0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DUEL TWENTY-FIVE
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ancient Secrets
Tabjari
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
Six hours later, it was seven AM in Great Britain. Somewhere behind the gloomy, overcast clouds, the sun had risen.
In Shadowchaser Headquarters, Red Feather and Penelope were in a waiting room.
"You know, Penelope…" said Red Feather. "I've been thinking about what Ophelia said… About how so many 'great duelists' weren't really so great…"
"She had a point," said Penelope.
"Do you think Insector Haga and 'Dinosaur' Ryuzaki were great duelists?" asked Red Feather. "I mean, if Haga wasn't such a cheater, I might have admired him for using Insects…"
Penelope sighed.
"Well…" she said. "Haga was the Regional Champion of Japan before the Duelist Kingdom Tournament, and Ryuzaki came in second place in the same tournament…
"And to give Haga credit, he did manage to summon a Monster that is notorious for being one of the hardest Monsters in the game to summon, at least on one occasion. So maybe they were good duelists at one point…
"But… If you want me to actually name one of their opponents that they defeated… Not counting the time when Haga defeated Ryuzaki… I'm afraid I can't… So I guess the answer to your question is, no, they were never really 'great'…"
A door opened, and a doctor came in with two glasses of liquid.
"Okay ladies," he said, "this should neutralize the dark agony. It tastes rather awful, but Jalal insisted I brew the antidote fast."
Apparently that didn't discourage them. They grabbed the glasses, and drank the contents in quick gulps.
Then they both made a face.
"You were right…" said Red Feather with a gag. "That does taste pretty awful… And I'm used to tofu and granola…"
"If I could have taken my time, I could have made it taste like pineapple punch," said the doctor, "but like I said, Jalal insisted I get it done quickly."
Another door opened, and Jalal came in.
"If you two are okay, for the moment," he said, "follow me… After all you've been through, you deserve to be in on this conversation…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Half an hour later, Lorelei was sitting in a chair at a table in an interrogation room. Her hands were cuffed, and a guard was to either side.
Jalal walked in, followed by Red Feather, Penelope, and the three Boston Shadowchasers. Red Feather looked at Lorelei with a scowl.
"All right, Miss DeLuc, start talking," said Jalal.
"Wait…" said Lorelei. "First I want to ask about the possibility of reducing my sentence…"
The leader of the Shadowchasers looked at her. It was clear to everyone watching that rage was building inside him. They wondered whether or not this would be one of the rare times that he would lose his temper.
"Reducing your sentence, Ms. DeLuc?" he said. "One of the new crimes you are now facing is the kidnapping of a Shadowchaser and delivering the victim into the custody of a native of the Lower Planes!"
He said it with such force that the two sentries guarding Lorelei looked ready to run.
He looked sternly at the Doomdreamer. A look of terror crossed Lorelei's face. His voice sank to a whisper.
"That happens to be a Vile Action, Ms. DeLuc," he said, softly. "Now listen closely… If you start talking now, I'll sign an order to have your original sentence reinstated… Otherwise, your next trial likely won't have as lenient a judge as the last one…
"That's the best deal you're likely to get."
Lorelei let out a long sigh… She really wasn't looking forward to going back to a life as a caged animal…
Still, like she told Rule-of-Three, her loyalty was to Tharizdun alone, and it was complete. She really didn't know any other way she might help her master at this point.
Telling the Shadowchasers might have been the only way…
"I'll talk… I'll talk…" she said, shivering.
She took a deep breath.
"Jalie Squarefoot is an old devil," she started. "He began as a lowly lemure, ages ago, and worked his way up the ranks until he became a pit fiend. Then he became a member of the court of Mephistopheles, the ruler of Cania, the Eighth Hell. His biggest challenge came from his hated rival, Duke Belphagon; by becoming a lich, Jalie was able to slay him, assume control of his lands and office, and gain even more influence in Mephistopheles' inner circle.
"For Jalie, it's always been about ascension… His desire to advance has been exceptional, even when compared to other devils.
"The trouble is, Jalie has pretty much gotten to the point where he can't climb any higher in the infernal hierarchy. The only logical next step would be to try to overthrow Mephistopheles and assume the throne of Cania. But that seems unlikely to happen.
"You see, coups have happened in the history of Hell occasionally… But never without the approval of its Overlord. If Lucifer doesn't want someone to rule a layer, he doesn't rule the layer, period. Lucifer alone decides who rules a layer, and always has the final say.
"And it seems very unlikely that Lucifer would ever support anyone's attempt to overthrow Mephistopheles. Along with Dispater, Mephistopheles is one of the original Lords of the Nine. He's been with Lucifer since the beginning. Of course, it would be wrong to say that Lucifer trusts him, or any of Hell's rulers… The fact that Mephistopheles covets the throne of Hell for himself is probably the worst-kept secret in Hell. But still, Lucifer would rather see him in charge of Cania than anyone else.
