July 3rd, 1437, Mid-afternoon:
Engaged in aggressive campaigning in Naples, Alfonso V the Magnanimous, King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Corsica and Sardinia, and Count of Barcelona, receives an urgent message from Spain delivered by a magical silver raven; the great fire dragon Wormwood has attacked, setting fire to Malaga and Barcelona.
Heartbroken and enraged, he orders his fleet to set sail back to Spain at once, while he himself mounts his trusty pegasus steed Relámpago and flies swiftly toward his burning kingdom...
The Champions, also known as the Crusaders, Jackals and Fools, leave King Solomon's Mines and travel back up the eastern and northern coasts of Africa during the summer months, gradually making their way back to Marrakesh on July 18th.
Landry, Emir of Marrakesh, welcomes their return and informs them of the troubling takeover of the Arab Slave Trade by Prince Henry of Portugal and his men, who have captured Anfa, Fez, Cueta, and other Morrocan cities from the Arabs, only to continue the same atrocities against the native Africans.
But new and strange allies have also arrived at Marrakesh to help stop the injustice of the Slave Trade, allies mustered by Shaka the awakened tiger, and Mwikali's Kanuri tribe...
Out of the Pride Lands has come Simba, the mighty Lion King, leading his pride of awakened talking lions, accompanied by packs of wildebeests, troops of baboons, and a thundering herd of elephants!
In Kanuri, to Mwikali: Brave Witch Mwikali, we have heard of your valiant efforts to protect our great land of Africa from hunters, poachers, and slavers of every kind. We have come to lend our aid to your efforts!
The Ogon Fox's nose twitches in delight at the smell of exotic spices as he passes near a marketplace in Marrakesh. He searches for a weapons vendor carrying suitably fine merchandise that might offer a proper price for the beautiful Barakuda.
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Johann also, having come into wealth and starting to get a headache from the weight of the equipment he carries, joins Fox in selling off some gear for gold.
"WELL NOW, FOXY! QUITE A PLACE THIS IS! WATCH YOUR BACK. I HEAR THESE ARABS LIKE FOX PELTS! HO HO! THEY CAN'T BE WORSE THAN JAPANESE PIRATES THOUGH, AMIRIGHT?"
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Lord P is deep in the Fey lands, well away from the eyes of Mortals.
Around him stands a number of Magical beast the most majestic of which is a pour white unicon, with a gold horn. a number of silthys carry the 7 unicorn horns behind it.
Words are spoken by unseen druids standing with their tree brethren.
and one by one the norns a laid into the rich magical earth of the woods of remembrance. As each is placed, from the ground springs the spirit of the once living unicon. Becoming a part of the fey dreamlands.
At last the act is done and the spirits are free. With out words the fey slip away back from once they came. Leaving just Lord P and the great unicorn.
She looks down at lord P. Her voice like music she said.
"I think you little lord, and tell your Queen I think her for this service."
Lord P nodded.
"I shall tell her Aasifa, thank you. I did what I could"
"Thank you, and now I must ask you, how goes things in the lands of mortals?"
He looked up.
"As foretold the age of the one gods is now upon them. The Old ways and gods are receding to the hidden places of the world. I aid who I can and inform others that time has come. Some heed my words. But some I feed have chosen to side with darker powers. This Dragon wormwood being one. Siding with Demons and Devils taints one to moral hate."
the unicorn now nodded.
"I have sant word, and may magic kin should came to the 1st lands. Here they will be safe but some want to stay and I fear form them."
Lord P now took to the air.
"We can only do our best mother of unicorns."
The unicorn looked up as he took to the air.
"Before you go Little lord. I want to give you I gift. Go see Rumpelstiltskin over in the Dark Forest."
Now he looked puzzled
"The tailer?"
he asked
"Yes, tell him I have sent you and I wish to get set a set of new cloths. To be honest Lord Perpireen after you adventers with the mortals your clothing is starting to look a little threadbear."
He looked down, gave a sheepish smile, dipped in the air in thanks and then flow off as fast has his wings could take him. Looking drab in the lands of the Fey was nothing less than a crime of fastion.
