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. Jack (c) David Hopkins. 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.

Identity Crisis
Act III
Chapter 19

Prophesy of a vixen

"What the hell is going on here?" the stout dwarf asked as he picked his way through the maze of body parts that covered the small, fenced in enclosure as well as the ground around it. Amidst the carnage lay the remains of four dragons. Three of them appeared to have exploded while the other appeared to have been literally cut to ribbons by something that resembled a monstrous cross between an arachnid and a cow. In the distance, one wounded dragon looked wearily back at the pen as it lay on the ground. Overhead, the remainder of the dragons circled. "What the hell happened here?" the dwarf demanded as he reached two dwarves standing next to one of the corpses.

The female dwarf started to speak but was interrupted by her companion. "Fucking magic. That's what happened," he replied as he wiped the blood and gore off of his axe onto the wing of a dead dragon.

"Magic?" the leader echoed, incredulously. He turned to the female. "And where the hell were you, witch?"

"I was right here," she replied, scowling back at the small man. "If I hadn't been, we would have lost the other over there, too." She gave a quick nod of her head towards the injured dragon that lay over in the field.

"And why didn't you spot the spell to begin with?" the man demanded between clenched teeth as he took a half step towards the woman.

"I checked them for spells, damn it!" She wave one hand at the carnage around them. "All they had on them was a basic warding spell. It was the kind of crap that you'd teach an apprentice. It shouldn't have had this kind of power."

"No shit it shouldn't have had this kind of power!" he replied as he kicked a chunk of meat way from his foot. "What the hell do we pay you for? You're supposed to spot this kind of crap before it can hit us."

The air literally crackled around her as she stepped forward, pressing the leader and forcing him to back up. "Listen to me, asshole. Nobody said anything about me having to go up against a full-fledged sorcerer. Whoever cast that spell was definitely no acolyte, or even an initiate." She reached down and snatched up part of a cow's head. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to disguise a spell that can reduce a cow to this level? Do you have any idea what kind of power it takes to do that to a dragon?" A quick nod toward the dragon, which had clearly been gutted from the inside-out, punctuated her question. "I hired on to handle medium-threat magic. This kind of spell is way beyond me."

The leader swallowed a couple of times as what she said sank in before his expression firmed up again. "No. I don't think so," he replied slowly, looking at the carnage. "A true sorcerer would have stood his ground. He wouldn't be playing pansy assed games like this." He gave the witch a hash look. "We're going to kill that damn dragon and you're going to help us." Turning to the rest of the dwarves, he began to shout directions. "Call the other dragons back. Gather up whatever you can salvage off the dead ones. We take flight immediately" Again he turned towards the witch and pointed at her. "You better not screw up again."

As the woman watched her employer walk away, she made a conscious effort to relax. "You better not screw up yourself, asshole, or you may be my coven's next sacrifice."


Teyah knelt on the cold, stone floor and whimpered. The last thing she remembered was an indescribable burning pain in side of her, then nothing until now. "You can get up now." The oddly soothing yet somehow hollow voice got her attention. Teyah turned her head to look at a tall, mangy-looking rabbit-morph that was carrying a scythe. "Don't worry. You're quite dead now. Nothing can hurt you any more. At least not permanently anyway."

Teyah looked at the hand that the rabbit held out to her and after a moment's consideration, took it. "Who are you?" she asked after standing up. She glanced around then looked back at the rabbit. "Come to think of it, where am I?"

"I am Jack," he replied, leading her to away from an arch that was filled with scintillating colors. "As for where you are, this is the Orpheus gate. You, my dear, are in hell."

"WHAT?" she shouted, yanking her arm from his grasp, "That son of a bitch! That bastard promised me that I wouldn't go to hell." Enraged, she clenched her fists and shouted towards the gate. "You lying bastard, I'll get you for this!"

"Are you through?" Jack asked quietly, almost nonchalantly.

"Oh, I haven't even begun," she snarled, her face red with rage. The girl then began a long stream of curses that were descriptive of Arden's parentage, personal preferences, moral character, habits and anything else that came to mine.

He sighed and leaned on his scythe. "Let me know when you're finished so I can see about getting you out of here."

Teyah stopped in mid rant and shot the rabbit a sidewise glance. "What? What do you mean?"

"I mean as in extricating you from hell." He reached out and gently took her arm, leading her away from the gate. "Unfortunately, the gate you entered through is one way. The place where you died had a large number of spells that were designed to ensure that anyone who died would have their soul sent to hell whether that should be their proper destination or not." After a short walk, they reached a small, somewhat dilapidated building. Jack opened the door and led Teyah inside. "You will be safe here as long as you do not leave. I will come back for you when it's time."

She gave him a confused look as he started to close the door. "When it's time? I thought you said you were going to get me out of here!"

"Indeed," Jack said, pausing. "As soon as our mutual acquaintance completes his side of the bargain I'll be glad to escort you out of hell. In the meanwhile I suggest you try to make yourself comfortable." He started to close the door again, but stopped. "And remember, don't leave. Don't even open the door. It's not safe for the likes of you." With that he exited, pulling the door closed behind him with an audible click.

