) and after 
an hour or so I was starting to get the hang of it.  Following 
the tracking device was easy enough, it was pointing south. 
 
     That evening when we made camp I found myself in a rather 
large amount of pain.  Gingerly, I lay down on in the tent I 
was sharing with Urd and quickly rolled onto my stomach, "Now 
I know what 'saddle sores' are", I complained. 
 
     Urd teasingly poked at my backside, "I can't heal you" 
she said as I jumped, "If I do it'll mean that you'll be just 
as sore tomorrow night".  I groaned and Urd looked at me 
thoughtfully, "I know how to take your mind off it", she said 
in a low voice. 
 
     The next morning I was still sore and dreaded getting 
back into the saddle again.  Urd walked over and placed her 
hand on my shoulder, whispering a spell that would dull the 
pain.  I sat down on the horse carefully, "Why didn't you just 
cast that last night?", I asked. 
 
     "Well", Urd said, smiling sweetly, "I had other things on 
my mind". 
 
                                  ******

     We'd been travelling several days when a low rumbling began. 
Brett and Urd exchanged concerned glances as the ground began to
shake violently.  The horses startled momentarily, but the shaking
subsided and rumbling dropped off.

     "What the bloody hell was that?", Brett asked, looking over at
Parn who had a grave expression on his face.

     "It was what's left of Marmo", Parn said quietly, "After the
destruction of the Temple of Cardis the island sank into the sea
and a volcano sprang up in it's place".

     Brett noticed a wisp of smoke rising from the horizon and
examined the tracking device he was carrying, "We appear to be
heading directly towards it", he noted.

     Deedlit looked concerned, "You do not want to go there", she
warned, "It is a dreadful place, filled with the souls of those who
died in the War, monsters roam unhindered".

     Urd grimaced, "I could think of better vacation spots", she
allowed, "But if we're ever to get home, we have to use the portal
there".  The discussion ended as another tremor shook the ground. 
They started off again, at a quick trot.  That evening Brett and
Urd were relaxing near the fire and they noticed Parn and Deedlit
slip off into the trees together.

     Urd smirked at Brett, "Young love", she said, "How touching".

     Brett grinned back at her, "If I remember my legends
correctly", he said, "Deedlit is probably several hundred years
old... she's an Elf remember?".

     "So?", she asked, "I'm sure that Parn won't have any
complaints, being picked up by an old lady".

     Brett smiled innocently, "You're older than I am you know", he
commented.

     Urd frowned, "So?", she asked.

     Brett grinned, "Does that mean I can call you 'old lady'", he
asked.

     Urd stood abruptly so that she was profiled by the light, and
struck a pose, "You really think that's appropriate?", she asked in
a low voice.

     Brett gulped nervously, "Errr... ummm", he said
unintelligently.

     Urd walked forward, slowly tracing the curves of her lips with
her fingers, "Well?", she asked, her lips inches from Brett's.

     There was a rustling from the bushes and Parn rushed back
towards the fire, followed by a dishevelled looking Deedlit,
"Monsters!", Parn shouted, grabbing up his sword.  He tossed a
sword to Deedlit and the two of them stood back to back in the
middle of the clearing.   Urd and Brett jumped up, Brett picked up
his sword and unsheathed it slowly, "Where?", he asked.

     A moment later five ugly-looking humanoids burst into the
clearing, followed by several hulking shapes.  "YAA!!!", Parn
shouted, charging forward.  Deedlit moved forward beside him, her
sword held low.

     Urd and Brett exchanged a nod and the two of them began
chanting a series of spells.  Parn slashed the throat of one of the
Kobolds, it's blood washing over his sword and arm, a moment later
it's body fell to the ground, lifeless.  Deedlit blocked a blow
meant for Parn and slashed the knees of the attacker, forcing it to
the ground.  A few seconds later, a pair of lighting bolts smashed
into the remaining Kobolds, one brilliant blue, the other jet
black.

     The Kobolds hit by the blue bolt convulsed a few times, before
dropping to the ground, their bodies burned.  The ones hit by the
black one simply ceased to exist, they were burned down to cinders. 
Parn and Deedlit gulped nervously and turned around to look at
Brett and Urd.  Brett was cursing loudly, looking at his hand,
which was wreathed in black flames.

     "I can't seem to stop the other force from being used!", he
spat, "I never meant to use that much power!".

     The trolls hesitated as their allies were dealt with and
realised that they were better off attacking what they thought were
mages.  Four of them rushed forward, while the others kept Deedlit
and Parn busy.