The Ogon Fox's nose twitches in delight at the smell of exotic spices as he passes near a marketplace in Marrakesh. He searches for a weapons vendor carrying suitably fine merchandise that might offer a proper price for the beautiful Barakuda.
Amir the Snake Charmer has the means to pay for such a handsome blade...
آه! سيد فوكس ، لقد سمعت أساطير المهارات القتالية الخاصة بك والمعارك التي خاضتها مع هذا النصل الأسطوري! سأكون سعيدًا لشرائه منك بسعر عادل!
ah! syd fuks , laqad samiet 'asatir almaharat alqitaliat alkhasat bik walmaearik alty khadatha mae hdha alnisl alastwry! sa'akun seydana lishirayih mink bisier eadl!
"Ahhh...how much?" the Fox asks in English to the man showing interest in his blade.
"Bah!" he scoffs at the Bear. "I'm sure there will be much more interest in your bear hide! You better go around as a snake, to be safe."
"Ahhh...how much?" the Fox asks in English to the man showing interest in his blade.
"Bah!" he scoffs at the Bear. "I'm sure there will be much more interest in your bear hide! You better go around as a snake, to be safe."
After some pantomime haggling, Master Fox and Amir the Snake Charmer agree on 16,000 golden shekels for Barakuda, and the deal is made.
To Johann Kaltgeboren:
وأنت ، يا سيد بير! أسطورة الخاص بك ينمو بعيدا واسعة ، وحكايات براعتكم العظيمة معروفة لي!
wa'ant , ya syd byr! 'usturat alkhasi bik yanmu beydaan wasieatan , wahikayat biraeatikum aleazimat maerufat ly!
Continuing in Arabic: I will buy that exquisite samurai armor you are looking to sell, and use the money I would pay for it to enhance that hide armor you wear, if you wish...
"Seems a fair deal" She says walking up behind the two shapeshifters. She came wearing plate mail, seemingly okay with the heat.
"Can you speak Arabic my fair bear? If not shall I help you? I am well versed, I was in a harem for months and before that, a variety of caravans" She says reaching up to tossel Johanns' hair playfully.
"It is a pleasure to meet you and your kingdom. Mother Africa has provided all her children the means to expel those who seek to dishonor our traditions, to force us too there will, we, however, shall not break our backs, or bend our knees to those who seek to use us. We are Strong, and with you and your animal warriors, we shall take back the lands taken from us due to false promises. We shall show them that Africa is not some land to conquer but land to join with." She says to the king, letting her gaze meet his. She then reached her hand out in a sign of good faith hoping the Loin King [lol] would offer his paw in return.
Once done with meeting the forces of animals and her fellow Kanuri people she goes to find her fellow adventurers. Once she finds them.
"I plan to aid you against this...' Anti-Christ'. I have set into motion the forces needed to retake the lands the Portuguese promised to free and failed only to continue my peoples' subjugation. I am confident in the forces' abilities to do so, however, I will return here when the deeds are done. I will lead my people offering to shelter and accept the freed. I will allow your religions into my home, even though I am not a fan of many of its followers. Still, this puppeteer of Evil Spirits and Mighty Dragons shall be slain, we shall save the world form its influence and then I shall rule my people. If any of you wish to accompany me when I return you are most welcome. Just if you don't tell your Kings that Africa is not thiers, Africa is for her people to rule!" She says satisfied with the plans before her. Noting she would come to do great things.
"Yes Johann, I am not what you would call a pure woman. I have done much in my service to Wallachia, leaving my home to fight the Arabs from within. I was traded like a horse my breed taking top dollar eventually infiltrating the right places and killing the wicked men who thought me just a mere woman." She says as she then helps him unload the merchandise to the trader.
The rest of July and into the first weeks of August 1437, the Champions lead a rebellion against the treacherous Portuguese slave traders, joined by Emir Landry of Marrakesh and his loyal soldiers, plus a mighty host of Kanuri warriors and awakened animals under King Simba and other animal lords. The fighting is fierce and bloody, and many lives are lost on both sides, but by the 15th of August, a truce is called for by Prince Henry of Portugal, who agrees to bring an end to the Slave Trade. A peace accord is signed in Marrakech, and reparations are made to the coastal tribes affected by the raids. All captives are freed on both sides, and an uneasy peace celebration is held, at Prince Henry's expense, in Marrakesh.
