08/04/06:

                The council met this morning and Olivia and I filled them in on Vegas, Yosemite, our trip thru Ka territory and New Ectopia. Marta was looking daggers at Olivia the whole time and I didn't notice until we were almost finished that Wormy was sitting in the corner taking furious notes of everything that was said.

                When we finished our briefing the topic turned to Montrose. Malcolm said, "It's been rather disturbing. They've made demands and have threatened to shut down the border if the Kingdom didn't provide them with food supplies. We finally reached an agreement that has kept the borders open - barely. There is a certain hostility as a result and there have been reports of people being harassed."

                Olivia asked, "Who all came here for the meetings?"

                "The Mayor, the Chief of Police and a few underlings."

                "Really? The Mayor? He came here?" I asked.

                Olivia asked, "What did he look like?"

                He described a man to us who looked nothing like the real mayor or the illusion he used to keep up the appearance of 'normalcy' and we told them so.

                "But didn't the sword 'tell' you anything?" Olivia asked.

                Malcolm shook his head. "Only that they weren't being completely truthful - but I already knew that."

                Olivia told the council, "We purchased some items to help us keep in contact with His Majesty when we're not here. One of these is a crystal ball that we can use to peek in on them." Malcolm agreed and she got both of them out. Handing one to Morag she said, "We'll leave this one with you and take one with us." She also handed him one of the mirrors, "We can get together later about these."

                She sat back down and cast some magic, saying, "Show us the Mayor of Montrose."

                The ball swirled with clouds. When they cleared we saw the cave where we had run into that Wendingo last April. The image moved in on a large…lump inside the cave that was covered with a tarp.

                "They killed him," Olivia muttered. "They murdered him and replaced him."

                She said to the ball, "Show me Miranda, the Mayor's secretary."

                The image shifted slightly to one side. Her body hadn't been covered and we saw a large triangular hole in her skull. The light was just right and it was clear that her brain was gone.

                "I wonder if we have any friends left in Montrose at all," Malcolm wondered out loud.

                Olivia said, "I think we should notify Lucifer. He was good friends with Hizzoner."

                Malcolm agreed, "Good idea. We'll call a recess while you do that."

                So Olivia and I went to the communications room and placed a call. The person on duty for Caesar put Phillips on the line. "It's good to hear from you. Your trip to New Ectopia was successful?"

                "Yes, thank you, but we need to speak to Lucifer regarding an urgent matter," I said.

                He was suddenly all business. "Very well, hold on while we connect you." It only took a few moments to get a conference call set up so we could bring them both up to date with the situation in Montrose.

                Lucifer was very upset, "Damn it! The Mayor was the only thing that town had going for it."

                Olivia asked him if he had any people left there. "You may want to check on them."

                "I'll do that," he said. "You said that her brain was gone? You dealt with a mind flayer in Montrose once before. It must have had friends. Keep us informed."

                He and Phillips hung up and Malcolm called the meeting back to order. "I am hesitant to march on an ally, even an unreliable one. It sets a bad precedent. I don't suppose you two would have time to take a quick trip?"

                We looked at one another and shrugged, "Sure, we could do that."

                Olivia continued, "Is it alright if we leave tomorrow? Jazz has a service she needs to perform today."

                "Tomorrow is fine. Ask your new friends if you'd like." He went on to suggest we visit that cave before going to Montrose to see if we could find anything and then he adjourned the meeting.

                Olivia asked Walter when he needed to get to Nebraska.

                "ASAP, ma'am."

                "Well, Jazz has something she needs to do this evening, and then tomorrow we're looking into the Montrose situation, but I guess I could take you and Leo tonight."

                Walter thought for a moment, "Maybe we should wait until I have the full intel on this situation. That way I can include in my report. Do you mind if I come with you?"

                So that was agreed upon.

                After dinner, I met with the faithful at the Temple in the House and told them all about what had happened in Yosemite. They all took it well, but then none of them had ever met Morning Mist. They were concerned, however, about the news that I might accept Malcolm's appointment to Las Vegas and that Olias would be leaving as well.

                "Who will lead the Temple?" they wanted to know.

                I was about to say that there were a few acolytes who'd had enough training, and that I would be making fairly regular trips back, when Olias cleared his throat and stood up.

                "After further reconsideration, I've decided to stay here."

                Quite a few of the female members were cheered by that. But they weren't quite so happy when I said, "Very good, when I get to Vegas, I'll make sure that Osvanna gets here as soon as I can arrange her trip."