     Urd chanted another spell and the lead troll suddenly found
himself caught in some kind of quicksand, he bellowed in
frustration.  The following three split up so that two of them
headed for Urd, while the other went after Brett.

     Brett's eyes suddenly glazed over and he spoke to the troll
confronting him in a guttural language.  The troll stopped in
confusion and looked around for it's companions (but they were busy
banging on Urd's forcefield).  It looked back at it's prey, which
was speaking to it in it's own tongue.

     "You will obey me!", Brett ordered harshly, "You will obey
your master, you will obey Phalarus!".

     The troll shuddered and dropped to one knee, "Master", it
gibbered, "I am your servant!".

                                  ******

     Urd finished dealing with 'her' trolls and looked back to see
what had happened with Brett.  He was gone.  She blinked in
confusion.  She saw that Deedlit and Parn had dealt with the other
trolls and hurried over to them.

     "Where's Brett?", she demanded, "Did either of you see what
happened to him?".

     Parn was puffing heavily and nursing a cut on his shoulder, he
shook his head, "No, I was too busy trying to stay alive", he
gasped.

     Deedlit was leaning heavily against Parn and she simply shook
her head.  "BRETT!!", Urd called, "Where are you!?!?".  There was
no response and Urd attempted a detection spell.
She screamed in pain suddenly.  Parn caught her before she could
hit the ground and he laid her down gently.

     "What happened?", Deedlit asked gently.

     Urd's eyes flickered open, "Brett", she whispered, "He's not
there any more... the presence was... *evil*".

     Deedlit and Parn exchanged a glance, "Could you sense anything
else?", Parn asked seriously.

     "Just a name", Urd replied, "Phalarus".

                                  ******

     I woke up in a small room.  Testing myself carefully I noticed
that I seemed to be free of injury.  I paced around the small room,
it was circular and the door was made of some kind of metal. 
Trying the door I found it was locked.  I was wearing my uniform,
but it's colours were different, it had changed to a brilliant
white.

     There was also a window in the room and I moved over to test
it.  It wasn't locked and I opened it.  Gulping nervously, it
looked like I was in a tower, floating in the middle of space. 
There were sparkling lights outside the tower, some nearer, some
further away.  "Where the hell am I?", I wondered out loud.

     "You're stuck here", a voice answered me.

     I turned around to see a familiar figure watching me.  It was
me! An exact copy of me, down to the last detail.  "Who are you?",
I asked anyway.

     "You aren't that dumb", the other me replied, "I'm you".

     "But.. if you're me, who am I?", I asked, confused.

     "Don't try to confuse me", the other me said sharply, "You'll
only get more confused".

     I shook my head to clear it, "Start at the beginning", I
ordered, "How can you be me?".

     "Now..", the other me said, "Take a seat".  

     He pointed and a comfortable chair appeared, it looked
familiar, "Hey! this is the chair I bought a few years back for
using with my computer!", I said, amazed.

     "Of course", the other me said, "It's the most comfortable
chair you could find for working without falling asleep in".  A
moment later another chair appeared and he sat down in it.

     "Now", he said seriously, "I want you to look at something". 
A large TV appeared in the room and an image of Urd appeared, she
was searching for something, after a moment I realised she was
looking for me.

     "Where is she", I asked desperately, "How do I get to her?".

     The other me held up a hand, "It's a long, involved process",
he explained, "First you have to determine where you are".

     "You can't tell me?", I asked.

     He shook his head, "Sorry, I'm *you* remember? you need to
figure it out first", he explained, "I'm just here to give you some
help".

     "Ok", I said, looking around the room, "I'm in a locked room".

     "That's a start", the other replied.

     I stood and walked to the window, "The last thing I remember
was the troll going after me and two going after Urd.. I was
angry.... and I woke up here", then I stopped.

     "Yes?", the other me asked.

     Pacing back and forth I ran over a few things, "So what do you
represent?", I asked finally, "Some kind of puzzle?".

     The other me grinned, "Nope", he said, "You're always talking
to yourself, here it's just more manifest than in other places".

     "Come on!", I said in disbelief, "You must represent
something, a part of me perhaps?".  The other me shrugged and
watched me walk around a bit more.

     I sat down on the bed and looked at the other me, "If you
*are* a part of me, what are you doing over there, why aren't you
inside me?", I asked.

     The other me grinned, "You're absolutely right", he replied.

     Then it hit me, "I'm locked up in my own mind?", I asked in
disbelief.

     The other me winked, "Right, I knew you'd work it out!", he
congratulated me, "You just took the first step out of here".

     "But how did I get here?", I asked, then I noticed his
expression, "I know, I've gotta figure it out myself".  I walked
around for a few minutes, thinking.