The Portuguese agree to remain in the ports of Ceuta, Anfa, and Fez, and to strike against any future Arab Slave Trade that might reappear in North Africa, and the Kunari and awakened animal warriors return to their homelands satisfied with the hard won victory and peace.
Now, the Champions say their farewells to Emir Landry and their other allies, and return their attention to the Great Evil that spreads like a cancer across Europe and the British Isles. Boarding their Arab dhow Alanqilis (The Eel), they lift anchor and set sail from the port of Anfa north and west across the Mediterranean Sea for Europe...
Coming into sight of land on the 1st of September 1437 AD, on the Mediterranean Sea, the adventurers feel a pang of alarm, for plumes of black smoke rise from the Spanish ports. Closer inspection reveals the terrible truth: Wormwood has been active in their absence!
The cities of Malaga, Barcelona and Madrid have been burnt to the ground, leaving only warped stone ruins inhabited by charred corpses and the forlorn ghosts of the immolated. Wildfires burn the Iberian Peninsula, baking the hills and plains of Hispania...
When Lord P came to them at the start of there new fight to stop slavery. He had on the most fine Fey Lord garb. Made he said by the tailor Rumpelstiltskin no less. It had cost him his magic eye robe and some other items but looked most fine and was gammermered in a number of ways.
The one he liked best was the one that made him look like a small Human child. Around 10 in age and peasantry by class. Unremarkable and missable in a crewed. It let him move around the human streets with ease.
He stood in this gammer at many of the battles. Looking on as mortals fought. Seeking the Magic falk to save.
As they sailed post the burning ports Lord P was in this gammer. A small human boy, flame red hair and green eyes of the irish, watching the smoke rise.
"We will have to do something about that worm. He kills both magic and non make falk, without guilt or fear."
"I see a new look, Interesting" She says looking about the devastation.
"Do you think the land will heal?" She asks as she reaches down to test the earth wondering what the ground is feeling.
Ihrin now houses two katanas on one side, with the two Wakisashi and a Katana on the other side. She seemed regal as she let her disguise show her a pristine Italian Noblewoman in armor.
"Seems the dragon has been busy. Question is why?"
As the adventurers are investigating the burnt ruins of the port of Malaga, the Alanqilis docked in the smoking harbor, they encounter a large platoon of hobgoblin raiders, some two dozen infantry in medium piecemeal armor or brigandine, with wooden shields painted red and bearing medusa head coat of arms, and armed with wicked, blackened iron scimitars, morningstars, flails, or battle-axes.
The hobgoblin raiders carry bundles of loot on their backs, or dismembered and charred body parts of humans, animals, and unidentifiable beasts. Upon seeing the outnumbered but well-equipped and unafraid party of adventurers, the Medusa's Head hobgoblins are given some momentary pause before resorting to their usual bellicose attitudes of blade-rattling, spear-shaking, and shield-beating, issuing a defiant and greed-driven challenge to the Champions.
It is likely to be the last mistake these hobgoblin raiders ever make...
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"HO THERE! YOU LOT! WHY DO YOU CARRY THE BODY'S OF GOD'S CHILDREN, BURNT AND DISMEMBERED! ANSWER NOW OR FACE... DEATH FROM ABOVE!"
Johann turns into his bat self. He is angry at the brazen indications of mass murder, and would really like to pick up these scavengers one at a time and drop them from great heights.
Alphonse awakens in a cold sweat, troubled from his dreams. He relays what he remembers to the others in the hopes that they can give some meaning to it.
"I'd pass it off as mere regret for an innocent I could not save, but she spoke such fluid French; a language I have regretfully never managed to pick up. How then could I remember the words so clearly, as if they're burned into my mind? I can recite them..." and he does "...But their meaning are lost upon me."
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Alphonse' fist clenches, elation at their success in Portugal turning to ashes in his breast.
"May G$@ d~~n that dragon's soul to the deepest Pit. I had thought we had more time before his return. I do not regret our actions in Portugal, but the time lost...however many lives we saved from the wicked slave trade was more than traded here by our delay."