                We moved on to other issues. They reported to me that the 'real' Temple, in the Grove, was coming along slowly, but nicely.

                One of the acolytes began to laugh, "There was one small 'incident'. We had a problem with some really pernicious weeds that we could not clear away from near the altar. Finally we received a 'dream'. Corellon told us that it was a special Elven flower that He was trying to send as a gift for the Temple. But they're blooming quite beautifully now. You should see them."

                So with a final prayer to thank Corellon for his support, we broke up and I retired to my room with Leo.

08/05/06:

                As we were hitting the road to Ridgeway, so were some reinforcements headed for the border. We traveled together until we left the main road to find our way back to the cave. We got there without incident and found the cave easily. Before we entered, I did some magic to detect any traps. There were none so we entered.

                And immediately left. The stench inside was horrendous. We smeared Tiger Balm and Mentholatum under our noses, made breath masks out of some bandages, and tried again.

                When we finally made our way back in, we found a half-dozen bodies (besides the Mayor and his secretary) neatly lined up. The Chief of Police was the only one we recognized. Most of the bodies had the same holes in their skulls, but a few had had their entire skulls removed.

                Rodrick pointed out that the four bodies nearest the entrance were considerably less decomposed than the rest. They were all women and appeared to be young. One of them looked like an Elf and had a Chinese dragon tattooed on her inner thigh. All of the bodies were missing all clothes and jewelry, but Rodrick and I spotted something shiny underneath the Elf's body. Rodrick shifted it enough so that I could get to it. It was a rhinestone-studded thong that had Velcro on both sides of it.

                "Stripper," Rodrick and Leo agreed.

                Olivia asked me to send a message to Lucifer asking if he remembered a girl on his staff whose description might fit this one. He sounded pissed when he responded.

                "I do," he said, "a Moon Elf, I can't remember her name. I remember the tattoo, though. She went to work for a strip club."

                "Which club?"

                "The Pussycat."

                Olivia used the Sending mirror to report to Morag what we knew so far. On our way out, we stopped in Ridgeway to speak to the new Seneschal.

                "I heard you were through here the other day," he said.

                Olivia asked him, "How are things around here?"

                "Fine, why?"

                I said, "She wants to know if you're a brain sucking monster."

                "What?" he was confused, "Um okay. I have never sucked a brain in my life."

                That put Olivia at ease, "What can you tell us about Montrose?"

                He shook his head; "They've developed a sudden interest in slaves about two months ago, just a couple weeks after the Overlord left for Vegas."

                Has there been anything strange along the border?" I asked.

                "More patrols, and anyone from the Kingdom who crosses 'illegally' is subject to slavery."

                Rodrick asked them, "How do they patrol the border"

                Horseback, and they've been building permanent watch-posts."

                "Where's the nearest one?" Rodrick asked, and the Seneshal showed us on his wall map.

                "Right after it was finished, they sent a note stating that between here - and - here is a 'Neutral Zone' and if any of our people enter the zone it's considered an act of provocation, yet their people are allowed to come and go as they please." The area he indicated on the map was clearly Kingdom territory.

                "His Majesty refused to acknowledge their decree and sent a reply that told them to patrol all they want - added security is always welcome."

                We thanked him for the information and continued on. Olivia wanted to stop and talk to the people manning the watch-post so we stopped.

                An armed man approached us, "Can we help you?" he said with the barest civility.

                "We're on our way to Montrose and just wanted to chat," Olivia told him.

                "You are in the Montrose Neutral Zone," we were told.

                I said, "But this is Kingdom territory."

                "Neutral Zone?" Olivia asked. "Are you guys Romulans or something?"

                "We don't recognize your Neutral Zone," Rodrick told him.

                "Are you lost?" he snarled at us.

                Rodrick said, "Tell me - is Montrose at war with the Kingdom?"

                "What?"

                "If there's a Neutral Zone, there must be a war."

                "The Mayor of Montrose felt it was needed to enhance the security of Montrose and its citizens."

                "Well then shouldn't it be in your territory?" Rodrick asked.

                Olivia asked, "So how is the Mayor? Is he well?"

                "That could be construed as a threat, coming from a potential enemy."

                "We're allies," I objected.

                "And we're on our way to visit our old friend, the Mayor of Montrose," Olivia said. "Just to see how he's doing."

                "I think you should be moving along now," he said.

                So we climbed back into Scooby and I asked Rodrick, "Now that they know we're on our way and why - is there anyway to keep them from radioing ahead?"

                Rodrick shook his head, "Short of blowing up their transmitter? No."

