They gathered in secret, lest their power be detected. Their belief was great, yet they were chained in darkness. They held out hope, even though they were imprisoned and tortured by their own race. They were desperate, yet risked their lives in the hopes that someone would deliver them from their bondage and pain.

But one should be careful what they pray for in the darkness, lest unspoken desires change one's focus…

Shadows of Norrath, Part 1: Barriers Crumbling

By C. Mage

"Havoc Three to Havoc One, over."

The dark man answered, "Roger, Havoc Three. Sitrep."

"Coast is clear. The package is en route, ETA ten minutes. All other units in place. Awaiting orders, over."

The dark man smiled. "You know better than that, Rat. This isn't a military operation. All your years as a spook are really starting to show."

A new voice entered the conversation, female, husky. "He can't help it, DM. He's hopeless."

"Maybe, Rocky, but I ain't useless yet. You'd do well to listen to the voice of experience from time to time." "Rat" was older than the others, though he certainly didn't show it. Many speculated that he was more than a hundred, that Leonization treatments had given him the body of a thirty-year-old in body only.

"DM" knew better. "Rat" was older than anyone else suspected. "Chill, Knife, Grave, Clown, any of you want to put in your twenty nuyen?" None of their names were their real names, of course. They'd all been in the shadowrunning business far too long to go by their real handles anymore. Not even their radios were that well-encrypted.

"Would love to, but I just got a report from "God". The package just made it past the perimeter." DM was immediately all business. "Go to full awareness. Rocky, Clown, astral." He didn't say any more, but he didn't need to. He already knew the two mages would slip out of their bodies, project themselves into astral space and cloak their auras to make themselves look much less formidable. The others moved to their positions as DM took point, moving towards the landing zone.

He didn't make a sound.

The expected craft was a vectored-thrust vehicle, landing softly upon the grass in the clearing. The bay door opened and five people came out, two in security armor, three in normal clothes, their arms bound behind their backs. The men in armor raised their machineguns, looking around. They didn't see DM, but they heard the voice: low and dangerous. "Release them this instant."

One of the guards put the barrel of his weapon under one of the prisoners' chin. "Show yourself or this hostage die…" The voice trailed off and the barrel left the chin, falling to the ground next to the body of the guard that held it. The head, cut cleanly from the body, was the last to hit the ground. The second guard spun around, but saw no one.

He heard the voice, however: "He died because he thought he was superior. Want to feel air on your spine, too?"

The man backed away. He'd had enough of ghosts that were too fast to see. He backed into the bay of the aircraft and it took off slowly, picking up speed as it flew away. The three hostages looked around, bewildered, as they felt the plastic bands holding their wrists part, heard nothing but air. "What's going on?" one of them, a tall elven male asked. His voice held bravado, but fear as well.

"It's okay."

The three elves turned to see a man dressed in stark black, from the wide-brimmed hat on his head to the trenchcoat, pants and heavy-duty boots on his feet. He was armed to the teeth, pistol on his hip, submachinegun under his left arm, a massive, long-barreled heavy assault cannon on his back. He stood a good seven feet tall, broad-shouldered, a giant of a man. "Who….what are you?" asked the male elf.

"You can call me…Sleeper. You are all safe now." He looked down at the elven girl and smiled. He didn't look quite as fearsome when he smiled, almost kindly. The girl looked back at him and smiled tentatively. Sleeper stood up, then heard "Rocky" and "Clown" radio to him. He nodded, then turned to the male. "So, are you ready to go?"

"We are all ready."

"That's good to know…Lofwyr."

The male froze, then turned to Sleeper. The kindly look on Sleeper's face was gone. "How long have you known?" the male asked, the woman and the girl moving to the male's sides, three feet apart.

"At least you didn't insult me by pretending to carry the charade any longer. I suppose I should thank you for that."

"How long?" Lofwyr asked insistently.

Sleeper smiled slightly, but there was no humor in it. "It wasn't easy. Of course, it did help considering how much trouble I and my friends have been to Saeder-Krupp. Foiling your plans for your takeovers, your machinations, and more than once, staying ahead of your plans to even use us as pawns." Sleeper walked to the right side, a few slow, but deliberate steps. "You're good at what you do, Lofwyr. You're quite possibly one of the most intelligent beings in the world, and you make Machievelli look like a third-rate fixer. But you have traits that ultimately leads to your downfall."