"I swear on my Honor as I did the day I set foot from Stonehenge. I will slay that dragon and avenge the fallen, even if I must pursue it to the depths of Hell itself."
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"Stand down or face the wrath of God. Drop your weapons and you may yet be spared, but you have only this one chance. Our time runs short and we can afford no further delays. Explain the source of your ill-gotten gains."
Mwikali looks at the others and shakes her head. She still rests Kiku on her shoulder as she waits for them to answer. If this went south she would flex her magical muscle as she looked at her works in progress and wonders if her poppets will get done to help her out
Ihrin in the image of a refined Italian lady turns her nose up at the smell and shields her face.
The raiders quake in fear at the obvious prowess of the Champions, and quickly decide to parley...
Please! Do not kill us! We are just scavengers seeking sustenance...
The hobgoblin raiders whisper fearfully to one another:
*whispering*
Alphonse awakens in a cold sweat, troubled from his dreams. He relays what he remembers to the others in the hopes that they can give some meaning to it.
"I'd pass it off as mere regret for an innocent I could not save, but she spoke such fluid French; a language I have regretfully never managed to pick up. How then could I remember the words so clearly, as if they're burned into my mind? I can recite them..." and he does "...But their meaning are lost upon me."
Bonjour Alphonse. Je suis venu vous porter un message. Le même mauvais ennemi qui m'a brûlé sur le bûcher est sur le point de brûler votre maison en Angleterre. Avec moi, ils ont utilisé vos compatriotes et m'ont brûlé comme ils font des sorcières. Mais ils brûleront votre maison avec le feu du dragon.
Translated to English: Hello Alphonse. I come bearing a message to you. The same evil enemy that burnt me alive is now going to burn down your house in England. With me, they used your kinsmen and burnt me as a witch. But to burn down your house, they will use dragon fire.
Replying to the paladin's query: We were sent to loot what the dragon left unburnt and return with it to the Dark Emperor! We're just doing what the Dark Emperor of the Roman Crypts told us to do, lest he destroy us!
Revelation 1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show unto his servants, [even] the things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent and signified i by his angel unto his servant John; 2 who bare witness of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, [even] of all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein: for the time is at hand. 4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from him who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits that are before his throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ, [who is] the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by his blood; 6 and he made us [to be] a kingdom, [to be] priests unto his God and Father; to him [be] the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so, Amen. 8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. 9 I John, your brother and partaker with you in tribulation and kingdom and patience [which are] in Jesus, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet 11 saying, What thou seest, write in a book and send i to the seven churches: unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamum, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. 12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And having turned I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13 and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle. 14 And his head and his hair were white as white wool, i as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 and his feet like unto burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters. 16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last, 18 and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. 19 Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter; 20 the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks are seven churches.
Greeblitz: But why should we surrender to these humans? We outnumber them four times!
Scabrax: Shut your meat hole, idiot! These are those MIGHTY ONES!!
And so the band of adventurers gain a new name!
" Have them turn over their gear, bury the dead and then they are free to go. If they do not I will turn them into pigs" She says nonchalantly.
"Or we could teleport them to the Port and give them to the ship captians and have them learn to be sailors or seek out employ as warriors in Africa. The choice is theirs"
During the last days of Nero's mortal life and reign, in the Eternal City of Rome, at the Coliseum:
A Sicilian gladiator with trident and net clashes in mortal combat with a Gaulish gladiator armed with gladius and buckler, tangling his sword in the weighted net, and jabbing under his upraised buckler, piercing his unarmored abdomen. The pierced swordsman screams in agony, his scarlet blood qushing onto the sand...
Nero sits in a box overlooking the bloody spectacle with his sister Agrippina the Younger. He laughs at the bloodshed, but she is horrified and angry and turns away.
Hahahaha! No, look! These men die to amuse us, my dear sister. Do not let them die in vain.
No! You know the sight of blood repulses me... I feel sick... You're a monster, brother!
She rises to leave, but Nero sneers and grabs her by the wrist...
You WILL LOOK, you ungrateful b$$+%! snarls the arrogant young Emperor of Rome, and he grabs his sister's wrist, pulling her back into her seat, and taking her head in both hands, laughing fiendishly, he forces her to face the slaughter. She shuts her eyes and weeps.
