The demon pondered the word "stud" and then dismissed his confusion. "I'm skilled at gathering information, and these claws are unmatched when the moments show no solution other than to pounce. If these traits are not what you consider esteemed, we have nothing further to discuss. I shall hunt on my own."

George liked a lot of what the jaguar had said. What could it hurt to have the beast travel with him, as long as he could maintain his illusion of power. A cat with this size would definitely offer protection, and all he needed to do was stay in one piece until he could retrieve the Staff of Petrifaction. Once he was able to turn things to stone, he could re-evaluate his need for the demon.

Turning to Kepler, George thought of two questions. He hoped the answers would make the next couple of steps of his journey much easier. "How do you feel about pushing aside heavy boulders, and are you immune to the effects of the beast inside the Cave of Sorrow?"

Kepler's responses were everything George wanted to hear. They decided to call it a partnership-for now-and since the night was late, George turned to sleep. It was only a few hours until sunrise, and there was a big boulder to find. As George went to sleep, he dreamt of Abbie and Athena. They took his little daughter to an amus.e.m.e.nt park and ate cotton candy. It was a pleasant dream.

Kepler, on the other hand, was relieved that he was able to accomplish the task Celestria recommended. The loss of the saber lord was regrettable, but as it turned out, it was necessary. At least he knew what he was up against. He yawned as he jumped up on a nearby boulder to lie down and reflect on the Peak's events. As the fog moved in across the lake, a soothing breeze swept over him.

High above, on a branch in a nearby tree, Lasidious had watched the travel companions' paths merge. The G.o.d lowered his eyes to the rock at the base of the tree. It was this large stone the map rested beneath, and it would soon be discovered. He realized he was right about George's ability to seize power, and he hoped the Earthling could distract the G.o.ds. He needed this diversion to hide Celestria, allowing her to give birth without fear of discovery. He enjoyed the luck involved this evening, but he knew this kind of luck only followed those who were clever enough to find it. Smiling, the G.o.d of Mischief's eyes flashed red, and then he vanished.

Kepler sitting near the Pool of Sorrow Southern Grayham IT IS A NEW PEAK and everyone is up and moving in their own little part of the worlds governed by the Crystal Moon. Celestria and Lasidious are once again plotting inside their home on Ancients Sovereign.

GEORGE is with Kepler at the Pool of Sorrow. After waking, Kepler sent for help to move the boulder that supposedly sits atop the map.

SAM is training with BJ in the field just outside of Angels Village. The fighter is being humbled by yet another series of beatings, but he is showing significant improvement. Kael has even commented on Sam's growth, saying he is doing much better than the Peak before-because he could not have done much worse.

THE HEALERS have attended to Shalee, replacing her bandages and applying more healing mud to her arm. She is tired from the experience, but not in too much pain. Despite her injury, she smiles as she looks across the room toward the fireplace. She is holding Precious in her good hand, and she is commanding the fire-making sure to only use simple commands so she can enjoy the benefits of her successes.

HELGA is working on a few new lessons for her protege. The older sorceress has every intention of making Shalee practice with her broken arm. She plans to retrieve her student from the inn not long from now.

MOSLEY is talking to the manager of Angels Arena, setting up Sam's first fight to give the Earthling a taste of the intense compet.i.tion inside Southern Grayham's arenas. This particular battle will not be to the death, but neither will it be without injury if Sam does not fight well. The compet.i.tion, using wooden staves as the weapon of choice, will continue until a cry for submission is uttered. Compensation for victory will be 10 Owain coins, or two if he loses.

Ba.s.sORINE is in a meeting with the Book of Immortality. He is trying to convince the Book that Lasidious is up to something, but the Book is not giving Ba.s.sorine the answers he is seeking.

Lasidious has not broken a law, and until he does, his actions are permissible. The G.o.d of War will storm out of the Hall of Judgment, feigning his regret of the creation of the Book as he pa.s.ses Keylom on his way out.