                We made it to the city limits unmolested and we were actually allowed to enter. For some reason that didn't make me very happy.

                I asked, "So do we go confront the Mayor or hit the Pussycat Club?"

                "Pussycat Club!" Alfred, Rodrick, Leo and Walter all agreed.

                We paid the admission and took a look around. There were girls on several stages and the place had a pretty good crowd of locals and traders.

                As we got a table, Rodrick approached one of the dancers and asked her if she knew a girl, "A Moon Elf, about >yea< tall, with a Chinese dragon tattoo on her leg?"

                "You mean Lin?"

                "Yeah Lin, is she working today?"

                "She's taking a break and will be out later. Hey! You're awfully cute, wanna face dance?"

                "Maybe later," he said and he tipped her for her help.

                Olivia asked our waitress who confirmed that 'Lin' would be out shortly.

                Finally the dancers switched and Lin took her place on stage. She was a Moon Elf and had the correct tattoo in the correct place. She saw that Olivia was watching her closely and moved closer to dance for her.

                Leo leaned over and whispered, "You're supposed to tip her."

                So she did. Repeatedly.

                Lin leaned in close and asked, "Would you like a private dance?"

                Olivia smiled, "That would be great."

                "Okay, after this set. Fifty gold pieces - pay the bartender and I'll meet you in the back room." She indicated the room and returned to the other customers.

                Rodrick, Alfred and Leo were all clearly having a good time, but Leo looked like he was about to explode. "Are you okay?" I asked.

                "I'm feeling a little conflicted, ma'am!" he barked. "May I have permission to enjoy myself, ma'am?"

                I just laughed, "Knock yourself out, sailor."

                "Ma'am, thank you, ma'am!"

                A couple of the girls tried to get us to pay for a couples dance and Leo gave me some pleading looks, but I held strong; this was business.

                Lin's set ended and Olivia left the table. A few minutes later, things got crazy. It took some time but I finally got Olivia to tell me what had happened.

                They'd gone into the private room and Olivia closed and mage-locked the door. Lin moved to turn on some music, but Olivia stopped her, "I saw the oddest thing earlier today and wanted to talk to you about."

                Lin shrugged and said, "Whatever, Honey, it's your gold."

                "My friends and I were in a cave this morning and so were you. But you were dead."

                "I don't know what you're talking about."

                "Is Lin your real name?"

                She tried to distract Olivia, "If you want it to be, Sugar." (Olivia told me that her truth ring wasn't telling her anything, it was like Lin wasn't there.)

                Lin continued, "You look really stressed out, let me help you relax," and she moved closer.

                Olivia said, "Why don't you just explain to me how it is that you could be dead this morning and now you're not." That was when Lin screamed in anger and spikes erupted from her arms. One of those spikes impaled Olivia through the chest.

                "I will have your skin," Lin growled in an entirely different voice. Then she let loose a blast of mental energy that Olivia was able to deflect. Lin growled and tentacles burst from her mouth. Olivia screamed for Leo but the music in the club was so loud none of us heard her. She tried to pull away from Lin and released her locking spell on the door.

                Lin let another mental blast fly and again, Olivia was able to deflect it. She unsheathed her claws and slashed Lin hard while screaming for help again. This time she yelled my name. Out in the club, I thought I heard something and looked around. I noticed the club's security guys trying to be nonchalant as they made their way to the back room.

                I said, "Hey guys - something's going on." We all got up from the table.

                Meanwhile Lin was telling Olivia, "This is will be easier if you don't resist." Some of the tentacles reached out towards Olivia's head. One started to cut through the skin as Olivia was able to get her gun out and fire it.

                That we heard and we rushed the backroom, as did the bouncers. We got there first and Rodrick kicked the door in. We saw a nearly naked Moon Elf with an octopus head and at least one tentacle attached to Olivia's skull. He drew both his handguns and opened fire at the big octopus head.

                As Lin fell, the tentacle disconnected from Olivia's head. Lin lost all semblance of humanity (of Elfness?) and we saw a body wearing a trench coat made of human and elven skin. Just like Tony - the bounty hunter we'd dealt with here in Montrose all those months ago.

                The bouncers finally showed up, and they freaked. The music had stopped and the crowd was fleeing the place. The dancers were standing around, all freaked out. All except one. A tall redhead, who was totally unemotional, was slinking towards a side door.

                I yelled, "Leo! Alfred! Stop her!"