Lord P walks up to the group of Hobgoblin, showing no fear at all.
"Look at them, they are splendid. Teeth and muscles, carrying the flesh of the innocent and lost. Glinting green skin and blood soaked blades. What horrors, what a perfect from of terror to hunt the minds of dreamers safe asleep in warm beds."
He looked back at his fellows.
"Let me make the offer, let me ask if they will take the bargain of the fey."
The child's form fell away. And there he flow a bight star of light.
"I make you this offer, I do it but once. It's yours take or leave as you see it. I offer you this, a place in the fey lands of Dream. There to hunt and reek havik and razz the towns and villages of sleepers. Cast dread and fear for the shadows and dark. Nightmares and sleepless night. For in the real of dream both light and dark must be. For what are the sweet dream of summer if the decelet winds of winter to not also blow."
As he talked his hands moved and into being came a portal to the bright ways.
"My king welcomes all who would live forever in dream and nightmare. Choose you path, stay here in the realm of mortal flesh to be hunted and forgot. Or be the hunters forever in dream and never forgot"
He wanted for their answer.
Later that night, as they are feasting and being entertained by musicians, Nero passes a goblet to his young sister Agrippina.
Do not be cross with me, my beautiful sister! I only wanted you to enjoy the spectacle of the games. Here, drink, and be merry!
He watches with malevolent anticipation as she hesitantly takes the goblet of wine...
Lord P walks up to the group of Hobgoblin, showing no fear at all.
"Look at them, they are splendid. Teeth and muscles, carrying the flesh of the innocent and lost. Glinting green skin and blood soaked blades. What horrors, what a perfect from of terror to hunt the minds of dreamers safe asleep in warm beds."He looked back at his fellows.
"Let me make the offer, let me ask if they will take the bargain of the fey."
The child's form fell away. And there he flow a bight star of light.
"I make you this offer, I do it but once. It's yours take or leave as you see it. I offer you this, a place in the fey lands of Dream. There to hunt and reek havik and razz the towns and villages of sleepers. Cast dread and fear for the shadows and dark. Nightmares and sleepless night. For in the real of dream both light and dark must be. For what are the sweet dream of summer if the decelet winds of winter to not also blow."
As he talked his hands moved and into being came a portal to the bright ways.
"My king welcomes all who would live forever in dream and nightmare. Choose you path, stay here in the realm of mortal flesh to be hunted and forgot. Or be the hunters forever in dream and never forgot"
He wanted for their answer.
The hobgoblins consider Lord Perpireen's offer, and find it too tempting to pass up, knowing that to return empty handed to the crypts where the Dark Emperor awaits their tribute would seal their doom for certain. After some debate and deliberation, they agree to take the Fey Lord's generous offer, and after burying the dead and handing over their ill-gotten loot to the Mighty Ones as Mwikali demanded, they all pass through Lord Perpireen's magic gate to the Realm of Dreams and Nightmares...
Later that night, as they are feasting and being entertained by musicians, Nero passes a goblet to his young sister Agrippina.
Do not be cross with me, my beautiful sister! I only wanted you to enjoy the spectacle of the games. Here, drink, and be merry!
He watches with malevolent anticipation as she hesitantly takes the goblet of wine...
Taking the goblet of wine, she puts it to her lips, but pauses... Something in her wicked brother's expression gives her an unpleasant chill... She sips the wine, and tastes the metallic, bitter taste of blood! She casts the goblet down on the floor, spilling the crimson fluid.
UGH!! GODS, BROTHER!! WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS!? WHAT IS THAT AWFUL TASTE!?
Later that night, as they are feasting and being entertained by musicians, Nero passes a goblet to his young sister Agrippina.
Do not be cross with me, my beautiful sister! I only wanted you to enjoy the spectacle of the games. Here, drink, and be merry!
He watches with malevolent anticipation as she hesitantly takes the goblet of wine...
Taking the goblet of wine, she puts it to her lips, but pauses... Something in her wicked brother's expression gives her an unpleasant chill... She sips the wine, and tastes the metallic, bitter taste of blood! She casts the goblet down on the floor, spilling the crimson fluid.
UGH!! GODS, BROTHER!! WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS!? WHAT IS THAT AWFUL TASTE!?