     "I bet you'd like a drink of water right now", the other me
guessed.

     I nodded, "Do you have one?", I asked.

     He shook his head, "No, but you do", he smiled.

     I thought for a moment and then grinned, willing a glass of
water to appear.  I took a deep drink of water, "So since this is
my mind", I mused, "I can create anything I want?".

     He nodded, "You created me", he replied, "You needed someone
to talk to and started discussing things with yourself".

     I grinned and looked at the lock on the door, a key appeared
in it.  I walked over to the door and turned the key, but my
double's hand stopped me, "Do you know what's behind the door?", he
asked.

     I shook my head, "Then do you think you should open it before
you know what's behind it?", he asked.

     I frowned and he pointed at the door, a spyhole appeared and
I looked through it.  There was a darkness, so black it made me
shiver.  Then it formed into a huge figure of darkness and pointed
at me, hissing.  I quickly turned the key in the lock and the metal
door shuddered, the whole building rocked as the strange creature
tried to break into the room.

     After a few moments, the attacks stopped and I breathed a sigh
of relief.  I looked over at the other me, "At least I know why I'm
in here", I said quietly, "I'm not trapped, I'm hiding!".

                                  ******

     Urd recovered quickly from her exposure to Phalarus, she
healed Deedlit and Parn's injuries.  One of the horses was missing
and so was Brett's sleeping roll.  Deedlit tracked the horse until
it met up with a large group of monsters, she stopped counting at
twenty trolls.

     "He's still headed towards Marmo", she insisted, "And with a
company or more of Trolls surrounding him, we couldn't do much
about it even if we caught up with him".

     "Speak for yourself!", Urd said angrily, "I'm more than a
match for a bunch of smelly trolls!".

     "That's not in doubt", Parn said quietly, "But are you a match
for Phalarus?".

     Urd hesitated, she'd noticed that Brett had seemed more
aggressive lately and more powerful, but she'd never dreamed that
another spirit was possessing him.  Stopping that line of thought
she gave herself a little shake and spurred her horse forward, "We
don't have a choice", she said bluntly, "If I can't defeat Phalarus
then I don't know what we can do anyway".

     Deedlit and Parn watched her gallop off and Parn shrugged, "I
wasn't doing anything else this week anyway", he said smiling.  The
two of them followed Urd, catching up with her in a few minutes.

     That evening they stopped late, Urd insisting that they make
the most use of the light while it was available.  Deedlit looked
over with her in concern as she huddled up beside the fire.  Parn
was snoring loudly and she move over to sit with Urd.  The two
women sat together for a long time, just watching the flames,
before Urd spoke up.

     "I don't know if I can fight him", she whispered.

     Deedlit was silent and placed an arm around Urd, "Get some
sleep", she encouraged Urd, "We'll deal with that when the time
comes".  Urd drifted off into a deep sleep.

                                   *****

     "Are you sure that this will work?", I asked my double
nervously.

     "No", he replied, "I'm not, but this is the best chance for
you getting some help".  Then he looked at me strangely, "Can *you*
think up anything better?", he asked.

     I grinned a little, "Obviously not", I replied.

     Looking out at the stars surrounding the tower I stepped out
the window,  forcing myself to concentrate, doing something
consciously, that I'd only previously been able to do while asleep. 
I floated a few feet from the window and noticed a thin cord
reaching from myself to the tower, it glowed a brilliant gold.

     "There you go", my double encouraged, "Now all you have to do
is find Urd, follow the red strings".

     "What red..", I began.  Then I broke off, noticing several red
lines coming from my chest and streaking off into the distance,
many of them in one direction, disappearing into the distance,
while one of them, the thickest, seemed to only go to one of the
closer stars.

     I pushed myself towards that star and watched as the tower
disappeared behind me, the golden cord played out behind me and I
noticed that I wasn't just following a single cord, there were
several, some were just smaller.  I finally reached the star and
was surrounded by light, when it finally cleared I was approaching
a planet, the red lines were concentrated in one place and I willed
myself there.

     "URD!", I called, as I landed in the middle of the camp, she
was the source of the thickest red cord.  There were also two
smaller cords connecting myself with Deedlit and Parn.  I noticed
that everyone appeared to be sleeping and I tried to place a hand
on Urd's shoulder, only to have it slip through and I stumbled.

     Urd whimpered in her sleep, I stumbled and ended up sitting
beside Urd, one of my arms had passed straight through her, I moved
closer to her and touched her brow.  I suddenly found myself sucked
into her dreams.