Thank you for reading this edition of the Grayham Inquirer

CHAPTER 13.

Kroger the Ogre The Hidden G.o.d World Ancients Sovereign FROM WITHIN THEIR HOME on the world of Ancients Sovereign, Lasidious and Celestria laughed as they listened to Ba.s.sorine shout. They were thrilled with the successful pairing of George and Kepler at the Pool of Sorrow.

"You should've seen Kepler's face when George tortured the Saber Lord," Lasidious sn.i.g.g.e.red. "It was all I could do to keep quiet. When Kepler introduced himself, he was so careful about it.

"I was impressed with how George kept his cool when he saw the giant cat. How the mortal thought to use the snare scroll to trap the saber is beyond me. I was sure he was going to get his head taken off when Kepler sent the cat after him. It appears George has solid instincts, and he's smarter than our initial a.s.sessment suggested."

"Truly, my love, my adorable devil-G.o.d," Celestria purred, rubbing Lasidious' temples with her fingers. "Do tell..."

The Mischievous One enjoyed her touch. "It was perfect. He set the trap and then acted as if he was injured. It was a beautiful deception. I was proud of my puppet. He had the nerve to laugh at Kepler and jest at his expense. He told Kepler his only skill was licking his privates and a.s.signed the beast a t.i.tle, 'Captain Ball-licker.' I nearly fell off my perch when I heard the insult. Kepler did nothing. He appeared scared. I think he believes George wields magic. I thought for sure George would garesh his pants when Kepler appeared from the shadows."

Celestria cupped her lover's face in her hands. "You're so cute when your vicious mind overflows with pride, my love." She kissed him and then touched her belly. "Your baby grows, my sweet, and I'll be leaving for Luvelles soon. I'll stay there until the baby is born. I want you to be patient, my pet. I may not be able to be with you, but I'll be thinking of you. You're my heart's desire."

Pa.s.sion filled their moments. It would be Lasidious' responsibility to carry out their plans until the baby was born. Celestria kissed her devious lover once more and then left to spend the remainder of her pregnancy with the elven, witch family, Rolfe.

The Pool of Sorrow George and Kepler were waiting. It would take the rest of this Peak, and most of the next, before Kepler's summons for help to remove the boulder from beneath the tree would be answered. One of the dead Saber Lord's relatives was sent north into the Dark Forest to fetch help from a giant ogre named Kroger.

Angels Village Helga walked through the door of Shalee's room, unannounced, to get her student moving for the Peak. The elder woman caught the young sorceress-in-training using her staff to command smaller successes and then enjoying the satisfaction.

Shalee was in the middle of one of her pleasurable, tear-filled moments when Helga barged in.

The older woman laughed. As a young sorceress-in-training herself, she did something similar-only she had been smart enough to lock the door.

Embarra.s.sed by the intrusion, Shalee jumped out of bed. Her face was damp from the tears, and she tried to hide her embarra.s.sment behind a pillow.

"Don't you know how to knock?" Shalee snapped. "It's not ladylike to be barging in on someone like that."

Helga fell to the empty bed, laughing. She tried to answer, but could not.

"Very funny," the younger woman said, turning away to hide a smile. "I bet you did the same thing, and you know exactly what I was up to. You can't blame me. Precious has given me plenty of happy thoughts. This staff is my new definition of goodness-gracious."

"Oh, Child, Child, Child, you don't have to tell me. I didn't leave my room for Peaks when I began training. My teacher was displeased, to say the least."

The women laughed, and the moment of embarra.s.sment vanished, replaced with a perfect period of bonding as Shalee taught Helga how to give a high-five.

"My friends and little old me, gave each other high-fives back on Earth when something felt special or funny. I think you and I will be good together. Besides, I could really use a friend right now. I've cried so much since learning my loved ones have pa.s.sed. I wish the pain would go away."

