Story (c) 2000 by Hikaru Katayamma/Keith Dickinson. All rights reserved. The character Sheila Vixen (c) Eric W Schwartz. Throckmorton P Ruddygore, Poqua, Lakash (c) Jack L Chalker. All other characters are (c) Hikaru Katayamma.  This story contains adult situations and language. By reading it the viewer agrees not to hold this or any other person responsible for any content they may find objectionable. If you don't like it, don't read it.

Sheila

Sheila sat on the log by the fire and chewed idly on a length of bone while she watched the twins juggle knives in time with Jasper's music. As the beat picked up, they continued to add more and more knives to the routine until it appeared that there was a shimmering wall of bronze as the blades flew between the pair.

Having successfully cracked open the bone, Sheila sucked out the marrow. Normally she wouldn't be caught dead doing something like that in public, but since she had become pregnant, marrow had been added to her list of oddball cravings. If she were back in civilization, the doctors would undoubtedly have given her dietary supplements that would have staved off the cravings.

She glanced over her shoulder to where Ross sat by their belongings. He was studying a book again. She had tried to get him to at least attempt to enjoy himself, but the mage simply would have none of it.

She looked back over just in time to see the twins ending their act by driving the knives into the soft ground, forming nice straight lines of blades. Impressed at their skill, Sheila gave an honest and enthusiastic round of applause for the pair's performance.

Jasper walked over to the log Sheila was sitting on, placed a foot up on it, then leaned his arms on the leg. "OK. You've seen all our tricks. Now how about yours?"

Sheila blinked in surprise. "Tricks?"

"Acts," Jasper clarified, plucking a couple of notes off of his instrument. "You told Alyas you were an entertainer before you became an adventurer. What kind of an act did you have?"

Sheila gave him a weak smile as she tried to think of a way to explain working in the blue film market. Finally she threw the entire concept out and settled for an honest, though incomplete answer. "I was an actress."

"Wonderful!" The smile on Jasper's face almost reached from ear to ear. "Maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a small sample of your work?"

Sheila grimaced and shook her head. "I'd really rather not," she replied, trying to hide her embarrassment. "All of the stories I did were contemporary to my people and wouldn't make any sense to you."

Jasper clapped his hands. "Ah! Something foreign!" He held his hand out to Sheila, offering to help her up. "We would be honored to hear some of it."

Sheila cringed as she accepted the hand up. She would have to think fast if she were going to come up with some dialog that had a little more class than "Hey, sailor. You new around here?"

Just as Sheila was about to try her hand at some Shakespeare, Lady Pandora rescued her. "Leave the girl alone, Jasper," she chided the young man. "She clearly doesn't feel comfortable performing for us tonight."

Lady Pandora took Sheila's arm and drew her away from the fire. The older woman had demonstrated a firm yet gentle grip, which contrasted with her apparent need of a cane to walk. "Come, my dear," she said in a soothing tone. "I think it's time that you and Lady Pandora had a talk about the future."

Soon they reached a wagon that was outlandishly decorated. The covering was made with a patchwork quilting of cloth swatches that covered the entire spectrum, though in a chaotic manner. It was garish thing to look at and was guaranteed to catch the eye of any passer by. Sheila helped the older woman up into the wagon, following closely behind. Inside she saw a small table with two chairs. Around the inside of the wagon, candles had been placed, giving the room a soft illumination.

"Sit," Lady Pandora directed, indicating the chair nearest the door as she took her seat in the other. "Welcome, Sheila Vixen. I have been anxiously awaiting our encounter."

"Huh?" Sheila grunted in surprise. "Could this be Lakash's agent?"she thought excitedly.

"Yes, child. I saw our meeting in the tea leaves weeks ago," she explained. "You are surrounded by turmoil and wish only to go home."

Sheila nodded, unimpressed by the woman's statement. She had said as much to Alyas. "So what now? You going to use your crystal ball to read my future?"

Lady Pandora's eyes narrowed as she examined Sheila for a second. "Do not mock that which you don't understand," she warned in a low voice. "There are many ways of seeking information from beyond the vale. Do not discount Lady Pandora's methods simply because they are strange to you."

Sheila laid her ears back reflexively at Lady Pandora's tone of voice. "I'm sorry," she hastily apologized. "I wasn't mocking you; I just wanted to know what came next."