"So, Jalie has set his sights on a different goal… He intends to leave the hierarchy of Hell behind and ascend in a different way…
"He wants to become a god…"
She paused for a minute as everyone took this in.
"Now, there are three ways to become a god," she continued, "The first and most common way, is to be born as one. That's also the easiest way."
"Which is not available to Jalie," said Jalal.
"Correct," said Lorelei. "The second way is to do what folks like St. Cuthbert, Vecna, and the Eight Immortals of China did. You have to become a great hero – or in Vecna's case, a notorious villain – of legendary fame. After your deeds become known throughout many lands, and people start to regard you as if you were a god among men, and you possibly achieve immortality, eventually the actual gods take notice, and take you under their wing. You become their proxy, and after a few centuries, you rise to the state of an actual god.
"This is harder than the first way, and it takes a long time. The third way is even harder than this, but it's quicker. You have to do what Cyric did."
"He stole the divine power from three dying gods," said Jalal.
"That's right," said Lorelei. "Stealing divine energy is a shortcut to godhood. It usually requires you to kill a god, and attempting to do so is incredibly dangerous.
"Most mortals realize that this is almost always a suicide mission. You see, gods are not only very powerful, they tend to have allies among other gods. For example, if someone were to raise an army to attack Apollo, he'd quickly find himself facing Artemis' forces as well. Before he could rally his troops, Athena's army would show up too, and before long, all of Olympus would be opposing him. He'd be overwhelmed.
"And it's not only other gods and their followers. The gods have incredibly powerful divine servants. For example, Hephaestus has his three assistants, Brontes, Steropes, and Arges…"
"The Cyclopes…" said Jalal, nodding.
"Yes…" said Lorelei. "As the assistants to the God of the Forge, these powerful giants have armor and weapons that normally only gods can use. Not to mention that they were half-brothers of the Titans, and are just as strong as they were.
"I could go on and on about the other servants that the gods have, like how Hera had a hundred-eyed bodyguard named Argus before he was killed by Hermes, and how Poseidon could literally command every creature of the sea to come to his aid."
"And that's only the Olympian Gods," said Jeb.
"Exactly," said Lorelei. "Jalie wants to get around this problem by targeting a god with no reliable allies. One that he believes would not be missed if he were killed.
"He's going after Tharizdun. Aside from his worshippers, the Dark God does have a few allies, like the Elemental Lords of Evil, but because they are his allies, almost all of them are just as imprisoned as he is, or limited in their capacity to travel the cosmos. Almost none could respond to a call for aid."
"He wants to kill Tharizdun?" asked Dante. "How?"
"He has a plan," said Lorelei. "First of all, do you know what Hellfire is?"
"We associate with one Hellfire warlock," said Jalal. "Maybe you've heard of Baron Wilhelm von Gottschalk?"
"Mortals are, at most, amateurs when it comes to using Hellfire," said Lorelei. "Only devils can become masters of it. I doubt that even Gottschalk truly understands it.
"Hellfire is a type of destructive energy drawn from the very essence of Hell itself. It burns hotter than the hottest flames in the world. It's so hot, that even creatures that aren't normally hurt by fire, like fire giants, or even devils, are burned by it.
"Now, most of the Lords of the Nine have powers that reflect their realms. Mephistopheles, however, seems to be a creature of contradictions. Cania is a realm of incredible cold covered with frigid glaciers the size of continents, but if he ever specialized in using ice-based powers, it was eons ago. He is the self-proclaimed Lord of Hellfire. He claims to have discovered it. This may or may not be true, but it can't be denied that no-one is better at using it than he is. And he encourages his minions to learn how to use it. He supposedly has a whole school in the capital city of Cania where pit fiends learn Hellfire magic, and the technique is researched."
"I assume Jalie is skilled at using Hellfire?" asked Jalal.
"Very," replied Lorelei. "The fact that Jalie is an actual wizard makes him better at it than most pit fiends.
"But back to Mephistopheles for a second… He's created a lot of horrible devices associated with this substance, but the most terrible are the Hellfire engines. These are huge, magical machines that are used as siege engines in the Blood War to rain fiery death on demonic armies.
"According to what I read, a Hellfire engine is usually a huge, man-shaped golem constructed out of cold-forged iron, bathed in the blood of a dozen celestial beings, and then polished with a rare blend of sulfur and special acids found only in hell. These things are terrors on the battlefield… They can belch Hellfire on enemies or simply stomp them flat. In fact, a Hellfire engine can often be as dangerous to the army it supports as the army it fights. Should an enemy manage to destroy one, the resulting explosion could level a small city.