Helga was sympathetic. "Oh, Child, I love the idea of being your friend. Anything I can do to ease your pain, I will. I know what it's like to lose a loved one. Pain like that should not be suffered alone." Helga lifted her hand and gave her new best friend another high-five to seal the bond. "Shall we speak of other things to get your mind off the torture?"

Shalee nodded. "So ... now that I've had my first failure, the rest should be smooth sailing, right?"

"Let's hope that's the case, Child. We best get going. I have a few lessons planned, and we need to get to them. I hope you don't fail again. I would hate for you to break your other arm and not be able to practice."

"You know it, girl," Shalee said with sa.s.s as she threw up her good hand for another high-five. Both women enjoyed the moment, and then Shalee changed her clothes before they headed out.

Once they arrived at Helga's school, Shalee was anxious to get started. She was amazed at the healing properties of the mud that had been used under her bandages. Even though she had broken her arm only the night before, she could already tell that the moments necessary to move past the injury would be minimal.

Helga removed a few of the mattresses from the center of the padded room and replaced them with four, large buckets of water. Turning to Shalee, she said, "This exercise is similar to last night's, but during this series of moments, I want you to manipulate water in different ways, but don't even bother asking to combine words, Child."

Shalee smiled. She looked at the four buckets, and after a bit, she queried, "What's the Elven word for water?"

The older sorceress answered, figuring it was an expected request, but Shalee had other ideas. Her pride shone through as she raised her staff and shouted, "Precious, nem coa!"

Helga looked at her student and then quickly threw up a wall of force to protect them. Shalee had fooled her teacher by combining the elven word for "life," coa, with the word for "water," nem. All Helga could do was wait for the outcome and hope for the best.

Apprehensively, the duo watched as the water lifted into the air and transformed into a shimmering image of a falcon. The detail the command retrieved from Shalee's mind when creating the bird was spectacular. The falcon had been her favorite bird of prey ever since she had first seen it on the nature channel. It looked like a piece of crystal, except for its graceful movements in flight. After a while, it made sweeping pa.s.ses above their heads as the magic responded to Shalee's changing thoughts.

Eventually, Shalee grew tired and could feel her power beginning to fade. She decided to end the command by flying the bird above Helga's barrier of protection. The command further instructed the falcon to stop above the older woman's head. Shalee allowed the image to fall on top of Helga, drenching her.

The young sorceress-in-training would have laughed at the sight, but the success of the command demanded her attention. She lay down and allowed the rush to consume her. After a long series of moments filled with immense pleasure, Shalee fell asleep, and she was not able to be awakened for the rest of the Peak.

Sam was summoned to the school to carry Shalee back to the inn. Helga followed and tucked the covers around her student after Sam laid her on the bed. It had taken the older sorceress almost 10 seasons to accomplish what Shalee had in two Peaks. Wiping the sweat from her student's brow, the teacher smiled inside. She wished she could give her new friend another high-five.

The Pool of Sorrow The next day, the giant beast-man hurried, responding to Kepler's summons. Kroger, an oversized ogre, emerged from his home deep within the Dark Forest and crossed the boulders spanning the outlet.

George heard the thunderous footsteps of the ogre as he approached. He watched in amazement as the ma.s.sive beast-of-a-man dwarfed the rocks of the crossing where he had killed the 2,500 pound Saber Lord.

As the ogre drew closer, Kepler explained that Kroger was cursed at birth with gigantism, and the ogre's mother had pa.s.sed while giving birth. Though it was not Kroger's fault, his father had blamed him and abandoned the newborn in the Dark Forest.

Kroger ended up being raised by the most unlikely of families-a group of Dread Gorillas. They had taken him in as their own, and no one could explain why. The Dread Gorillas were fierce, so fierce that they ate their young if a weakness was found. Perhaps they saw the ogre as powerful and respected his differences enough to let him live.

The ogre was easily 50 feet tall, which equalled nearly 18 paces, and he wore furs to cover his mid-section. His feet were bare, toughened from many seasons of exposure to the elements, and he carried a ma.s.sive club that had spikes on its end. A large strap ran up, across his chest and over his shoulder to support a huge backpack that George figured was large enough to hold a small car. The pack had something inside it, but George could only see the b.u.mp the object made.