                                  ******

     Urd screamed as she threw a bolt of energy at the possessed
form of Brett.  She winced as it hit his body and he convulsed. 
She crawled over to him, cradling his dead body in her lap, cursing
herself for a fool.

     "Why did it have to be me that killed you?!?", she screamed.

     A smiling figure filled her vision, "You killed me?", Brett
asked, "How rude!".

     Urd looked down at the body in her arms and then at the face
of a smiling Brett, wearing some brilliant white clothing.  She
shook her head in confusion, "What's going on?", she demanded.

     "You're dreaming", the newly arrived Brett explained, "I'm
trying to contact you".  He looked around, "Looks like you're
having quite a bad nightmare", he observed, noting the dead bodies
of friends surrounding them.

     "But", Urd began, looking at the dead body which dissolved as
she watched, "How?".

     Brett helped her to her feet and as she watched, the
battlefield disappeared and a beach with a calm sea appeared, "How
did you do that?", she demanded.

     "Ahhh", Brett said, grinning, "It appears that I have some
abilities I didn't know about...".  Urd looked around more closely
and remembered the time that she and Brett had visited some of his
favourite spots in Australia, this was one of them.

     She reached out a hand and touched his cheek, "It really is
you", she said.

     Brett grinned and kissed her hand, "Of course it is!", he
looked at her and raised his eyebrows, "You're so stubborn
sometimes".  She grabbed his head and pulled forward, kissing him
soundly.

     After she broke for breath Brett gave her a serious look.  "I
should explain what's happening", Brett said, he gestured and a
comfortable sofa appeared, he sat down, motioning for Urd to sit
beside him.  And over the next few dream minutes explained what
he'd experienced.

     "So you're hiding in your own mind?", Urd asked, frowning,
"You can't kick whatever it is out?".

     Brett shook his head, "Nope", he explained, "It's far too
powerful, it seems to be drawing energy from the universe itself,
I can't beat him.. at least... in this universe".

     Urd gave him a confused look, "You mean..", she began.

     Brett nodded, "I could probably take over for a moment or
two.. if that's enough then I could force him through a portal..",
he said cautiously.

     "You don't sound too confident", Urd said, "using 'probably'
and 'if' doesn't sound like you".

     Brett looked uncomfortable, "I'm not really familiar with any
of this", he said, "But I'm not gonna give up my body to whatever
that thing is".

     "Well", Urd said, "the impression I got from it was that it is
known as Phalarus".

     "This world's god of evil?", he asked.

     Urd nodded, "He's very powerful.. I don't know if I could
defeat him".

     "You could if you had some help", Brett mused, "If I strike at
the same time as you do, it'll confuse it and I might be able to
take it through the portal".

     Urd sighed, "It still seems pretty risky", she complained.

     Brett grinned, "Of course it's risky!", he said jauntily,
"That's all part of the fun!".

     Urd punched him in the shoulder and he grinned wider, "It's a
dream remember?", he said, pinching her.  She jumped and then
realised that she couldn't feel it.

                                  ******

     "Brett is alive!", Urd said to Parn and Deedlit the next
morning as they had breakfast, "He spoke to me in a dream last
night".

     Parn looked skeptical, "Are you sure this isn't just wishful
thinking?", he asked.

     Urd gave him a understanding look, "I realise it seems
strange, but Brett has always seemed to have an ability with
dreams", she explained, "I've shared a number of them with him". 
She went into detail about what Brett had told her the night before
and some of the disbelief left Parn's face.

      "That plan is interesting", Deedlit said, "but what will
happen if you dump Phalarus out of Brett between universes?".

     Urd paused, "I don't know", she admitted, "But if it saves
Brett, I don't care".  She went about packing up her things.  Parn
and Deedlit exchanged a nod and the two of them quickly followed
Urd's lead and they resumed their pursuit of Phalarus.

                                  ******

     Sherris quickly ran her sword through the last Kobold and
turned around to see her partner leaning on his massive sword,
watching her thoughtfully.  She wiped her sword clean and gave him
a curious look, "What are you doing?", she asked.

     "Oh", he said in a quiet voice, wrapping his sword back up and
hefting it onto his shoulder, "Just noticing how efficient you've
become dealing with these things".  The two of them walked back
over to where they'd left their horses.

     "So!", Sherris said, raising one eyebrow, "Admiring my form
are you?".

     Orson stumbled slightly and gave her a confused look, "I beg
your pardon?", he asked.

     Sherris shook her head, "You're a great partner Orson, but you
don't have a clue...", she stopped as she heard a chorus of
guttural calls from the road they were about to travel.  Dropping
to the ground, the two crept closer to the edge of the thicket and
saw something that cause both of them to draw a shuddering breath.