"Thankfully, due to the difficulty in getting the materials, they're incredibly rare. Most of them serve Mephistopheles directly. But a handful of his more powerful servants know how to build them…"
"Including Jalie, I suppose?" asked Jalal.
Lorelei sighed.
"You might say that…" she said, nervously. "Jalie has spent ten years building the most powerful Hellfire engine ever, the Hellfire Sentinel. He believes it is powerful enough to slay Tharizdun. It's bigger and far more powerful than the average Hellfire engine.
"He's taken every precaution. He even went so far as to install a shard of pure Chaos in its generator, a piece taken from the core of the Abyss. Tharizdun radiates something called the Chaos Phage, a vile aura that can warp and mutate both organic and nonliving material that gets near him. But this shard will produce a counter-aura that will render the Sentinel immune to the Chaos Phage, at least for a time.
"All Jalie needs now is the Key. The artifact that can unlock the door to Tharizdun's prison.
"Once he has it, he will install it in the Sentinel, and send it to free the Dark God… But Tharizdun will emerge to find a fight waiting for him. The only possible aid that Tharizdun could call to his side would be his mortal worshippers, and they'd be slaughtered. If all goes well, the Sentinel will kill him, and Jalie will use an epic level spell of his own design to siphon his divine energy as he dies, elevating him to godhood.
"What his plans are after that… I have no idea…"
Jalal's brow furrowed. A worried look appeared on his face.
He turned to the two guards.
"Get her out of here," he said.
He waited until they had left, and then turned to the five Shadowchasers.
"You five…" he said. "Come with me…"
As they walked out of the room, Jalal hit a number on his cellphone.
"Jabels!" he said. "It's me… Call the University of Vienna and get me in touch with Dr. Gelinas. I want a word with him…"
"Dr. Gelinas?" said Jeb, as he hung up. "Wasn't he the guy who helped you cure Hebi-Na?"
"Yes, but now I think that his motives weren't as innocent as he claimed," said Jalal. "The Bells of Baphomet were also powered by energy taken from the core of the Abyss…
"I think that's what he really wanted… And that's likely how Jalie got it…"
"Wait…" said Penelope. "I was thinking that's why Jalie wanted to make a deal with Graz'zt… To get the shard of Chaos."
"No…" said Jalal. "I think I know why he wanted to make a deal with Graz'zt… Or rather, with his servant…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
The library in Shadowchasers Headquarters was a very old building that was hundreds of years old. It looked more like a cathedral than a place to store books, and because it, like the rest of the complex, was built by dwarves, it was a towering edifice of stone.
These days, e-books had mostly taken the place of analog ones… But there were still some things that you couldn't look up on the internet…
Jalal entered, with the five Shadowchasers in tow. He quickly made his way to the back of the library, where he unlocked a door that said "Authorized Personnel Only".
Behind it was a stairway, leading deep into the basement of the building.
Jalal's cellphone rang as they entered it.
"Sir," said Jabels' voice, as he answered it. "Dr. Gelinas' secretary says he's on vacation."
"I see…" said Jalal. "The fall semester just started, and the University's Head of Psychology is on vacation…
"Right…"
He hung up.
"What kind of an idiot does he think I am?" he muttered.
"I don't get it," said Red Feather, as they descended the steps. "We're actually going to try to stop this? Why? Wouldn't it be a good thing if Tharizdun were killed?"
"She has a point," said Penelope. "When Evil fights Evil, isn't Good the biggest winner?"
"Up until yesterday, I would have thought so," said Jalal. "Then I translated that code that those three strange monks gave you three guys in Boston."
"The ones who beat us?" asked Jeb. "And then gave us gifts?"
"Yes," said Jalal. "The language was Supernal. I've really got to get around to learning that someday…"
"Supernal?" said Dante, in shock. "You're kidding…"
Supernal was supposedly the language spoken by the gods, as well as many immortal beings, such as angels (and devils, seeing as they were originally spawned by a group of fallen angels). When a being spoke Supernal, it could choose to speak it in a way so that any sentient creature who had a language could hear it as his own language. Some believed that all mortal languages could trace their roots back to Supernal. Mortals could learn it, but it was very hard.
"No joke," said Jalal. "It read… 'Page four-hundred and seventy-five of the forbidden volume that caused the Horned Duke to lose his sanity.'
"I quickly realized what it meant… And fortunately, the book in question was available…"
He paused.
"Have you ever wondered, people," he continued, "why the gods chose to lock Tharizdun up in a prison demiplane rather than kill him? Why they didn't end the threat he posed permanently?"