Kroger was not a handsome creature. Scars covered his body from many seasons of wrestling with his gorilla family in play. He could see the giant was a happy person. The ogre was singing as he walked across the stones of the crossing. Even from where he stood, George could tell from the sound of Kroger's voice that he did not possess the highest of IQs, and he even looked a little bit like he had Down's Syndrome.

With dusk approaching, George quickly manipulated the situation. He introduced himself to Kroger, treating the giant with respect, and after a few moments of idle conversation, he excused himself for two purposes. The first was to give Kepler the moments to instill fear in the giant about George's perceived power. And the second was to empty his bladder on yet another unsuspecting tree.

Once George rejoined the group, he asked Kroger to remove every stone that was sitting at the base of various trees near the outlet. Eventually, the proper stone was removed.

The giant lifted the rock with ease. As George watched Kroger playfully toss it up and down, the manipulator figured it had to weigh around two tons, his estimation being based on some similar boulders that had been delivered to his apartment complex for landscaping.

George watched in awe as the ogre threw the rock off the edge of the embankment into the torrent waters below the outlet. "Wow! You're a strong guy, aren't you, Kroger? You'd make a great bodyguard."

Kroger's response sounded like an overgrown child's, and he spoke of himself in third person. "Kroger strong. Kroger throw rock far, George. Kroger take care of George."

George smiled. "Awww, thanks, big guy. You stay here, I've got something to do."

"Okay, George."

The human smiled as he jumped into the hole left behind by the boulder.

Kepler stepped toward the edge. "What are you doing?"

As George moved the dirt around, he replied, "I'll show you in a minute ... I hope."

It took a few moments, but George finally uncovered the map. He did not understand how the paper could look so new, but said nothing. The weight of the stone should have destroyed it, yet the paper had not been damaged nor had it absorbed the moisture from under the rock. It was as if the map had been drawn that morning. Rather than dwell on this fact, George chalked it up to yet another mystery, and like everything else in this world, it was just one more messed up thing.

Kepler and Kroger were curious. They tried to position themselves to see what was on the parchment, but George pulled the map back to keep prying eyes from seeing. "Take it easy, my powerful friends," he said. "There's going to be something in this for all of us."

Kepler responded. "Why won't you let us see for ourselves? If we are to dominate territories together, we should share knowledge."

George nodded. "And we will, but first, I ask that you let me figure out a plan. This map is the bomb, trust me."

Kepler jumped back from the hole. "Bomb? We must flee!"

"No, no, no, no, no! It's not that kind of bomb. We're not in danger."

The demon-jaguar's furry face showed his confusion. "Explain."

George grinned. "When I said bomb, I meant the map is good. It will help us gain a tremendous amount of power."

Distracted, Kepler looked up at Kroger. The ogre was picking his nose. He rolled the b.u.g.g.e.r between his fingertips and then flicked the wad into the trees. As it hit one of the branches, it formed around it and did not fall to the ground.

Disgusted, the jaguar shook his head and then redirected his gaze. "Why call the map a bomb if it isn't one?"

"You can't be serious?" George replied. "It was just an expression. Just relax. This map is going to give us everything we want."

Kepler desperately wanted to look at the parchment, but he was learning that George was not stupid. If the human said the map was going to help them gain power, then the jaguar could only trust that George knew what he was talking about.

Night was coming, and George wanted to study the map for as long as he could. He quickly ordered the ogre to gather some wood, and it was not long before the trio was sitting around a Kroger-sized fire. Kepler stared at George, his eyes glowing burgundy-red while the human memorized the details on the parchment.