     Advancing down the road was a small army of trolls and
kobolds.  They numbered in the low hundreds, but more amazingly,
they were arrayed in tight formations, rather than the usual unruly
mess.  There seemed a definite undercurrent of discipline that was
completely at odds with every experience the two warriors had with
the monsters.

     "What could be happening?", Sherris wondered out loud.

     Orson placed a hand on her shoulder and pointed to the middle
of the formation.  Riding high in the saddle was a tall young man,
wearing a strange form of body armour and carrying a light sword. 
There was a space around him which no monster invaded and his
expression was one of supreme confidence.

     The army was coming closer and Sherris tugged on Orson's arm,
"Let's get the hell out of here", she whispered.  The two sprinted
for their horses, and not a moment too soon as a pair of Kobolds
marched right through the area they'd been occupying for the last
few minutes.  The Kobolds (not being the most observant creatures)
continued through the thicket, not noticing the disappearing
figures of the two warriors.

     In the centre of the army, Phalarus nodded in satisfaction as
his army advanced.  This body had an aptitude for tactics and the
new strategies it had picked from it's memory were indeed
interesting.  Phalarus smiled at the thought of finally devouring
his host's soul, the soul that was hiding in the deepest part of
the body's mind would not escape him forever.

                                  ******

     Urd, Parn and Deedlit were pushing their horses as far as
possible and Deedlit's sharp eyes had picked up the tell-tale dust
clouds rising from the small army they were trailing.  They had
just stopped to discuss what their next move was, when the sharp
whinny of a horse distracted them.  Parn and Deedlit drew their
weapons and Urd prepared a quick spell.

     "Glad to see you too", came the sarcastic voice of Sherris at
the sight of the drawn weapons.

     Parn and Deedlit both lowered their weapons and smiled, "We
should have expected to see the two of you here", Parn said wryly,
"Trouble has a way of find you".

     "As opposed to not finding you?", Orson replied softly.

     Urd gave the newcomers a frown, "Are you going somewhere in a
hurry?", she asked, noting the exhausted look of their horses.

     Sherris gave her a smile, "No one in their right mind would
try to fight that army by themselves", she observed.

     Urd looked interested, "Did you see a young man, in his early
twenties, wearing blue armour?", she asked quickly.

     Sherris nodded, "We saw him all right", she said, in an almost
angry tone, "Riding along in the centre of the army, I think the
hordes of Marmo have a new leader".

     Deedlit and Parn exchanged a long look and then Deedlit turned
to Urd, "Do you still want to go after him?", she asked softly.

     Urd spurred her horse forward in reply.  Parn and Deedlit
watched her go silently.  "What's with her?", Sherris asked,
confused. 

     "Her fiancee is the one leading that army", Parn said quietly,
"She's going to try to get him back".

     Deedlit nodded, watching Urd get further and further away, "If
she can't defeat him, Phalarus will come back into the world", she
said softly.  Sherris and Orson exchanged a concerned glance and
Sherris turned her horse after Urd, "Well, what are we waiting
for?", she asked grandly.

     Over the next few miles, Parn and Deedlit explained the story
in more detail, Sherris whistled slightly at the thought of
Phalarus being reborn.  Orson remained silent through the
explanation and nodded as they explained how Brett was possessed,
"That's a fight I fight every day", he observed solemnly.

     "Well", Sherris grinned, "It looks like we're going to be
helping you two out again".  Parn and Deedlit smiled and the four
companions tried to close the distance to Urd.

                                  ******

     Sherris walked over a hill to see a large pool, with some kind
of canvas tent beside it.  She was confused, one moment she'd been
lying down to rest for the night and the next she was here.  She
turned sharply as a footstep echoed behind her, she looked into an
equally confused Parn's face, "Sherris? is that you?", he asked.

     "Over here!", came a call from down near the pool.  Deedlit
was idly dipping one of her feet into it and seated beside her was
Orson, he smiled, "Nice place huh?", he asked as Parn and Sherris
stopped by the pool.

     "But where are we?", Parn wondered, looking around carefully.

     "You are sleeping at your campsite", came a voice from inside
the tent.  The four reached for their swords, only to find they
weren't wearing any.  Brett stepped out into the bright sunlight
and smiled at them broadly.

     "You!", Sherris spat, "How did you do this to us?".

     Brett frowned and took a step back at the anger in her voice,
"Sorry", he apologised, "But I couldn't ask your permission".  He
looked distracted for a moment and nodded, "Urd's just fallen
asleep", he announced, "She should be here soon".