"Come to think of it," said Ophelia, "that always has been a nagging question…"
He led them through the basement, past some shelves lined with old books, through some rooms, and finally, to a large iron door. He turned on a light, and they could see that it had three keyholes, in its very center.
Jalal took three iron keys from inside his coat, and fit them into the locks.
"Normally only me and the members of the Shadowchaser Council are allowed into the library's inner sanctum," said Jalal. "And usually it takes more than one member of the Council to enter, because no one member of the Council is allowed to hold more than one key at one time. I'm the exception."
He turned the keys, and opened a panel that revealed a fourth keyhole. He took a larger fourth key from his coat, and fit it into the lock.
"It's not exactly the most up-to-date security system, but I'm hesitant to upgrade it… Moving the stuff that's in here to a less secure location for even a day so that this old vault could be replaced with a high-tech one would be very dangerous."
He turned it with a click, and the large, heavy door swung open to a dark room.
"This room contains books of forbidden knowledge," he said, "knowledge that could do terrible things in the wrong hands…"
He turned on a light, revealing a room full of shelves full of books that were held in place by chains. On the far wall was one modern convenience that he apparently had been able to install: a safe with a handprint ID lock.
Jalal took off his glove, and pressed his hand against the lock. It beeped, and the safe opened.
Inside was a very large, very thick, leather-bound tome. The leader of the Shadowchasers lifted it out of the vault as everyone watched with wonder.
"That has to be one valuable book," said Dante.
"Very valuable, and very dangerous," said Jalal. "I kept it down here not only to protect it, but so I wouldn't be tempted to look at it often…
"Ladies and gentlemen… I give you… The Necronomicon."
Everyone gasped.
"Impossible!" gasped Jeb. "The Necronomicon isn't real! H.P. Lovecraft made it up!"
"Most people think that Lovecraft's works are nothing but fiction…" said Jalal. "But as the Shadowchasers know, what most people think is fiction is often fact…
"Lovecraft was not only Aware, he was able to see things that most Awares, and even most Shadowkind couldn't. He could glimpse the darkest, most terrible aspects of Shadow. He published stories on some of these things, and most people assumed they were fiction.
"And if you thought what he wrote was frightening… You should hear some of the secrets he learned that he didn't write…
"Of course, Lovecraft augmented many of his works with actual fiction to tone down their horrid truths… For example, he claimed that this book was authored by a 'mad Arab' named Abdul Alhazred… That was a lie. There was never an Abdul Alhazred."
"Yeah, that's right…" said Jeb. "People who have reviewed his work have noted that it isn't even a real Arabic name. 'Abdul' is always used as a prefix in a longer Arabic given name. It never stands alone."
"So who wrote it?" asked Ophelia.
"No one person wrote this book," replied Jalal. "It's a collection of essays, themes, and treatises by several individuals on the entities mentioned in the works of Lovecraft and the authors that were inspired by him, along with instructions on how to summon them. As far as scholars can tell, they were all collected and first put into book form by an illithid in the eighth century AD.
"Without a doubt, this book is dangerous… It's a tome that goes into detail on the history and practice of Evil. Within its pages are descriptions of vile rituals involving the summoning of demons, torture, and sadism… Sometimes with illustrations, I'm afraid…
"But it also gives insight into many secrets that can never be lost.
"As you can see, it's a very large book, and it was clearly put together in the mind of a madman. The chapters have no sense to their arrangement. It has no index or table of contents. In order to find what you want, you usually need to do research to know what page to turn to ahead of time. Reading this whole book can drive you insane rather quickly."
"And fortunately, those three told us where to look," said Dante.
"Exactly," said Jalal. "I'm going to tell you what most people don't know…
"The true origin of Tharizdun…"
"On page four-hundred and seventy-five?" asked Ophelia.
"Precisely," said Jalal.
He opened to a page in the infamous book, and set it down on the nearby table. Everyone could swear they felt a chill as he did so… Like the proverbial "someone walking on your grave".
Everyone listened as he started to speak:
"There is a chapter written in this booksaid to have been penned by followers of a near extinct order that claims to have worshipped Tharizdun, not as the god of madness and decay, but as a god of light and beauty, whose existence predates the Doomdreamers. We can assume now that those three monks you met are members of this order.
"According to these few followers, Tharizdun once wandered the cosmos on a pilgrimage to spread his light and serenity to every corner of creation. He, along with several other celestial beings, was the first of many to begin the arduous task of bringing light to the primordial darkness that had previously composed the multiverse. But then Tharizdun overstepped his boundaries, and braved the very edge of time and space to a realm between the rifts of the universe where neither angel nor devil dared to tread.