                She stopped, turned and raised a hand in our direction. She loosed some magic and most of the people in the room, including Leo, dropped to the floor. I called on the Power for a flame strike, but I screwed it up and nothing happened. Rodrick came back through the door, looking for a new target. He opened fire at the redhead, hitting her twice, but to no effect.

                She looked straight at him and directed some more magic at him saying, "Kill everyone."

                He turned back to us and readjusted his aim, just as Alfred rushed her, totally unarmed. She was so shocked by that she didn't do anything to stop him. He grabbed her head and snapped her neck like a stalk of celery. Thankfully, as she died, her control over Rodrick vanished. Alfred threw her body to the floor and her illusion was gone. All that was left was another mind flayer wearing clothes made of human skin.

                Alfred walked back and asked, "Are you guys okay?"

                I said, "We're good. You go check on Olivia."

                He left and Rodrick looked at us, then at his guns that were aimed at Walter and I. "What happened to the bad guys?" he asked.

                I patted his arm and said, "I so understand - the same thing happened to me once. Let me buy you a drink later and I'll explain."

                Olivia was still in the back room yelling about squidheads when the manager arrived, demanding an explanation, "What did you do to Lin and Candy?"

                Rodrick said, "There were four girls in that cave - where are the other two?"

                I just shrugged.

                Olivia pointed at 'Lin' and yelled at the manager, "She tried to eat my brain. I want my money back!" While the manager just stared at 'Lin's' remains, Olivia opened her money pouch and took all the gold in it.

                Looking around the club the customers were all gone, but the dancers, bouncers and bartenders were still there, all in a daze. Olivia suggested lining the girls up and one by one, to test them. The manager agreed and went backstage to bring out all the girls.

                But before we could start, one of the girls screamed and vanished. Vanished into…something. Something like a bright light that appeared for her and then disappeared again. A portal of some kind?

                Olivia fired into it before it went dark and there was another scream - did she hit it?

                "Okay, three down, one to go," Rodrick said.

                There was the sound of a struggle backstage. When we got there, the manager was on the floor and the cover had been ripped off a ventilation shaft. There was noise coming from inside it.

                Rodrick opened fire at the sounds, but an AC unit fell and hit him a glancing blow that sent him flying.

                With the air conditioner out of the way, we could see a pair of feet moving upwards. Olivia drew her weapon and charged for the front door.

                I changed myself into mist form and whooshed up, following those feet. I followed them to the Ladies Room where the thing took the form of one of the bartenders. I returned to solid form and called up the Power to attempt another flame strike. This time it worked and reduced the thing to ashes.

                I went back into the club just as Olivia came running back in, "Where did it go?"

                I pointed to the restroom - "It's in there, or what's left of it."

                The people who'd been knocked out by Candy were still asleep so I went to see if I could wake Leo up. Olivia beat me to it and was yelling at him, "Where were you when the squidhead tried to eat my brain?"

                Leo may have been conscious - but he was still out of it, "Huh? What tried to what? Are you okay?"

                "Now you ask," Olivia snorted. But she did help him to his feet.

                Four of the girls announced that they were quitting, right now! Rodrick approached them and explained some of the benefits of living and working in Vegas.

                One of the girls liked the sound of that, "I would be real grateful if you could help me get there," she cooed at him, "and my friend would be real grateful, too."

                That was when the police arrived. Just one squad car, though (thank goodness).

                The two officers (Summers and Sanchez) looked around and Summers asked, "So. Who wants to tell me what happened here?"

                "Squidheads!" Olivia yelled. "You don't know any, do you?"

                They were apparently confused, "Um…no."

                Olivia nodded at me, he was being truthful and she said, "well we think your Chief and Mayor both are."

                "Are what?"

                "Squidheads! Brain-sucking squidheads!" Olivia said.

                I showed them the remains, "Lin and Candy and another girl, too."

                Summers went pale, "Candy? Are you telling me Candy wasn't…Human? Oh my God!" He stumbled outside and was noisily sick. He pulled himself together and came back in, "And you say the Mayor is one of those things?"

                I nodded, "His secretary, too, and your Chief."

                He took a moment to absorb that and said, "Okay. I need to cordon off this area. Don't let anyone else see what happened." He indicated his partner and said, "We need to go talk to some friends, but we'll be back, trust us."

                I looked to Olivia who gave me a small nod.

                They left and Rodrick said he was going to Scooby to re-arm. I went with him to get a shotgun for myself. While we were doing that, Olivia used the mirror to contact Morag with another update, "Squidheads! All over the place," she told him.

                "Squidheads?"