     True enough, a few moments later Urd came walking down the
hill.  Seeing Brett she ran forward, pulling him into a hug.  Brett
grinned sheepishly at the four warriors, "Sorry about not asking
first", he said carefully, "But if we're going to get rid of
Phalarus we'd better plan a little first".

     Parn looked around, "Nice place you've got here", he noted,
"How'd you do it?".

     Brett looked around curiously, "Actually", he admitted, "I'm
not sure".  Parn gave him a frown and Brett shrugged, "I didn't
even know I *could* do this until yesterday".

     Orson sat down and rested his feet in the pool, "Well it's
comfortable enough", he noted, "A nice place, even if it is a
dream".

     Brett smiled at his comment and gestured for everyone to sit
down, "I'm afraid that unless we can do something soon, Phalarus is
going to get past my defences", he said seriously.

     Urd looked concerned, but Brett shrugged at her look, "There's
nothing I can do about it", he admitted, "This is his universe, not
mine".

     "What do you mean?", Deedlit asked, "Urd said you'd locked
yourself away from him".

     Brett nodded, "I'm keeping as much from him as possible, but
each minute he overwhelms more of my mind.. it's like a wave
crashing against the shore.. sooner or later, the waves will win",
he explained.

     "He's already gotten past much of my memories", Brett said
seriously, "But some of the more exotic things have confused him...
and he's fascinated by some of the military stuff I remember".

     "I think we saw some examples of that", Sherris explained,
detailing what she'd see of the army.

     Brett nodded thoughtfully, "That's what I would be doing in
that situation", he noted.  Then he smiled, "Well I think we just
found our first advantage", at everyone's blank expression Brett
grinned, "Who do you think knows my weaknesses better than me?".

                                  ******

     Urd drifted in the dream pool for a long time, she revelled in
the sensations and smiled as she felt Brett's arms around her and
he kissed her lightly on the lips.  She opened her eyes and placed
her arms around his neck.

     "This is wonderful", she sighed, "Let's stay here forever".

     Brett shook his head, "This isn't real remember? it's just a
dream", he said sadly.

     Urd gave him a fond look and ran a finger lightly along his
jawline, "Even if this is just a dream", she said, "I can't think
of another place I'd rather be".

     "Well now", he said, grinning widely, "I could think of one or
two places I've been that were better".  Urd smiled and then
suddenly gasped as the dream dissolved around her.

     She awoke to find Deedlit bending over her, shaking her arm,
"Come on Urd, wake up!", she insisted.

     Urd battered Deedlit's hand away, "Go away!", she insisted, "I
was having the nicest dream".

     Deedlit grinned at her, "Oh I can imagine", she said.

     Urd shook herself awake and sat up, Parn and Sherris were
grinning at her from across the fire, "Is it time?", she asked
them.

     "It's a couple of hours before dawn", Parn said, "You've got
a few minutes to get ready".

     Sherris nodded, "Brett told us to wake you up early", she
apologised.

     Urd's eyes narrowed, "I'll have to talk to him about that",
she mused.  The others laughed and Urd sat down to what passed for
breakfast in this world.

                                  ******

     Phalarus awoke slowly and lazed for a few moments in his
bedroll, enjoying the sensations of awakening after the thousands
of years of having no body.  One of the trolls approached,
grovelling, "Master", it said in respectful tones, "Our scouts have
not returned". 

     "Send out a group of trolls", Phalarus replied, "Kill any
human you see, if you come across serious opposition, one troll is
to retreat with the news, the others are to block the attackers". 
He rose his voice so that it carried across the army, "We're moving
out in ten minutes", he ordered.

     The monsters obeyed without question, the last troll to
question Phalarus was blasted down into fine dust and they weren't
going to push it.  As he climbed up onto his horse Phalarus
examined the tracking device that a goddess named Skuld had give to
his host.  He was following along where the device was pointing,
because a dimensional portal was just what he needed.

     He laughed at the thought of placing his fellow evil gods in
the bodies of the monsters surrounding him.  "It will suit their
personalities", he smiled savagely.

     After a day of harsh travel, his army made camp on the edge of
the southern sea, the glow of the volcano of Marmo lit up the night
sky and Phalarus nodded in satisfaction.  Another troll approached
him, "Master", he said respectfully, "The group of trolls have not
returned".

     Phalarus's eyes narrowed, "Oh?", he said, then he looked
across at the island in the distance.  "WAKE UP!", he thundered,
magically amplifying his voice.  The army shifted around him,
monsters awakening, "We are going across now", he ordered, "We will
not wait until tomorrow!".  There were a few grumbles from the
massed creatures, but a sharp glare from Phalarus halted any
further unvoiced comments.