Laughing cruelly, Emperor Nero reveals his nasty prank: Why, sister, it is only the blood of that slain gladiator you refused to look upon earlier today during the games! HAHAHAHAHAAA!!!
Laughing cruelly, Emperor Nero reveals his nasty prank: Why, sister, it is only the blood of that slain gladiator you refused to look upon earlier today during the games! HAHAHAHAHAAA!!!Later that night, as they are feasting and being entertained by musicians, Nero passes a goblet to his young sister Agrippina.
Do not be cross with me, my beautiful sister! I only wanted you to enjoy the spectacle of the games. Here, drink, and be merry!
He watches with malevolent anticipation as she hesitantly takes the goblet of wine...
Taking the goblet of wine, she puts it to her lips, but pauses... Something in her wicked brother's expression gives her an unpleasant chill... She sips the wine, and tastes the metallic, bitter taste of blood! She casts the goblet down on the floor, spilling the crimson fluid.
UGH!! GODS, BROTHER!! WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS!? WHAT IS THAT AWFUL TASTE!?
Agrippina screams in horror, then vomits violently, dashing out of the feast chamber.
Having dealt with the hobgoblin raiders and finished surveying the desolation of Wormwood along the Spanish coast, the Mighty Ones return to the Alanqilis, raise anchor and set sail for Italy...
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"WELL DONE, LORD PERPIREEN! I WOULD PROBABLY FIT INTO THIS LAND OF THE FEY MYSELF... BUT YOU HAVE SENT SO MANY ENEMIES THERE, THE PLACE MIGHT NOT BE THAT WELCOMING... IN ANY CASE, THIS IS BLOOD MONEY BEFORE US. WE SHOULD GIVE IT OUT TO THE POOR AND HUNGRY THAT WE PASS ON THE WAY TO ROME. IT IS THE CHRISTIAN THING TO DO."
Monday evening around 4 o'clock on September 2nd, the Year of Our Lord 1437:
The Alanqilis lands in the harbor at Rome, and the Mighty Ones are relieved to see that the Eternal City appears to have escaped the wrath of Wormwood Conflagratius. The quay is crawling with dock workers, fishermen, and sailors, and countless colorful sails fill the harbor.
The Mighty Ones, the Crusaders, Jackals and Fools, have returned to the great metropolis of Rome to find it much as they left it, except for a general pall of fear that lingers around the streets and plazas of the ancient city, a sense of impending doom. Word of the dragon's desolation of Spain and France have spread like wildfire, and the citizens continue to store up provisions in the Catacombs, and the watchtowers are on high alert for any sign of the fire wyrm's approach.
Revelation 2
To the Church in Ephesus
2 “To the angel[a] of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
To the Church in Smyrna
8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.
11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.
To the Church in Pergamum
12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.
14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
To the Church in Thyatira
18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, 25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’[b]—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star. 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
As the Mighty Ones are docking at Rome, far to the north, on the coast of France, Wormwood the Destroyer arrives over the English-held port of Calais, its titanic wings fanning the flames of the wildfires its breath set among the vineyards and pastures about the city, and casting a black shadow over the rooftops and streets.
The monstrous Worm of Armageddon roars a terrifying demand to the folk of Calais in Draconic: MAGGOTS OF GAUL!! YOU HAVE ONE HOUR TO PROVIDE FOR MY SUPPER A WORTHY MAIDEN OF HIGH BIRTH AND TEN TUNNES OF YOUR BEST WINE!! IF I AM NOT PLEASED WITH THE MEAL YOU SERVE ME, I SHALL BURN YOUR LITTLE TOWN TO ASHES!!
Lord P seems happy that another group have moved on to the fey realms and away from the time of the one gods.
As Johann talks of going there he smiles.
"In the fey realm of dream enemies fight and die only to spring up once more in dreams anew. Such as with the north gods that once held the cold lands. Asgard as passed into legends and dreams. And Such as Arthur Pendragon and Queen Mab. But I hear Merlin is still about in the mortal realms, His is a tricky one. So have no fear, your place is there should you wish to take it. My lord of Bears."
He says with smile.
As they get to the holy city he once more takes the form of servant child.