"It was here Tharizdun encountered a terrible force, a legion of beings neither living nor dead who viewed all but their own kind with the indifference of men who gaze upon the lowliest of bugs. They were the Scions of Chaos, the unfathomable horrors predating the very concepts of Good and Evil, the Great Old Ones.
"Lovecraft knew of these beings, and gave them names like Cthulhu, Cyäegha, and Shub-Niggurath, but in truth, the actual names of these creatures are never spoken, as just saying them would drive a mortal mad.
"The Great Old Ones equal, and in some cases exceed the gods in power. But there is one big difference between them and gods: the way they interact with mortals. Gods are symbiotic beings. By attracting mortal worshippers, they gain power, and give power in return, like divine magic. This is even the case with evil gods. Gods, in a way, depend on mortals as much as mortals depend on them.
"The Great Old Ones, however, are parasites. Some may worship them, and they may even get a few small boons if the Great Old Ones are aware of their existence, but not the divine power and vigor that devotion to a true god grants. The only true reward these madmen can ever expect is death. The Great Old Ones do not need worshippers… By their very nature, they oppose life.
"These beings fell upon Tharizdun, and in their endless hunger, feasted upon the god in mind, body and soul, stripping him of his kindness, his compassion, his very sanity, until all that was left was a gnarled horrid husk picked clean of even the slightest trace of its former self, a living corpse of godlike power who now knew only madness and a lust for destruction. And so Tharizdun the being of light and warmth fell, and Tharizdun the god of madness and decay was born. His celestial entourage was corrupted as well, and turned into demonic beings.
"We can only assume that Sertrous was one of this corrupted host.
"Some say Tharizdun's campaign of utter oblivion may be the efforts of what precious little of his sanity might remain to spare the rest of creation from sharing his fate, thinking it better to be cast into oblivion then be consumed and perverted by the insanity and lust of the Great Old Ones."
Jalal turned the page.
"But there is an added factor to this story that makes the situation with Tharizdun even direr. The Great Old Ones invested an enormous amount of their power within Tharizdun, making him their destructive arm. They could not foresee that their pawn would be defeated by the more benign gods, and even a few non-benign ones.
"The gods realized the threat that the Great Old Ones posed, but also knew that with Tharizdun holding so much of their might as their greatest weapon, they'd never be strong enough to create a threat that was just as powerful. So, rather than killing Tharizdun, which they certainly could have done, but would allow the Great Old Ones to reclaim their might, they imprisoned him in a secret demi-plane where his dark masters could never reach.
"Few but the gods know that Tharizdun serves as a divine linchpin to protect the universe from an even greater threat. Despite the danger posed by him and his dark priests, the gods must make sure he never perishes... Lest the Great Old Ones begin their plans anew."
"So basically, if Jalie succeeds in killing Tharizdun," said Penelope, "he would be unknowingly unleashing a destructive force that was far worse?"
"In a nutshell, yes," said Jalal, as he closed the book.
"So, do you think that this Hellfire Sentinel can actually kill Tharizdun?" asked Ophelia.
"If Jalie obtains the Key, it possibly could," replied Jalal.
He placed the tome back in the safe, and closed the door.
"I don't follow," said Ophelia.
"Let me explain," said Jalal. "Gods are very hard to kill. After all, they are immortal, and have divine powers that far exceed those of mortal men.
"All gods have a defense mechanism to make certain that they cannot be killed easily. It's called divine discorporation.
"Gods can be hurt or wounded. But before the final blow can be struck against a god that would be fatal, the god 'discorporates'. Its body dissolves into a formless, phantom-like state. The god is weaker in this state, unable to use any physical powers, but can still influence the world through its worshippers. It takes a few months, on average, for the god to reform its body, but it will survive; usually the first thing it will do is seek revenge on whoever forced the discorporation.
"The only way to truly kill a god is to somehow negate or nullify this ability. For example, during Tharizdun's initial conflict with the gods, he commanded a forbidden technique called the Entropy Tempest, an Apocalyptic Spell so powerful that not even he could fully control it. This vile incantation cursed all of the gods, including himself. They were not only unable to use this ability, but their immortal natures were suppressed for a while. As a result, many gods perished in that conflict."
The Shadowchasers shuddered. Apocalyptic Spells were the mightiest magical powers in creation, so incredibly potent that mortals could not cast them, and even the gods feared their power. In the past, Apocalyptic Spells had done things that had altered worlds or even the universe, such as changing the landscapes of whole dimensions and tearing stars asunder. Probably the most well-known Apocalyptic Spell was the legendary Rain of Colorless Fire, a cataclysm responsible for destroying the ancient Suel Empire.
"It is presumed that a similar condition will be in place during the final battle of Ragnarok, if that indeed ever happens," continued Jalal.