Teyah examined her new surroundings, taking them in. The place looked as bad inside as it had from outside. She crossed her arms and hugged herself as if suddenly cold. "What did I ever do to disserve this?" she asked nobody in particular before looking up at the ceiling. "You better get me out of this, or I'm going to find a way back, and you won't like what I'll do to you."


Sheila leaned against a tree, panting. "Wait! I need to take a break. I'm not built for this kind of crap any more." She pressed her back against the tree and slid slowly down to a sitting position while holding onto her belly. "I had to be out of my mind, letting myself get knocked up."

Hecate moved a little bit to the east, so that she stood by the tree line and looked south before coming back over to sit by the vixen. "Don't beat yourself up over it. You didn't know what was going to happen to you."

"Oh, it's not that!" she replied hastily. "Well, I guess it is, a little," she admitted after a moment, "but that's not why I'm pissed. I can't believe that I let myself fall for such an asshole. I thought I was a better judge of men." Sheila squirmed a little to get more comfortable. "Speaking of assholes, what's he doing now?"

"Still perched up on the rock, sunning himself." The ebony female took a couple of strips of dried beef and handed one to Sheila. Tearing off a piece, she chewed on it in silence for a little bit. "The thing I don't get is why he threw us off and told us to head north without him. What does he think he's going to accomplish?"

Sheila viciously tore off a chunk of meat and chewed it while talking. "Knowing him," she said before taking a quick drink from Hecate's water skin, "he's going to make some heroic stand against overwhelming odds and get himself killed in a glorious fashion." She finished chewing the meat and swallowed. "Leaving me in the lurch, again, and once again proving what a fuckup he is."

The Imir simply shook her head and continued to eat her lunch as she studied the vixen. "Now I know what they mean by a complete bitch," she though while frowning slightly. "Come on, let's go," Hecate said giving the vixen a hand up. "We can't stay around here all day." She turned to continue northward but paused when Sheila didn't follow. The vixen instead walked over to the edge of the forest. "What do you think you're doing?" Hecate hissed as she ran after Sheila.

"Look at him," the vixen snarled, "just sitting there, sunning himself like some oversized statue." Sheila squinted towards the distant dragon then frowned and mumbled, "Just like a statue."

"Come on," Hecate hissed, grabbing at the vixen's arm. "Someone might see you."

Sheila yanked her arm away. "No, wait. Look." She nodded towards the dragon as she concentrated on it. "It doesn't look right." She leaned against the tree as she studied the view. "I can't put my finger on it, but there's just something not right there."

Hecate glanced around quickly to verify that they weren't being watched then joined her companion in studying the distant form. "Yah," she replied slowly, drawing the word out. "Now that you mention it, something doesn't look right there." She shifted her sight and studied the view using her magic sight. After a few moments her eyes widened. "Son of a bitch."

The vixen's head snapped around towards the demoness. "What?" she demanded before looking back at the dragon. "What do you see."

"It's an illusion," Hecate answered, studying the skies and surroundings, "like the one back in the barn, only this one's got substance."

"If that's an illusion, then where the hell did he go?" Sheila asked, looking to the Imir for enlightenment. "And why did he dump us if he was just going to setup a decoy?" She turned and looked back towards the false visage. "What the hell is he doing?"


The flight of four dragons flew in a V formation with the injured dragon lagging behind on the right, relying on the slipstream from the other dragons to allow it to keep up. Onboard, the witch concentrated on the healing incantation that she maintained even as they traveled, speeding the dragons recovery. It would still be too injured to fight directly, but that was perfect for her needs. The last thing she wanted to contend with was a dragon trying to charge in for an attack while she attempted to counter the magic of a sorcerer.

At the front of the flight, the leader of the group watched a small talisman that the witch had given him, taking direction from the small arrow that looked reminiscent of a compass. They broke through the last bit of clouds giving them an unobstructed view to the horizon. The dwarf smiled as he spotted their target, its back towards them and its wings spread to soak in the sun. His smile quickly faded as he assessed the situation. Something was wrong and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was too convenient, too easy, too obvious, and he didn't like it. He looked over at the witch who was also studying their target. After a few minutes she looked up and shrugged. The dwarf's curse was lost on the wind as he turned to Thumper and signaled him to attack.

The lone dragon pumped its wings, gaining some altitude before entering into a steep dive. The wind screamed, leather and scale creaked as the dragon pulled out. It opened its mouth and let out a terrifying screech just as it passed over the target, snapping its tail downwards. Rock exploded outwards as the tail passed through the illusion and slammed into the granite that made up the mountain. A screech of a different kind left Thumper's mount as it gained altitude. Its long, sinuous tail had been grievously damaged by the impact, impairing its ability to act as a rudder for the wyrm.