"Oh, really? And what are those, might I ask?"

Sleeper stopped, facing Lofwyr. "You're cruel. You're sadistic. You're too used to getting your own way for so long, you think you're entitled to it. Those traits make you predictable."

Lofwyr stared at Sleeper, then shook his head. "You have no idea what sort of being I am. I was alive when your ancestors were digging in the dirt for worms to eat. How could an insignificant, slow-witted, short-lived creature like you even begin to comprehend what I am, what my purpose is?"

"Is that what you tell yourself to justify what you do? You ruin and destroy lives, because you think you can, by the privilege of your own existence. You even took these two people, brainwashed them into carrying micronukes inside their own bodies, just so you could use them to kill me and my companions. That'd be quite the trick, to boast that you had singlehandedly taken out the Seven."

Lofwyr narrowed his eyes. "I could destroy you, even now."

"No, you can't. In the space of time it took for me to tell you what I knew of your plans, Icer has already hacked the access codes of the detonators within their bodies. They might as well be gallstones right now." Sleeper smiled predatorily.

"You're lying. Not even the infamous Icer can access or decrypt those codes."

"Prove me wrong. Have them self-destruct."

Lofwyr looked into Sleeper's cybernetic eyes. At that moment, he knew that Sleeper wasn't bluffing. "You have outdone yourself. I am impressed, dare I say, even flattered that you would go so far to thwart me."

"Don't be. Icer would've rather done something more challenging, like sort loose change. If anything, you should be frightened. You think I came here for a rescue? I came here to stop you once and for all. I've come to atone for all the lives I've taken and ruined by letting you live."

Lofwyr threw back his head and laughed. "Now you have come to entertain me. I am doubly grateful." As he spoke, his body began to grow, change, shedding the form he'd chosen for his ruse. The male elf fell away to reveal the true form of Lofwyr, that of a great dragon, wings spread, teeth bared. "NOW, SLEEPER, I SHALL BE RID OF YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL!" He raised his head, jetting a gout of flame into the air as a signal to his waiting reinforcements to move in and lay waste to Sleeper and his companions.

The call went unanswered. Lofwyr looked down to the physical adepts who'd sacrificed some of their power to bear his weapons of destruction. Both of them now lay upon the grass, inert. Sleeper now stood thirty feet away. His weapons were at hand, but he had yet to draw them. Lofwyr glared at Sleeper, but didn't make his move. He hadn't survived others of his kind as well as other monstrous threats by going off half-cocked. "THEY WERE MY BEST," he said idly.

"They were, until you stuffed nukes into their bellies. You couldn't even stop corrupting your own weapons."

"THEY WERE MINE TO DO WITH AS I WILLED."

"Stalling for time, Lofwyr? Waiting for your backup to arrive? Hate to rain on your parade, but RollingThunder invited a few friends to have a party with your backup. About seventy or so. This is what you get when you kill off shadowrunners. Their friends get testy." Sleeper's voice turned colder by small degrees. "You're trapped."

"TRAPPED?" Lofwyr began to laugh, a thunderous, chilling mirth that made the nearby trees lose leaves from the force of it. "DO YOU DREAM YOURSELF CAPABLE OF HOLDING ME FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME? I TIRE OF YOUR INFANTILE PRATTLE. BELIEVE ME WHEN I TELL YOU THAT YOUR DAYS AND THE DAYS OF YOUR WRETCHED 'SEVEN' ARE NUMBERED. I DON'T ADVISE STARTING ANY LONG BOOKS." Lofwyr raised his wings to lift off.

"Coward."

The wings paused in mid-leap. Lofwyr turned his head to narrow his eyes at Sleeper. "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME, INSECT?"

"You're a coward. That's what your peers will say when they hear how you, the vaunted Lofwyr, ruler of all that you survey in Germany and beyond, encountered Sleeper in the open, his friends all occupied with other duties, and you flew away without even trying to take me out yourself. Oh, that's okay. I'm sure that the other dragons will consider your leaving the 'better part of valor'. They'll be so understanding that you couldn't take out one little 'insect'."

Lofwyr looked at Sleeper carefully. "YOU BAIT ME WITH WORDS, HUMAN. YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME?"