"However, the gods have made sure that the Entropy Tempest can never be used again, and they certainly would never start Ragnarok prematurely. Nowadays, negating divine discorporation can only be done one god at a time. The way of doing so is via a method that is unique to each deity. And it's never easy. It always involves some task that only a great hero – or villain – could accomplish."
"I see…" said Dante. "One of those nearly impossible tasks that great heroes of myth were said to have done, like plucking the Golden Apples from the tree in the Garden of Hesperides."
"Exactly," said Jalal. "In Tharizdun's case, the Key that unlocks his prison must be smashed to pieces on the iron door of the prison itself. If that is done, he will not be able to discorporate, and can be killed."
"Clever…" said Penelope. "Someone who wanted to kill him would have to release him first… And because any god worth his salt clearly knows what his weaknesses are, Tharizdun would probably turn whoever freed him to paste before he managed to smash the Key."
"But if the one who freed him was a giant Hellfire engine," said Red Feather, "it might be able to do it before Tharizdun made it out the door."
"So… Just how do you think that Jalie is going to try to get the Key?" asked Dante.
He stopped short.
"This is why he's so interested in Boston all of a sudden, isn't it?"
Jalal sighed.
"Dante, Jeb, Ophelia…" he said. "I was ready to tell you… I believed you were finally ready to know the secret that I've eventually told every Shadowchaser that has been stationed in Boston. But the past month has been so busy… Still, now is as good a time as any…
"You see, Jalie did not want to truly make a deal with Graz'zt. He was more interested in keeping Rule-of-Three around. And the only way to do that was to negotiate with Graz'zt."
"Why?" asked Penelope.
"Before I go further…" said Jalal, "I must make a request of everyone here. You must all vow to keep everything that I say from this point on secret. You must swear on the oath that you took when you became Shadowchasers not to betray the secret I am about to tell you."
The five Shadowchasers looked nervous. Red Feather was the first to speak.
"I swear on the souls of every animal who has ever fallen victim to a poacher," she said.
"I concur," said Penelope.
"Same here," said Dante.
Ophelia and Jeb nodded. That seemed enough for Jalal, so he continued.
"All right," he said. "As you know, Rule-of-Three is the being that represents the fundamental axiom of the universe that states that things come in threes.
"But there are three axioms. The second one states that in an orderly universe, things move in circular motion.
"A planet rotates on its axis, and revolves around a star. A circle is the most perfect shape in the cosmos.
"There is a being that represents this axiom too. His name is Unity-of-Rings.
"Unity-of-Rings is a celestial steward from Mount Celestia. He is in many ways the opposite of Rule-of-Three. While Rule-of-Three is a being of Evil and Chaos, Unity-of-Rings is Good and Law.
"But… There is a tentative link between these two beings. Jalie likely believed that an alliance with Rule-of-Three would help him find Unity-of-Rings…
"That was what he wanted… Because Unity-of-Rings was, ages ago, given the task of guarding the Key."
"Whoa…" said Jeb.
"And there's more…" said Jalal. "About two and a half centuries ago, I was one of a select few that Unity-of-Rings entrusted with the location of one of the access points to the Key's hiding place."
"Double-whoa!" shouted Dante.
"I know…" said Jalal. "I could barely believe it myself at the time…
"The year was 1789… George Washington had just been sworn in as the first President of the United States. There was a lot of doubt among the nobility of other countries as to whether the young nation would survive long…
"But I was not one of those nobles. I saw great potential in America, so I came to its shores to look into expanding the Shadowchasers' operations. Boston was my first stop.
"And that's when I met Unity-of-Rings.
"He told me that every thousand years or so, the location of the Key was changed, and each time, three places were chosen that would act as access points from the mortal world. Boston would be one of the three. He said he wanted me to be in charge of keeping it safe.
"He offered no tangible reward… Only the promise of the glories of Heaven for anyone who helped in this important task. After he gave the offer, it was the classic 'blue pill, red pill' deal. If I didn't agree, I would leave with no memory of the encounter.
"I realized that it was rare that the inhabitants of the Upper Planes ever made requests to mortals, and I figured that he saw promise in my organization. So I agreed.
"I have no idea where the other two access points are; for all I know, they may not even be on Earth. But I made sure from that point on that Boston always had a full team of Shadowchasers, made up of the best I had to offer.
"And I always waited until the right time to tell them what they were guarding… When I knew that there wasn't a trace of corruption or temptation left in their hearts."
He sighed.
"Well…" said Ophelia. "Rule-of-Three messed up and the deal likely fell through… Jalie can't find Unity-of-Rings now…"
"Even so, we'd best warn him…" said Jalie.
He pushed the door open.