The old fortuneteller sat back in her chair and watched Sheila for a second before she nodded. "Maybe Lady Pandora misjudged your question," she admitted. She opened a drawer and withdrew a large, shallow dish that was about two feet across, along with five smaller bowls and some bags. She set four of the small bowls in front of herself, and the large dish and an empty bowl by Sheila. Lady Pandora then opened each of the four bags and poured some stones into bowls, keeping the stones from one bag separated from the others. She then set the smaller bowls next to Sheila. "Take a small handful of stones from each bowl and place them in the empty bowl."

Sheila hesitantly dug her paw into the first bowl, unsure if she was doing it right. The stones were about the size of peanut M&M candies, and were off white in color. Still unsure as to what she was doing, she poured the stones into the bowl. As they left her hand, they began to glow slightly. She repeated the process with the other three sets of stones, filling the once empty bowl until it was almost full.

"Excellent. Now pour the stones into the larger bowl," Lady Pandora instructed as she set a shallow box on the table. The inside of the box was crisscrossed with mystic symbols, lines and diagrams.

As Sheila poured the glowing stones from the small bowl into the large dish and noticed that not only were they glowing brighter, but the each stone had also taken on a different color from the spectrum.

"Good. Now, pick up the large bowl and swirl the stones to mix them. Do not stop mixing them until I say so, at which time you are to spill them into the box." Lady Pandora waited for Sheila to nod in acknowledgement, pick up the bowl and begin to swirl it, mixing the stones. The woman then closed her eyes and began to slowly recite a chant over and over in time with the sound of the stones as they circled the dish. With each trip around the circumference of the dish, the stones glowed a little brighter.

After a minute or so, Sheila noticed that the stones were beginning to synchronize in their odd rolling pattern. She watched in amazement as the random undulations changed into a uniform rippling pattern as the stones finally attained harmony.

"Now, girl!" the fortuneteller ordered. "Pour the stones now, while they are in harmony!"

Sheila poured the stones into the large box that sat in front of Lady Pandora. As the stones entered the box, they continued to bounce and roll around while the fortuneteller chanted. Some of the stones bounced out of the box. Once they had left the box, the stones rapidly came to a stop. To Sheila's amazement, the wayward stones lost their color and glow as they melted away, leaving no trace of their passing.

Lady Pandora continued to chant, raising her voice and increasing the pace, sending the stones into a flurry of motion that was almost impossible for the eye to follow. With a loud clap of her hands, she brought the motion to an end. Each of the stones froze in air, then dropped, unmoving, to the surface of the box. The glow faded slightly from stone to stone, leaving a multihued array of lights that varied across the surface.

Sheila fidgeted nervously as the woman studied the pattern of stones. With each grunt, Sheila wanted to grab her and demand to know what she saw. After a moment, the woman leaned back in her chair and stared off into space. "What?" Sheila demanded. "What did you see?"

Lady Pandora blinked and stared at Sheila as if seeing her for the first time. "Never has Lady Pandora cast a reading of this magnitude," the woman replied, shaken by the experience.

"Tell me what you saw!" Sheila insisted, grabbing the edge of the table with both paws.

"I…I can not," she replied, looking at the board. "It's too complex… It's impossible."

Sheila reached out and grabbed the old woman's arm. "Try, damn it. What does it say?"

Once again, Lady Pandora looked down at the stones. "You are in the center of a conflict that is beyond anything I have seen before." She gestured around the board. "Forces of good and evil are in conflict with forces that I have no name for. Each tries to influence your future." She paused for a second, staring at the board. "Your future…" The blood drained from her face. Lady Pandora looked as if she had seen a ghost.

"What about my future?" Sheila again demanded.

"I see death," the fortuneteller responded.

"My death?" Sheila demanded.

"No," Lady Pandora responded distractedly, caught up in the spell she had cast. A strange blue-green aura surrounded her. "Beware, for you will travel with the dead. A life sacrificed shall be reborn within the flames that do not burn. Your quest will destroy that which you seek to save and may bring Armageddon. Follow your heart and trust your instincts, for your spirit is good and will know the way. Hear this warning and heed it, lest all you hold precious shall be lost."

As she finished speaking, the aura around her faded. With a sigh, the woman slowly collapsed onto the board where the stones were already melting away. Sheila quickly moved around the table and checked the woman's pulse. Assured that she was still alive, Sheila lifted her up and laid her down on the bed at the far end of the wagon.

Assured that Lady Pandora was comfortable and not in any physical danger, Sheila made her way towards the door in the rear of the wagon. She paused as she was about to walk by the box and looked in. There was a single stone still in the box that was glowing brightly. Sheila sat down next to the box and stared at the stone, wondering why it hadn't faded away. She felt a moment of vertigo as she felt her perception rushing into the stone.