George was shocked at how easy the map was to understand. The location of the staff was clearly marked. It was resting behind a hidden door that was guarding it. The markings suggested that this door was not too far away from the entrance of the cave. However, once he was inside, there were only two ways out. The first was to make his way through the cave and find an exit called Sorrow's Release, but that was an 8 Peak walk according to Jason and the mage. The second option was to leave the way the traveler entered, but that way of exiting required the traveler to risk a deadly confrontation with the beast. At the bottom of the map, the parchment clearly stated the beast had to be killed in order to release his control over the entrance.

George remembered what Jason told him. He said the beast was a hideous creature who used visions of sadness to drive those who entered the cave insane. The prospect of dealing with the creature was of little concern since Kepler believed he was immune to its visions. Apparently, sadness was an emotion the jaguar was unaffected by-or so the demon thought.

With George's mind working overtime, it was not long before he developed a plan. "Listen up, guys. We have a job to do, but first, I'm hungry." George patted his belly. "What do you guys say we get something to eat?"

"Food!" Kroger shouted in a booming voice. "Kroger like to eat." The ogre reached into his gigantic backpack and pulled out the first of two dead corgans. He ripped the cow-like animal apart and offered it up to the group.

George was blown away. Even though he was staring at Kroger's pack, he could not that believe any backpack was large enough to hold two cows. The d.a.m.n things have got to weigh at least 1,000 pounds each, he thought.

George had a look of awe on his face as he thanked Kroger for the meal, and then he watched as his companions ate their supper raw. Eventually, he broke a limb off a nearby tree, stripped it of its leaves and then used the stick to roast his portion of the corgan above the flame.

After everyone was full, George explained his plan. Once the look of understanding appeared on Kroger's face, he put the scroll in his bag and suggested they all get some sleep. He placed the bag under his head to keep curious minds out and eventually drifted off to sleep.

THE NEXT MORNING, George, Kepler and Kroger are up and on their way through the Pa.s.s of Tears, traveling toward the Cave of Sorrow. They plan to camp a safe distance from the entrance of the cave once they arrive. George wants to avoid any unexpected encounters with the beast, Maldwin. They will review George's plan before entering.

SAM, MOSLEY and BJ are on their way to Angels Arena. BJ wants to give Sam a sense of what to expect before his first fight. The fight is scheduled as the last one of the evening. Sam, however, is not sure the idea to put him in the arena this early in his training is practical. The trainer wants Sam to familiarize himself with the sandy surface of the arena floor.

SHALEE is once again with Helga after sleeping through the night. She still feels weak, and they have decided to stick with simple commands as her training continues. The past few Peaks have been wonderful, despite Shalee's broken arm.

The rewards Shalee has come to expect from simpler commands are fading as her training continues. Helga explains that Shalee's magical foundation is building, and from now on, easier commands will only add small extensions to her life.

CELESTRIA is now with the elven, witch family on the world of Luvelles. She is posing as a distant relative. The story, if asked, is that she has traveled to stay with them until her baby is born.

LASIDIOUS plans to make an appearance to the Collective. He has sent word for the Book of Immortality to call a meeting inside the Hall of Judgment. The Book has invited the G.o.ds to attend, and as expected, with the exception of Celestria, every G.o.d informs the Book that they will make an appearance.

Thank you for reading this edition of the Grayham Inquirer

CHAPTER 14.

A G.o.d Falls The Book's Hall of Judgment THE MEETING OF THE G.o.ds was held inside the Hall of Judgment, the home of the Book of Immortality. The vanity of the G.o.ds had ensured that everything on Ancients Sovereign was breathtakingly beautiful, and the room they held their meetings in was no exception.

The majority of the Collective was sitting around a heavy stone table, but one of the G.o.ds, Keylom, was unable to sit. He was a centaur, and unlike the others, Keylom had to stand due to his unique body composition. His hooves clapped against the floor as he shifted nervously while listening to the harsh words that were being thrown around the room.

Ba.s.sorine shouted, "I'm outraged by your deception, Lasidious!" He glared at the Mischievous One. "You'll give back the Crystal Moon, or I'll-"