"Red Feather, Penelope, I want the two of you to stay here for observation," he said. "We have to make certain that Jalie didn't do anything else to you…"
He turned to the Boston Shadowchasers.
"You three, after we take a break, freshen up, get some breakfast, and wait for the sun to come up in Boston, we're going back there…
"It's time for you to see what you've been guarding… We're going to pay a visit to the sacred vault of Tabjari…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Several hours later, it was nine AM, Boston time.
The Old North Church gave one a sense of peace and serenity when one entered it. The old-fashioned pews and stained glass windows made it seem like you were stepping into the past. Among the artwork inside was a bust of George Washington which the Marquis de Lafayette reportedly once said was the best likeness of the first American President he had ever seen.
The church was empty as Jalal walked in with Dante, Jeb, and Ophelia in tow. Services were not being held today. As it was a church, Dante removed his hat, and all four of them made the sign of the cross as they approached the altar. Some traditions had to be recognized; it was expected.
Jalal took something out of his coat. It was a feather.
"Is that…" said Jeb.
Jalal nodded.
"One of Unity-of-Ring's feathers," he said. "He said that if I ever needed to go to Tabjari, it would be the gate key to open any of the gates in Boston. And this isn't an 'admit one' like the one in Sarah's house."
They walked towards the altar, and motes of light started to appear in front of it. Then a shimmering portal of light appeared in front of it.
The Shadowchasers, including Jalal, all felt nervous as they walked through.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
They found themselves on a featureless, rocky plain. Featureless, that is, except for the large fortress in front of them. It was a large structure that seemed to be made of iron, shaped somewhat like a Sumerian ziggurat. It was covered with strange runes.
They looked up at the sky. It was grey and cloudy.
"I assume that that it isn't actually iron," said Ophelia, as they walked up to it.
"It's a special metal refined in celestial forges," said Jalal. "Very hard to crack…"
They walked up to the front door, or rather the doorway. It was a small entrance, only large enough for one person to enter at a time.
"So why no locked door?" asked Jeb, as Jalal entered first.
"I'm not sure," he said, as they followed him.
"So what does Unity-of-Rings do here all alone?" asked Dante, as they walked into an entrance chamber.
It was a plain, square room, with more of the strange runes on the walls.
"He spends most of his time in meditative thought," said Jalal.
They heard footsteps coming from the door on the other side of the room.
"Didn't take him long to know we were here…" said Jeb.
The Shadowchasers would never forget their first look at Unity-of-Rings. He was dressed only in a breechcloth, and his body was in the shape of near human perfection, with milky-white skin and silvery hair. He had wings that were pure white and eyes that shimmered like pools of liquid silver. He radiated an aura of calmness and light.
"Stormbringer…" he said, in a deep and authoritative voice. "Why have you come?"
"There's danger," said Jalal. "Jalie Squarefoot… He's after the Key, and he may be closer than anyone else has gotten."
"I see…" said Unity-of-Rings.
"Stormbringer, I assure you that the Key is secure. Would you and your companions like to see it?"
"Huh?" said Dante. "You trust us enough to show it to us?"
"Once I show it to you," said the angel, "you'll understand why… Follow me…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
For a place built by the Powers of Law, Tabjari sure seemed chaotic. Unity-of-Rings led the party through a twisting maze of narrow corridors, through many rooms, some large, some small, that seemed to be empty and have no purpose other than to display the strange runes, and then through more twisting passages.
Finally, after about twenty minutes, the angel led them into a room that must have lain in the center of the fortress. There, on a very large pedestal, was the Key.
The Key was a huge diamond. It was fifteen feet tall and five feet wide; clearly, it was worth untold billions as a gem. But when you looked at it, you saw that it seemed to have a miniature galaxy inside it.
The Shadowchasers gazed, spellbound at the monstrous jewel's beauty for a minute…
Then Dante finally understood.
"I get it!" he said. "The Powers of Law made the Key secure by making it impossible to transport… It must weigh tons…"
"Thirty tons, to be precise," said Unity-of-Rings.
"And even if someone could lift it," said Ophelia, "you could never fit it out the door to this room, much less through that maze of narrow corridors we went through."
"So was Tabjari built around this gem?" asked Jeb.
"Yes," said Unity-of-Rings. "And there's more…
"You may have noticed all these runes in the rooms and outside. They make teleporting the Key out impossible. There's only one being in Tabjari who can use teleportation and dimensional magic… Me.
"In addition, Tabjari was built on a powerful sanctified ground that covers the whole fortress and one-hundred feet from it in all directions, including above and below. It neutralizes all supernatural powers that originate on the Lower Planes. That includes most divine spells granted by evil gods, including Tharizdun, and all the special abilities of fiends.