                                  ******

     "They're going across", Parn whispered to Deedlit, "It's time
to get moving!".  The two quietly moved away from where they were
observing the army and rejoined Urd and the others, "What now?",
Sherris asked, "How do we get across before them?".

     Urd raised her arms, "This is going to take a lot of power",
she announced, "So keep your cool, I don't need any distractions". 
She began chanting, her voice rising musically over the clearing. 
The air around the group began to glow with a silvery light and the
horses shuffled around uneasily.  Deedlit and Parn quickly settled
them.  The air began to move slowly around them in a circle. 
Faster and faster, until they were standing in the middle of a
whirlwind of leaves and branches.  Sherris looked around uneasily,
although she could see the movement, all she felt was a light
breeze, "I hope she doesn't make a mistake, we'd look really silly
spread out over half the continent", she observed.

     Orson, quickly slapped a hand across her mouth, effectively
silencing her further comments.  As the whirlwind reached it's
peak, they began to rise from the ground, moving quickly across the
open waters and to what was left of the island of Marmo.  They
landed on the uneven ground and the wind disappeared as suddenly as
it had started.  Urd half-staggered over to her horse and took a
long drink of water, puffing slightly.

     "Well we're here", Sherris noted unnecessarily, "What now?". 
The growling of a large troll answered the question for her and the
group suddenly found themselves under attack.

                                  ******

     Brett watched as Phalarus put his plan to capture his friends
into place and he nodded thoughtfully, "Good plan", he noted, "I
couldn't have done better myself".

     The other Brett agreed and then looked around the room at the
collected objects that Brett had been protecting from his memory,
"Are you sure that this is enough?", he asked.

     Brett shook his head, "I don't know", he replied, "But it's
something that Phalarus isn't going to expect"

                                  ******

     Urd was pushed roughly to the ground and her wrists chafed
from the bindings she was forced to wear.  Behind her, Parn,
Deedlit and an unconscious Orson were also dropped to the ground. 
She looked up and her breath caught in her throat, standing,
looking down at her was the familiar form of Brett.

     He had a cruel look in his eye and his face was twisted in a
sardonic smile.  "So", Phalarus said firmly, "The Goddess of the
Past is no match for the God of Evil".

     Urd refused to reply and cringed away when he gripped her jaw
forcing her to look him in the eye, "Why so shy?", he asked evilly,
"You seemed passionate enough back at the castle".  Involuntarily
Urd's eyes opened wider and Phalarus nodded, "You think that this
spineless mortal I inhabit would have had the courage to make love
to a goddess?", he sneered.

     "You're lying!", Urd spat.

     Phalarus smiled, "Maybe I am", he mused, "But then again.. who
knows?".  He laughed at the expression on her face and turned to
look at her companions, "More vessels for my kind", he said,
looking at them, "How kind of you to sacrifice yourselves to bring
the dark gods back to Lodoss".  He gestured to the trolls, "Bring
them", he ordered, "But don't hurt them too badly".

     Urd and the others found themselves dragged towards the
volcano.  At the base of the huge mountain, they were pulled inside
a cave.  Urd noted that Phalarus was constantly checking the
tracking device and she nodded once to Parn who winked in response. 
As they reached the middle of the mountain they felt a gust of
searing hot wind and Urd closed her eyes involuntarily.  They
walked out onto a small shore, before a lake of lava.  Urd tried to
shelter her eyes from the heat of the boiling rock.

     Phalarus seemed unaffected by the heat, he walked over to the
edge of the lake and examined the tracking device, "It will appear
here", he said, point to the empty air, over the lava.

     He looked down at the humans and single goddess at his feet,
"Soon I will return my minions to this world and without Phalus to
stop me, everything will be mine!", he gloated.  Then he suddenly
staggered.  Urd whispered a word of power and her bindings dropped
to the ground.

     The troll's standing closest to Urd didn't have time to wonder
what hit them as they were thrown by a blast of wind into the
boiling lava below.  Deedlit and Parn's bonds also ripped away and
Deedlit quickly chanted a spell of her own.  Parn picked up a
troll-sized war axe and began hacking at Sherris' bonds.  Phalarus
jerked again and screamed in pain.

                                  ******

     Brett carefully fitted the key into the solid metal door,
turning it slowly.  He nodded to his double, "Good luck", his
double said gravely.

     Quickly pushing the door open, Brett rushed out to confront
the creature that had taken over his body and was slowly devouring
his mind.  Once again, the darkness condensed into a human-like
form, "So", it hissed, "You have come out of hiding".