                "Mind flayers. They eat people's brains. Look 'em up in a D&D book."

                Summers and Sanchez came back and told us that they had talked to a few other officers and there were more who were unhappy with some of the administration's decisions of late, but they were going to need more time to talk to some of them.

                I said, "Look, They already know we're here, and why. We might want to hurry things up a little, Not to mention that one of those things got away."

                Too late. The Chief of Police rolled up with a dozen of his men. "Officer Summers, I'm glad you're here. We had a report of monster of an unknown variety taking up residence here in town. Apparently, they've assumed the identities of four of the girls working here."

                "No! Really?" I said.

                Olivia blurted out; "You're not a squidhead are you?"

                The Chief looked at Summers, "Who is this?"

                "The representatives from King Malcolm. I believe you've met before."

                Rodrick stepped forward, "Just answer the ladies question."

                The Chief said, "You are all interfering with an official investigation."

                Summers cleared his throat, "They've already taken care of three of the creatures, sir."

                "Well then," the Chief said, "we'll need to make sure the remains are incinerated."

                "One already has been, and another one sort of vanished."

                "We owe you a debt of gratitude. Please feel free to stay the night."

                Olivia showed him her pass; "We were already planning on it."

                "Breakfast then, my treat." He turned to get back into his car and Olivia invoked her mage-sight ring - and he was positively glowing! Olivia drew and fired two shots that hit him square in the back. And they were both absorbed without causing any damage! The Chief spun around towards us and I saw Officer Summer's eyes glaze over. His arm raised until his gun was level with Olivia's head.

                I yelled out a warning, but she must have seen it because she ducked and the bullet just grazed her.

                The Chief waved at the men who'd come with him and nine of them fell to the ground, leaving the other three wondering what to do. Rodrick opened fire, blasting away with a BFG and nailed the Chief - killing him most completely dead.

                Summers was still trying to bring his sidearm to bear on Olivia. Knowing full well what was wrong with him, I tried to knock him upside the head with the butt of my shotgun. Leo didn't know why I didn't just shoot him or 'fry' him, but he followed my lead and pistol-whipped him. I missed, but Leo didn't and Summers hit the ground, unconscious.

                Once the ruckus had subsided, Olivia turned the mage-sight on the crowd that had gathered. There was one guy standing on the fringes wearing a street maintenance uniform who glowed. It must have sensed the attention because it suddenly shrieked and jumped. Straight up.

                We all opened fire at it. Olivia, Alfred and I all hit it, but it kept going. Leo's gun misfired but Rodrick hit it - solidly - at least three times and had no effect. When the thing was about forty feet off the ground, it vanished. Just like the girl in the club.

                Olivia went back to scanning the crowd as Rodrick and I helped Officer Summers to his feet.

                "What happened?" he asked. "What did I do? Is she okay? Why did I try to kill her?" I took the opportunity to explain to both he and Rodrick what those things were capable of. We were interrupted by the police radio reporting shots fired at the Mayor's office. Another report followed - all of his bodyguards were dead and there was no sign of the Mayor or his secretary.

                Olivia finished and announced that there were no more squidheads in the crowd, "Everyone else is clean." Then she stopped, and had the worst look on her face.

                "What?" I asked.

                "I just had the most horrible thought…"

                "Yes?!?"

                "Malcolm told us that the Mayor and the Chief of Police visited the house," she said.

                "We've got to go. Now!" I said.

                Officer Summers said, "Go. We'll take care of this, don't worry."

                Rodrick said to his new friends, "Girls? We're leaving now." The two of them were more than ready and now had a third girl with them.

                She pointed to one of the first two and told Rodrick, "Let me make this clear. I'm grateful - but I'm with her."

                Faster than was really safe, we made our way back to the House. We discussed it amongst ourselves and agreed we'd start with Malcolm and Morag and then work our way down and out through the council and to the general populace looking for any imposters.

                When we were close to home, I sent a message to Malcolm asking him to meet us outside. As we drove up, he and Ellen came out of the main doors.

                "You're back sooner than I had expected," he said.

                I said, "We've got a problem and we need to speak to you in private," and was rewarded with a glare for the 'private' part.

                "Alright. My chambers. Ellen, you'll excuse us?" he said.

                Once the door was closed, Olivia explained what had happened in Montrose.

                "And the 'real' people had all gone missing before the Mayor and his people visited here," I said.

                "Oh my God," Malcolm whispered. "What do you do to find them?" Olivia explained it.