The stout sorcerer stood before the closed iron doors and scowled. He knew for a fact that Poquah had entered but not left the room. There was absolutely no reason for the Imir to have sealed the entrance behind him, which meant only one thing: There was a demon within.

With a wave of his hand, the doors slammed open with a loud clang as they struck the wall to either side of the entrance. Ruddygore looked into the pitch-black room with a sight that was beyond that of normal mortals, and scowled even deeper than before. This was no minor creature that had taken roost. There was a very powerful demon in the room. Possibly even a ranking prince of Hell.

"All right, demon," Ruddygore shouted. "Show yourself and let's get this over with."

"Oh, I don't think I want to do that quite yet," a quiet voice replied from the dark. "If I show myself, you'll just set about trying to banish me and that wouldn't do at all. No, it wouldn't do at all."

"It's up to you, demon," the fat man responded as he analyzed the spells in the room. "Your deception and camouflage spells are complex, but nothing I can't handle. You're only delaying the inevitable."

"I don't think you want to do that either," the hissing voice replied. "If you do, it will be the end of your pet elf."

"So he's still alive," Ruddygore thought as he considered the situation. "And just what do you want in exchange for his life?"

"It's simple," the disembodied said. "I have a proposition for you. Listen to what I offer, and if you decline, then I will leave."

"Just like that?" Ruddygore asked incredulously. "You expect me to believe that?"

A small man walked out of the darkness, dragging the unconscious body of Poquah in his left hand. He was human in every way except for his eyes. Black vertical slit pupils on yellow irises, floating on a blood red orb. "Indeed I do," the creature replied with a smile, showing small, snakelike fangs.

Ruddygore gave an inward curse at what he saw. This was no normal demon. This was a divine creature, one of the original fallen angels. Only they could break the Rules of Husquahr, which forced all summoned demons to take on a hideous form. "All right, I'm listening."

The creature dropped the elf to the ground where it lay moaning. "My name is Lakash," he said, smiling at the look of shock on the sorcerer's face, "and I am in need of your services."

"How did you get here?" Ruddygore finally asked. "You're kind can't cross without a specific summoning."

Lakash smiled. "I know. I've been planning it for quite a while," he explained. "One of my agents infiltrated your ranks a long time ago, waiting for the right moment. He changed the name of one of the demons that you had assigned your students to practice summoning on."

"And the student? Where is he?"

Lakash sighed. "Dead, I'm afraid." He waved a hand, releasing the spells in the room that hid the carnage within. "I'm afraid that the boy wasn't too bright. I kept telling him to run along and fetch you, but he insisted on trying to banish me. After his third try I'm afraid I lost my patience."

Ruddygore looked at the remains of his former student and then frowned at Lakash. "What do you want?"

"Have you ever heard of a totem spirit by the name of Nanuk?" the demon asked.

"Not specifically. I've heard of spirit totems, though," Ruddygore admitted.

Lakash smiled and nodded. "Good. This one is a healing totem. One of the good guys, as it were," he said with a chuckle. "As it so happens, this totem's time for renewal has come and I am facilitating the event."

"You helping out the forces of good?" Ruddygore asked with a laugh. "Do you seriously expect me to believe that?"

Lakash shrugged. "I am not a creature of Hell, Ruddygore," Lakash declared "Nor am I a creature of Heaven any more. I fight to maintain the balance between good and evil. My goal is to prevent Armageddon at all costs."

Ruddygore gave the demon a sideways look. "Why?"

"Simple. I'm tired of the Almighty and his games. This goaround, I plan on making it last indefinitely."

"This goaround?" the sorcerer asked incredulously. "You mean that the battle between good and evil has happened before?"

Lakash laughed. "Thousands of times. Each time, he plays with the rules. This time though, I've thrown a wrench into the works." Lakash smiled, showing a set of teeth that Ruddygore would have preferred not to see. "This time I betrayed not only Heaven, but Hell as well. This time around, my goal is not to cause Armageddon, but to prevent it at all cost."

Ruddygore stroked his beard as he considered what he had just learned. It was far different from anything he had heard before. "And what does this have to do with the totem spirit?"

"Power," Lakash said. "By helping the totem spirit's agents to renew it, I will gain power."

"I see," Ruddygore responded, his mind churning over the facts. "And just what do you need from me?

"You must assist Nanuk's agents in the completion of their quest. They will give you the specifics."

Ruddygore nodded. "And who are these agents?"