"It's not a challenge, Lofwyr. I can take you. By myself, with no interference from anyone else."

"DO YOU GIVE YOUR WORD THAT THIS FIGHT WILL BE BETWEEN THE TWO OF US ALONE?"

"Why, Lofwyr. You sound scared."

That apparently did it, evidenced by Lofwyr's roar of unbridled rage. The thought that he, Lofwyr, one of the greatest of dragons, afraid of a human, angered him beyond coherent words. He snapped his head down and breathed a gout of air-searing flame at the ground where Sleeper had been standing. The superheated flame caused a loud roar as the very air the flame occupied was reduced to nothing by the force, and the flame caused a palpable impact as it hit the ground, fusing the dirt into a thin layer of stone. Lofwyr smiled as he looked at the burned plate on the ground, a full fifty feet wide. His smile disappeared, however, when he felt the pain in his belly and reared back to discover that two meter-long gashes had been cut in his chest. He roared in pain and scanned the area, bringing his enhanced senses to bear to find the one who dared to touch him. "SLEEPERRRR!" he bellowed.

"What's the matter, Lofwyr? Having trouble?"

Lofwyr immediately threw a spell of fiery destruction at the spot where he'd heard Sleeper's words, his reaction time fast even for a dragon. A section of trees exploded, the ground baked by the spell. The dragon barely had time to register a smile of satisfaction before another explosion caught his attention, an explosion of sound and pain as the primary joint of his right wing disintegrated, the huge appendage dropping to the ground like a broken kite. "!" Lofwyr roared. Never had he experienced this level of pain, added to the indignity of knowing what caused it. "WHERE ARE YOU, SLEEPER?"

"Now, now, what would be the fun of that?" came the voice to Lofwyr's right. The dragon turned, only to feel the pain compounded by another explosion. Lofwyr was now grounded, both his wings damaged beyond the means of any spell save full regeneration. What's more, his own blood was now coursing from the wounds.

Lofwyr's voice was now a barely restrained roar. "SHOW YOURSELF!"

"Screw you, you overblown excuse for a set of luggage…"

Lofwyr turned and chomped down on the precise location of where he heard the source of the voice, ripping up a large section of earth. When Lofwyr realized that he wasn't tasting flesh or cybernetics, he spit out the dirt angrily. "THIS IS A TRICK…NO ONE IS THAT FAST!"

That's when he felt the presence on his back, just for the space of a split-second. His great eyes went wide, and then the pain, but this pain was brief and caused all other pain to go away. Lofwyr barely noticed his body crashing to the ground, all feeling and strength gone. He looked up, only able to move his eyes as Sleeper walked into view.

Sleeper looked down at Lofwyr. He was victorious, but his face held no satisfaction or glee. "My, how the mighty have fallen."

Lofwyr only had one word. "HOW…?"

Sleeper took a breath, but the words came out not from his lips, but a good thirty yards away. "Microreceivers keyed to my voicebox mods. I was literally throwing my voice. Gotta hand it to you, Lofwyr, I had to use every skill at my disposal to keep from getting seen and killed. Hope that comforts you on the way to whatever hell waits for dragons like you."

"NO WEAPON…MADE COULD…DAMAGE ME…"

"No normal weapon, true. However…" Sleeper raised his arms and curled his fists inwards slightly. A sharpened spike, colored silver and gold, appeared from each arm. "…orichalcrum-based weapons work wonders. The explosions you felt were from a new type of explosive a friend of mine worked up. Took years and cost a fortune. Luckily, I had both. You were a hard dragon to beat, but your pride made it easier for me."

"SO…YOU'VE WON…SO FINISH ME…"

Sleeper looked at Lofwyr. "Why should I? Without medical aid, you'll die eventually. Might take a week or so, if the animals don't start feeding on you."

Lofwyr struggled to get the next words out; his own weight was making it hard to move his lungs. "WHAT…DO YOU WANT…FROM ME?"

"Your word that you won't do anything stupid, like try to bite me. I've only got one bomb left. You don't want me to waste it, do you?"

Lofwyr closed his eyes. "DONE."

Sleeper walked around Lofwyr's head, giving it a wide berth, until he reached the neck and moved to the base of the dragon's skull. He placed the bomb under the ridge of bone and set it to remote, then walked away, retracing his steps until he was twenty feet in front of Lofwyr's head.