A shadow passed over the lead dwarf dragon as a huge dragon dove on the formation with the sun behind him, hiding his presence. The three dragons banked, trying to avoid their attacker but were only partially successful. The middle dragon vanished from the formation as a creature three times its size slammed into it with razor sharp claws extended. The two remaining dwarves looked on in horror as their companion dragon plummeted bonelessly towards the ground. Below them the tops of trees swayed and snapped from the force of the air as their opponent struggled to pull out of the dive.

The witch turned in her seat and reached for the mass of clouds behind her. Calling on the forces of nature, she began to twist the power contained in the gentle clouds, turning them dark and angry. She watched as the great wyrm pulled out of his dive, climbing up to near their level and then turning towards them. She gave the clouds a vicious twist with her hand, forcing a bolt of lighting to strike the great dragon. Stunned for a moment, it fell towards the ground before recovering.

She swallowed as its eyes locked on her. The glowing red orbs burned into her, promising death as it pumped its wings to attack. So intent was she that she hadn't noticed her employer breaking high. His dragon dove, towards the great wyrm in an attack. The difference in altitude wasn't enough to allow him to build much speed but that wouldn't matter. The differences in their speed as they approached nearly head on would be sufficient to make up for the shallow dive.

A rumbling roar split the air as they wyrm opened its mouth and spat a ball of fire at his attacker. The dwarf rubbed a rune on his saddle, confident in the magic's ability to protect him and his mount from the fire. As they flew through the flames untouched he smiled. "This beast isn't so smart after all," he thought, gloating for a moment before he realized that the dragon wasn't where he expected it. Rather than trying to dodge to either side, the great wyrm had pulled up vertically, stalling in mid air. Now it was the dwarf's turn to panic as he pulled on the reigns of his mount, commanding it to roll into a dive. The mighty claws of the elder wyrm passed within inches of the lesser dragon, missing its target. A scream of agony left the great wyrm as the tail of the smaller dragon whip-snapped into its exposed belly, slicing a short length open. The two mighty beasts separated, each going in the opposite direction while trying to maneuver for position over the other.

Climbing for altitude, the great wyrm demonstrated that though it may not be as fast as its smaller foe, it had the strength to out climb it, at least in the short term. As it turned towards its foe, a blue glow surrounded it for a moment, then it seemed to split into two identical creatures. They drifted apart as they continued to approach the now confused dwarf who was trying to figure out which to go for. If he chose wrong, it would cost him his life. As the dwarf was about to break off his attack a bright flash of light struck both dragons. I didn't affect the one on the left, but the one on the right vanished, giving the dwarf a clear view of his target. The wyrm snarled at the witch before turning back to his opponent.

As the two converged over the river, the dwarf commanded his dragon to break off the attack, staying out of the wyrm's claw or tail range. Confused, the elder wyrm cautiously turned to follow the dwarf. The pursuit was cut short when Thumper's dragon slammed into the greater wyrm's back, tearing large gashes as it shot past. The wyrm screamed and dropped towards the treetops, barely pulling out before hitting the dense forest. Behind him, the lead dwarf's dragon dove in an attack. Its claws out, it clearly intended to do the same thing its companion had done to the great wyrm. The dwarf snarled in rage at the elder wyrm as it rolled over onto its back. The two dragons slammed into each other and began to grapple in the air. Locked together, they fell towards the river, striking the surface and sending a huge wave up over the banks of the river.

Wings flailed, claw and tooth flashed as the two dragons fought in the water, a medium that was not native to either creature. Thumper directed his dragon to dive again, in hopes of saving his leader. It was obvious to anyone who watched that the greater dragon would soon destroy the smaller one, though it would pay dearly for it. His dragon pulled out of its dive mere feet over the water. Its claws prepared to strike the elder wyrm as it passed over, the lesser dragon never saw the tentacles that shot out of the water. Bone snapped as one wing struck the thick cords of flesh, severing the tentacles. Unable to fly, the lesser dragon skipped across the water like a stone, plowing into the other two dragons and submerging all three. A few seconds later, all three dragons struggled back to the surface as they tried to get out of the water. More and more tentacles came out of the water, wrapping themselves around the three combatants. There was one last screech as all three wyrms were yanked under the water by some unseen foe.

The witch circled a safe distance above the muddy river looking for some sign of life. After a minute or so, small bits of packs and supplies began to surface in the river near where the dragons had been sucked under. It wasn't until she saw part of a wing surface then sink again did she turn her mount away from the river and headed northward towards Terinedell and the vixen's probably path. A small smile crossed her face as she relaxed in the saddle. Half of their contract had been fulfilled. The dragon was dead. That meant that as the sole survivor of the company, she would get the entire purse once she captured the vixen. She began to laugh as she thought of ways to spend the prize money, and she didn't stop laughing for some time.


Sheila and Hecate stood by the tree line after the battle and watched the last dragon fly away. The vixen turned to her companion and snorted. "See," she grunted. "I told you that asshole was going to get himself killed." She then turned and walked back into the forest, towards the trail that led north, muttering obscenities under her breath as she went.

Hecate watched the vixen for a moment before looking back at the river. "Never assume someone's dead until you see the corpse," she muttered, "and even then you can't be too sure." She turned and jogged into the forest to catch up with the vixen.