Lakash summoned up an image of Sheila. "This one is named Sheila Vixen. She is even now making her way to Terindell. The other one is named Arden. Unfortunately, I can't show you what he looks like yet as that's still to be determined."

"Sheila and Arden," Ruddygore said under his breath. "I received a message about them. This Sheila was searching for Arden."

Lakash nodded again. "That's her."

"And you can't divine what this Arden looks like?" Ruddygore asked, confused at the demon's lack of information.

Lakash shook his head. "Regrettably, the damn fool got himself killed," Lakash complained. "I'm working on finding him a replacement body."

Ruddygore shook his head in consternation. "But… How are you maintaining his soul? Surely you can't have him in your realm. There wouldn't be any way for you to bring him across the barriers."

"His spirit is already in this world," Lakash replied, holding a hand up to cut off the sorcerer's next question. "I won't explain my methods, but I will say that with some luck, he should be in a new body within a week or two."

Ruddygore nodded. "And what do I get in return for helping you and your people out?"

Lakash laughed. "A bargain isn't a bargain unless both sides are compensated, eh?" he said with a touch of humor. "All right then. I'll give you a spell that is tailored to your precious ferry, which will let you cross the sea of dreams not only to Earth Prime, but any of the myriads of alternate realities. That should keep you occupied for a couple of thousand years."

The sorcerer stared at Lakash, stunned at his offer. "How can you offer me that kind of power? That's beyond event he most powerful demons of Hell."

Lakash gave another toothy smile. "Elementary, my dear sorcerer. My job during Creation was to forge the barriers between realities, as well as fashion the guardians that prevent anyone from crossing who aren't supposed to. My spell will act as a key to allow you to cross."

Ruddygore nodded absentmindedly again. "That explains the lamp," he commented. "I always wondered how you were able to forge a permanent link between the realm of the Dijin and the physical locale of the lamp."

Lakash gestured at Poquah, who appeared to be coming to. "If I were you, I'd take care of your elf. In the meantime, I must return to my realm. Remember, if they succeed, you get the spell. If they fail, you get nothing." With that, Lakash simply disappeared with a simple pop.
The large sorcerer contemplated Lakash's offer, weighing the pros and cons for a second before attending to the elf's welfare. It was tempting, almost too good to be true, but if the offer was valid then he couldn't afford to pass up the opportunity.

Sheila

Sheila found herself standing on a boat. She had a detached feeling, as if it were all a dream. Beside her stood a huge human with gray hair and beard who was dressed in a very fancy, formal outfit, complete with top hat. A sound caught her attention. It was the clang of metal-on-metal from a sword fight. As she looked over to the sound she saw Arden fighting another human on the beach of an island. She noticed that she and the fat man were standing at the ramp of a ferryboat watching the conflict.

Blow after blow rang out as Arden and the other man fought. The pace of their conflict was astounding. Their movements were so fast that she could barely follow their movements. The other man managed a grazing blow against Arden that caused him to reel away from combat and drop to his knees, holding his ribs with one hand.

"Now it ends," the other man said as he approached.

"BONZAI!" Arden shouted as he leapt into the air, driving his sword down with his weight. His attack failed to catch the other man off guard. Smiling at some private joke, the man braced his sword, allowing Arden to impale him as he, in return, impaled Arden.

Sheila screamed in horror at the sight.

Sheila's perception snapped back to the inside of the wagon. Shaken, she watched as the final stone lost its glow and melted into the wood. It had been a dream, some sort of illusion that had been left over from the reading. Who's to say that what she saw would have to come true. Deep down, she knew that it was a possibility. Arden was a berserker. He was more than capable of killing himself in an attack that would destroy his enemy.

The vixen stood and climbed out of the wagon, closing the door behind her. She glanced over at the fire for a second and watched the rest of the troop as they sat and chatted, before turning away. She didn't have to walk far to reach the lip of the small valley. Looking out at the night sky, she studied the stars, looking for something in them that would give her some kind of reassurance that things would work out.

A couple of hours passed before Ross noticed that Sheila was missing from around the fire. Using a small device that resembled a compass, he turned and headed in the direction it pointed until he spotted Sheila. She was still standing, looking out at the stars. Ross could clearly see from the way her tail and ears simply hung limp that something was bothering her. He was tempted to go ask her what was wrong, but decided not to. When she was ready, she would talk.

Ross took a quick look around to make sure there wasn't anything that could threaten her in the area before he headed back to his camp. It had been a long day and he was tired. Tomorrow, he would confront her about what happened tonight. Yes, in the morning, she would be more amiable to conversation.

Or so he hoped.