"FEEL FREE…TO GLOAT…SLEEPER…" Lofwyr said ruefully.

"Unlike you, Lofwyr, I don't take pleasure in killing you. My only consolation in this affair is that your company will be used to repair the damage you've done, to protect those you once victimized. Icer's already set up control of Saeder-Krupp and handed it to someone who works for me. Your megacorporation is going to be in good hands…finally." He turned his back on Lofwyr and activated the bomb, the shaped-charge blasting through the thick bone of the dragon's skull and turning his brain into deep-fried guacamole. He opened a channel to the rest of the Seven. "Fade, now."

Five minutes later, they were gone.

Sleeper walked in and removed his coat, heading to his room at the base in the Rocky Mountains. He didn't say much, simply removing his clothes and lay back on the medical table, clad only in his briefs. He was indeed tall, with a crewcut of borwn hair and strong features, but still a bit boyish. Muscles and veins stood out under his skin, all of it synthetic protein polymer compounds and circulation. Icer, a tall elf with a wild blue Mohawk, walked to Sleeper's left side and turned on the biomonitors, plugging the leads into the plugs along his spine. Stone, known as "Rocky" during the run, began casting a spell of recovery, having to put extra effort into the magic to make it effective on someone with so much cyberware and bioware in his body.

Sleeper closed his eyes, his breathing becoming even. Badger walked in and turned to Icer. "How's he doing?"

Icer scanned the readouts. "We're getting some signal ghosts in his move-by-wire system. It's going to take three hours of diagnostics to isolate and weed out the murmurs. He can't keep pushing himself like this, Badger. If this keeps up, he'll soon blow out like an old light bulb. He's also got burn damage over fifty percent of his body. If it wasn't for the pain editor in his skull, he'd be screaming right now."

"No, he wouldn't," said the female elf that came in, dressed in skintight purple leather. "Sleeper's too tough for that."

"Tombstone, he was nearly cooked,' Badger replied, but a part of him believed the physical adept. "He's damaged, though we know he wouldn't show it. He's had so much of his body augmented, replaced…look at him. He spends every night hooked up to biomonitors and error-correction hardware to keep his cyberware from freezing up on him. He's got several million nuyen's worth of the best stuff money can possibly buy and a lot of it money can't buy."

"It's kept him alive when nothing else could," Heloquin interjected.

Icer looked up from the displays. "It's killing him now. I'm detecting neural damage in major pathways along his spinal cord and in several areas of his brain. If these areas aren't treated and his cybernetics removed, one good shock and he'll have a stroke. Even if that shock miraculously doesn't happen, he'll start having lesions develop in his brain, lesions that'll result in cancer."

The room was silent. Sleeper had never officially claimed to be the leader, nor did any of the other people suggest the idea, but Sleeper was always the one with a cause, a need to do something about injustice anywhere in the world, a motivator. In fact, the general consensus of the core group was that Sleeper's fierce sense of justice and principle was what kept him from going cyberpsycho with all the modifications made to his body.

And now those modifications were killing him.

"How long does he have?" Badger asked in a voice that was almost a whisper.

"If he doesn't move from this spot…six months. More if he stays as stubborn as usual, but no activity more strenuous than picking up the morning paper."

"This is Sleeper, you know. For him, picking up the paper is a shadowrun."

"Badger, you're not making this any easier, you know."

"What do you want me to do? Say that Lofwyr got his wish, Sleeper's out of action permanently?" Badger looked over at his friend on the table. "Forget it. No way."

"Badger, we've gotta talk. Front room, five minutes." Heloquin left, followed by the other members of the Seven. Badger was the last to leave.

The room went dark as the door closed. For ten minutes, all there existed was darkness and Sleeper.

And then the woman in the leather tunic and breeches was there, setting her bow down and leaning over Sleeper's body. "Well, well, well. You are not an easy person to track down, Stephen. We have to talk."

Sleeper's eyes opened and he turned to look at her. "Who are you?" he asked tiredly. Downtime was always draining, and it startled him that he could actually stay awake.

"My friends call me Erollisi Marr. I've got a job for you."

"How'd you…get in…here?"