"If Jalie Squarefoot himself came here, all the powers that came with the position of pit fiend would be neutralized, severely impeding his powers.
"And should worse come to worst, I can use a special feature of Tabjari to call for help, and summon an army of warriors from Mount Celestia. They can be here in fifteen minutes should Tabjari come under attack by a large force. And if they aren't enough, that feature can be used a second time, and a third, and so on. The number of celestials that my superiors can send to defend this fortress if the need is great enough is limited only by the number of soldiers in their army, and they number just as many as the armies of Hell.
"I assure you… The Key is safe for now…"
"I believe you…" said Ophelia, in awe.
"Well, ah…" said Jalal, nervously. "We're sorry to have bothered you then…"
"No need to apologize…" said the angel. "I'd best show you the way out…"
Little did any of them know, the small insect – actually a very tiny magical construct – that had been hidden on Ophelia's cape had flown off, and its full power had activated.
Because it had literally been a "fly on the wall", no-one had noticed it, and no-one realized that their conversation was being heard by the last people they wanted to hear it.
In Jalie's throne room, he, Dybbuk, and Ibza were listening to the transmission. Jalie was sipping from a goblet containing a deep, red liquid called Demon's Blood. This beverage was exactly what its name implied, although it did contain some chemicals to keep it from clotting; powerful devils drank it in the same way humans enjoyed fine wine. (Despite being an undead being with no metabolism, Jalie could eat and drink if he so desired… Exactly how he could do so was a complicated issue that would take too long to explain.)
"Hmm…" said Jalie. "This news is both welcome and troubling at the same time. This will be difficult…"
"Seems more like impossible," said Dybbuk. "Now that we know where Tabjari is, I suppose that we can use a Plane Shift to get to the demiplane, but once we're there, I don't know what we'll do…"
"We simply have to get creative," said the Lich-Fiend. "Dybbuk… Return to Cania, and tell my men to prepare the Jangling Terror for flight. We'll use a Plane Shift to get it there."
Dybbuk looked at him strangely.
"Begging your pardon, my lord," said the falxugon, "but…"
"I know what you're going to say," interrupted Jalie. "Unity-of-Rings will see it coming from a mile away, literally, and he'll summon a force of his comrades that will blow it out of the sky…
"Thus… Someone will have to deal with him first… And given the debilitating effects of that fortress, I will have to do so personally…
"I was getting bored just sitting here anyway…"
Jalie drained the last of his goblet as Dybbuk left.
"Uhm, master…" said Ibza.
"What is it, Ibza?" asked Squarefoot.
"My lord, I worry about this," said the cornugon. "If Archduke Mephistopheles were to know about what we are doing…"
Squarefoot gave him a stern sideways glance.
"Ibza…" he said. "You have been my loyal enforcer for close to three centuries… Ever since my last enforcer was executed during the whole mess with the Molikroth incident. He was stupid, and didn't believe me. You were smart, and did."
He grabbed the cornugon by the throat with his claw.
"Need I now question that loyalty?"
"N… No Lord Jalie!" gasped Ibza. "I'm loyal to you alone!"
Jalie released the cornugon, who fell to his knees, gasping for breath.
"And don't you forget it," said Jalie.
He picked up a bottle and started to refill the goblet.
"And you needn't concern yourself with Mephistopheles," he continued. "The whole problem with him is, he has power, but he is losing his ability to focus it properly. He's spent the last few centuries so wrapped up in his delusions that he's become little more than a parody of himself.
"He can't even rid himself of a problem that has plagued him for millennia… He can't get out of the shadow of the King of Hell. No Lord of the Nine has fewer mortal cultists than him except Bel, and why? Because most mortals think that 'Mephistopheles' is simply another name for Lucifer."
He sipped from the goblet again.
"Besides… He doesn't know…"
Ibza bowed, and turned to leave. Jalie stood up.
Time to stop being a spectator… he thought. Time to get involved…
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Next:
Dugan: It truly seemed like stealing the Key was all but impossible. And that was the idea… The Powers of Law didn't want to take any chances that someone could actually manage it.
Still, no devil ever becomes a pit fiend by being stupid, and Jalie had what he thought might be a solution to the problem. It wouldn't be easy, but becoming a pit fiend was never easy either. If Jalie had never accepted challenging tasks, he wouldn't be in his position.
Facing Unity-of-Rings wouldn't be easy for anyone. He might have been Rule-of-Three's counterpart, but he was NOT his equal. Indeed, no-one truly knew just how powerful Unity-of-Rings was, but he was likely stronger than any cambion…
What would be the outcome of this battle? It remained to be seen.
"The Heavy Artillery; The Jangling Terror" is coming soon.