     Brett was wearing his usual body armour and raised his sword,
"This body is mine", he said grimly, "Consider this an eviction
notice!".

     "Very well then", Phalarus said, forming into the semblance of
a warrior with a massive two-handed sword, "Let us begin".

     Brett raised his sword in salute, Phalarus mimicked his
action.  Then instead of attacking, Brett stabbed his sword into
the ground and concentrated.  A moment later he was looking down
the targeting scope of a TOW-II anti-tank missile launcher.  A
sharp beep echoed in his ear and he pulled the trigger.

     Phalarus was blown backwards, one of his arms disappearing in
the blast.  Brett discarded the launcher and concentrated again,
this time a rather ugly looking shotgun appeared.  At Phalarus'
confused expression Brett shrugged, "I never said that I'd play
fair", he explained, unloading another blast into the stunned god.

                                  ******

     Urd looked over at Brett/Phalarus in concern as he screamed in
pain yet again.  She dispatched another contingent of trolls with
a whirling ball of fire and noted that her companions had managed
to free themselves and were protecting her back.  Concentrating
carefully, she unleashed two force-bolts, they impacted the cavern
entrance, forcing tons of rock into the opening and blocking off
any more trollish reinforcements.

     "Get him away from the edge", she ordered Orson and Sherris,
gesturing to the twitching form of Brett/Phalarus.  The two
warriors grabbed his body, pulling it away from the edge of the
lave lake, they lay him on the ground gently.

     Parn and Deedlit dispatched the last remaining troll and
nearly collapsed from exhaustion, Urd wearily fell to her knees,
placing a hand on Brett/Phalarus' brow, "Please be ok", she
whispered.

     His eyes flickered open and glowed red for a moment, "Such
concern!", Phalarus said sarcastically, "I shall soon dispatch this
pathetic mortal..", his voice degenerated into gibberish for a
moment, before it continued, but in a very different tone, "Urd,
get him into the portal as soon as it opens!", Brett ordered.

     Hope flared in Urd's eyes and she gestured to the two
warriors, "Bring him over here", she said, "Hurry".  Sherris and
Orson nodded and Urd gestured to Parn and Deedlit, "Come on!", she
urged, "Let's go".

     Deedlit looked out where the portal was suppose to appear,
"But won't that mean we're going to be lost like you and Brett?",
she asked.

     "Would you rather stay here?", Urd asked, looking pointedly at
the collapsed tunnel.  The five waited until a white light began to
overpower the dull red glow created by the lava.  A gust of wind
filled the chamber and Urd nodded, "It's ready", she announced.

     "Too late!", Phalarus announced, "I've won!".  Sherris and
Orson nodded to each other and flung the newly wakened god through
the portal.  A shriek echoed for a moment and was suddenly cut off. 

     "Oh well", Urd said solemnly, "I guess we're on our way".  The
four joined hands and jumped into the brightness.

                                  ******

     Slayn was walking across the courtyard of the Royal Palace in
Valus when a strange white glow began and he felt the build up of
powerful magic.  "GUARDS!", he shouted, raising his staff and
preparing for combat with whatever came through the portal.

     A moment later, four familiar figures appeared.  Slayn lowered
his staff, a smile on his face, "Where have the four of you been?",
he asked, "We've been worried sick!".

     Parn and Deedlit looked around in confusion, "But I
thought..", Parn began.

     "Weren't we suppose to end up in another universe?", Sherris
asked.

     Orson checked himself over, "I'm not wounded anymore", he
noted.

     The others also found that their wounds had been healed and
they looked around for Urd, who was missing.  Eto and the Queen
arrived a few minutes later, "Where are Brett and Urd?", Eto asked
curiously.

     Deedlit shook her head, "I don't know", she said, looking up
at the sky, "But wherever they are.. I hope they're happy".

                                  ******

     Urd glanced over at the shimmering shape floating beside her,
"Are you happy now?", she asked, "Your people are all back where
they belong".  She had found her trip through the portal put on
hold when she ran into something unexpected.

     "I thank you Goddess of The Past", the figure said gravely, "I
still have need of their services".

     "Whatever", Urd replied shortly, "Now will you let me go after
Brett?".

     Phalus The Supreme nodded, "Remain careful", he advised,
"Phalarus is likely to be nearby...".

     Urd nodded, "Thanks for your help", she said grudgingly.

     "My best wishes for your future", Phalus replied, smiling. 
Urd felt herself resume her portal trip, and everything dissolved
in a wash of colours.

                                  ******


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Previous parts available at: http://www.ozanime.com/darkwind