After a rather pleasant afternoon and early evening with family celebrating my nieces birthday (by the way uncle bob is a descendent of one of Kali's avatar). I was walking home with my son and daughter both of whom operate on several planes of reality at once we noticed a man standing by the lamp in the park by my house. He was leaning, his back against the wall of a house one leg straight the other bent against the wall for support.
He turned and watched us approach as we got closer I spoke "And who sir might you be good sir?" To which he lent of off the wall and standing their a little over 5 foot, 10 inches, dressed in a grey three piece suit, smart black shoes (leather of course and hand made by a skilled cobbler goblin from the Black Forest in Germany).
He was also sporting a pair of silver rounded spectacles, which seemed to suit his short cut blond hair and rounded face. "I am Christopher Cross, my good fellow and I am here to help you get to where you are going, all be it via a slight deviation".
Well I thought to my self I had opened gates to the happy hunting grounds in this park, fought snake men, ghouls and zombies, I had spoken to gnome sages and entered the realm under the mounds so why not meet a person who was going to take me on a detour.
"Well" I responded "may I ask where we will be going". He smiled and made a long sweeping gesture with his left arm and uttered mystic words "~*<!>.^#}{+':-" (obviously to use real magic words here would be a recipe for disaster as you all went out made sweeping gestures with your left arms and travelled to other realms).
As he finished a bright blue light flared up and a hole in time, space and reality was created. He gestured me to step through. Of course my children wanted to come with me but they where needed at home. So of they went as I entered the portal ready to visit another realm.
The realm before me was one of empty blue skies, ruined buildings and roads fallen into disrepair.
Unlike most ruined realms the plants and animals had not moved in to replace the creatures whose city now lay empty before me. The world was silent except for the wind and the foot falls of Mr. Cross behind me. "So where are we Mr. Cross, what nightmare realm is this."
"No nightmare realm we will visit one of those latter, no this is a realm visited by the Core Lords, known simply to most as the Core."
"Yes I am aware of the Core" I interrupted. "They are an alliance of evil forces which seek to destroy existence one reality at a time. So called champions of entropy and the ultimate corruption of cosmic law."
It was then that I noticed my guide was a little annoyed by my interruption and so I shut up.
"Well if you are quite finished I will continue. This realm was once called Urath Prime and was a realm slightly more advanced than your home plane and where psychic power and technology where of equal standing and importance and occult science was taught openly and treated with respect."
" I might to have liked to visit it whilst it flourished" I replied almost dreamingly.
"I dare say you would and perhaps you will, or already have but are yet to realise it. In any case the Core came 100 years ago to this realm and by deception and low cunning they brought low the defences of Urath and far to easily enslaved or destroyed its people."
He looked both angry and upset so I gave him some time before asking him to continue.
"In any case I was called to this world and asked to fetch you and so that is what I have done, now please fallow me."
We walked down empty streets, each showed signs of damage similar to battle scenes of Middle East towns I had seen on the news. Broken and burned out vehicles where everywhere as where the bones of the dead often in piles, some times only skulls remained.
Eventually we came to a building which looked like a great library or museum or perhaps combination of the two. As we entered we passed two great statues of griffons standing tall and proud. I could feel an odd energy radiate from them.
As we entered the front foyer it looked more like a cathedral than a library. "Over here if you please." My guide gestured to a sign which I could not read but which I guessed meant reading room from the icon which accompanied it.
As we entered the room I could not help but notice the room was dominated by a desk made of crystal on which where books, scrolls and crystals of various sizes. The room was lit buy light giving globes which floated about half way up the wall and the roof was designed to amplify the light.
As I looked and wondered a form began to form by the desk, as the smoke coalesced they took the form of an elderly humanoid,a most human except he was thinner with a slightly enlarged cranium and larger than normal eyes. His nose was less pronounced than a human and his clothes looked as if they would have fit in a 1950s science fiction film.
I stood back and looked at my guide however he seemed to be expecting my guest and I dealt oddly calm rather than afraid.
"Greetings man from earth I hope your journey has not been long or difficult, I am afraid I would have brought you hear myself if it was not for the fact I am dead".
I must confess I was both a little shocked and surprised that I was talking to a dead man. In my experience the dead usually wanted to kill me.
" How may I help you it would seem you have the advantage of knowing who I am whilst I do not know who you are".
"Oh yes" he continued without breaking stride. "I am Professor Illian Zenn a scholar of Arcane Studies or rather I was before a Core assassin killed me. However I was able through mental dis appliance and a spell I was able to cast before dying to hold my soul hear on the mortal realm until I was able to finish my task."
"If you do not mind me asking what task is that has kept you here."
He looked directly at me and for a moment his mood changed. "Stop the Core!"
"Is that why I am here?" I asked.
"To a degree you are right, you are just one way in which I can get back at the beings who brought ruin to my world. I have information you can trade with the Scorpion Sage in order to bring you closer to finding the Ancient Forest of the Elves. He can also give you details of the Council of thirteen beings that are said to lead the Core. If I give you the information will you bring me the knowledge of the dark council in return?"
I did not really have to think about it. I hated the Core and all they stood for, they annoyed me as much as the Dwellers beyond the Void and the Council of Night so my answer was an easy one.
"I will do as you ask and if I can cause harm to our mutual enemies along the way I will."
He nodded and suddenly a book, a scroll and three gems lifted from the table and moved over to me. I took hold and placed them in my dimensional pouch.
"How will I contact you if I need to."
The ghostly Professor pointed to Mr. Cross. "Christopher will work with you and he will be able to give you something called a phone number so you can contact him."
"Thank you good sir I will pass this onto the Scorpion Sage and perhaps we will both get what we want."
"I hope so" the spook sage said " however I must go now and rest I have been projecting to much recently and I am some what drained until next time may the light be with you."
That said he vanished.
"Well Mr. Cross shall we go"
"By all means Mr. Bates"
We left the library and walked back through the streets until we arrived where we had arrived. It was time to go home and make a record of my tale.
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