                Malcolm nodded, "Start with me, then Ellen." We did and they were both fine. Then Malcolm called in Morag and the council. We started by examining them, and when all of them were 'clean' (even Marta!) we explained what was going on. By the time we'd finished it was getting late.

                Malcolm asked, "So where do we go from here?"

                "Start with the people they had contact with while they were here?" Rodrick suggested.

                Olivia asked, "Where did they stay?"

                "They were Marta's guests in the Tower," Malcolm said. "The students were moved out for a time."

                "My Tower?" Olivia demanded.

                So we moved our operation to the Tower. Marta confirmed that everyone was present and accounted for and Olivia checked them all out. While she was doing that, Olivia noticed that Wormy was keeping himself busy with the other Beta Males in a corner and had not presented himself to be tested.

                Olivia invoked the sight and he glowed. Marta yelled at him, "Slug boy! Get over here!"

                He slinked over, "Yes, Mistress?"

                Olivia gathered all her strength and sent a spell out to disrupt any magic on Wormy. It worked and she was able to completely overwhelm his (its?) power and the illusion faded - leaving a Mind Flayer standing in front of us all. Olivia opened fire, hit it and injured it. As did Malcolm, but Rodrick opened up with that BFG of his and dropped it.

                Olivia turned on Marta, "Some Vizier you are! Let my Wormy get taken by a Squidhead in my own Tower!"

                Marta sneered, "Who cares? He was a worm."

                Olivia slapped her, "And his body is probably hidden somewhere in the House."

                "So what? He was nothing." Marta said.

                Another Drow woman moved closer. "I have had enough of your shit!" and with that she backhanded Marta, almost knocking her off her feet. Marta tried to defend herself, but this woman had obviously done some kickboxing training and she soon had Marta down, bleeding and unconscious.

                Olivia looked her over, "What's your name?"

                "Eleanor. Do you want your job back?" she challenged.

                But Olivia just laughed, "I want to be ambassador to Las Vegas. I want to live at the Excalibur with my harem. And to be honest with you, as long as Marta doesn't have the job - I don't care!"

                Eleanor relaxed and said to Malcolm, "Vizier Eleanor reporting for duty, Your Majesty."

                Malcolm sighed, shook his head and said, "Very well." Then he indicated the Mind Flayer's body, "Search him and all his belongings and take the body outside. Lady Jacinta - will you make sure it's destroyed?"

                "Of course."

                He glanced down at Marta. "Get her back to the infirmary. There will be a council meeting at oh-eight hundred tomorrow to discuss the extent of this threat to the Kingdom."

                I said, "Since Wormy had been taking notes in the council meetings - I'd say the threat is very extent."

                Malcolm didn't miss a beat, "Briefing! My chambers as soon as that body has been destroyed."

                When it had been laid on the ground in the courtyard, Rodrick noticed something on its back. Something that was moving. A couple of well-placed bullets stopped that, but the body began to change. The skin thickened and hardened. It looked like the dermal plating we had seen in New Ectopia.

                At closer look, the 'thing' on his back looked like it was there to enhance something. Speed perhaps? "Maybe strength?" Rodrick asked. A symbiont of some kind, regardless. Everyone moved back and I called a flame strike done on the body. That took care of the thing! Then we reconvened in Malcolm's chambers.

                We examined Wormy's belongings, but the only item of interest was a bracelet that had been taken from the corpse and glowed with magic. It was rather plain but had a large pearl on it. After a complete examination, we could only guess at its purpose - a communications device of some sort?

                Olivia used the crystal we'd given Morag to try and determine where or who (or what) the bracelet reported to. The ball began to glow and it appeared to be filled with some sort of fluid that had small wriggly things swimming through it. And there was what looked like rotting brains floating in it.

                A horrible voice filled the room and demanded, "Report!"

                Olivia said, "Stay out of the Kingdom and the Montrose Free Zone, you lousy squidhead bastards!"

                Suddenly a blast of Power erupted from the bracelet - a blast directed at Olivia. When it was gone, Olivia appeared to be in a trance, but abruptly 'returned', screaming, to her body. Her screams continued for a few moments before she finally calmed. She described a vision that had been forced into her mind. A vision of her dead body, chained to a bed, being used by a long line of dead slaves.

                The bracelet had been reduced to slag by the blast of Power and she threw it away from herself and began crying. She was clinging to Alfred and Malcolm nodded at him, "We'll call it a day and pick this up again. Later, when everyone has rested."

                Leo and I watched Alfred carry Olivia to their room and returned to our own.

Continued...