"That's not important right now. I've been looking around for someone like you for a while. Some people I'm rather fond of have asked me for help, but Fate has determined that they're someplace I can't get to without upsetting some very large applecarts." He placed a finger upon his chest. "I need you to help me out."

"You need…a shadowrunner."

"What I need, Stephen, is a hero. Someone who'll get the job done. I made a promise, and you're going to help me keep that promise."

"Not able…to help anyone…right now."

"You're telling me. Look at what you've done to yourself. I've never seen anyone go to so much trouble to turn himself into a contraption. The gnomes would give up their eyeteeth to get a better look at you. Why did you do this?"

"…to survive."

"But why? Are you afraid to die?"

"No…too many…people die…out of greed…hatred…madness. Someone has to…protect them."

"And you think you're going to save the world? Sounds kind of arrogant."

"I will not…stand by….and allow evil…to spread." Sleeper exhaled loudly; talking was very difficult for him.

Erollisi smiled. "Good answer, hero. Maybe we can help each other out. But it means leaving this world, likely never to return. You'll lose a lot of your power. But you'll be able to help people."

"…my friends…?"

"They'll have to get along without you. But they have to eventually. And if you prolong this, you won't be able to help anyone ever again."

"Can I…say goodbye?"

Erollisi considered. "No one can see me. You'll have a few minutes, but the door is only open for a few more minutes."

Sleeper nodded. "I've decided."

"Maybe we could just…I don't know, just keep letting people think he's still active, just in different areas. If nothing else, it'll keep the other megacorps off-balance, especially when they find out Lofwyr's dead. It'll be the biggest thing since Dunkelzahn's assassination."

"Try not to sound too excited, Tombstone." Stone sighed with mild irritation.

"Look, we all knew this would happen eventually." Badger looked around the room. "It's not like we're normal people who don't buck the System every single day."

"But Sleeper was the youngest of us…the most idealistic. It's…" Mackie, the techie, looked around at the others, but she couldn't finish.

"Go ahead. Say it. We're all thinking it. 'It's not fair.' No, it isn't, Mackie," Icer said solemnly.

Everyone jerked as the alarm went off, the red light on the wall flashing. They ran into Sleeper's room to find that the main monitor plug had been pulled out. "Sleeper, what are you doing, you maniac…?" Badger blurted out.

"Look, Martin…I don't have a whole lot of time." The use of Badger's real name shocked him into silence. Sleeper looked around the room. "I…have to go, guys. Someone needs my…help. I'm no good here anymore. We all know it. Lofwyr nailed me. I wasn't…fast enough. But I have a chance. Someone…offered me a little trip somewhere. Somewhere I…might have a chance to do some good again."

"Sleeper…" Stone said, but Sleeper held up a hand.

"It's going to…be alright. You're…all….going to…be alright. I'm going to…help people again. Don't…don't give up. This world….needs…you…" He took a deep breath. "I know…you'll all…do what needs…to be done." Sleeper turned his eyes to a corner of the room. "I'm ready…"

Sleeper's body began to glow, a golden-white white that filled the room, dazzling and blinding in its strength. Everyone shielded their eyes with their arms as the light flared, then dimmed. When they lowered their arms, Sleeper was gone.

No one spoke for a long time. Finally, Badger smiled. "One thing you can always say about Sleeper. He always knew how to make an exit better than anyone."

"You think he's…?" Tombstone asked hopefully.

"He's alive. We'd know it if he wasn't." Badger turned to the others. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"We've got to make the arrangements to get out of here, as well as come up with a way to keep up the 'Sleeper sightings'. If we're lucky, he'll be bigger than Kilroy."

Stone looked at Badger. "Who's 'Kilroy'?"

Badger shook his head. Sometimes, he hated being the old man of the group. He knew they'd all mourn later, privately, then move on.

But it would never be quite the same.

"Are they going to be alright?"

The female voice came back, a voice that could seduce a statue. "They'll be okay. They love you, you know?"

"What makes you say that?"

A chuckle. "You could say that I'm an expert on the subject."

"So...how did you...?"

"Long story, Stephen, and we don't have a great deal of time."

"Could you at least give me the Reader's Digest rundown?"

"Alright. You're going to a world of magic, not technology. No guns, none of your machines. Sorry if that means hindering you."

"Is this world I'm going to as polluted as mine was?"

"Not hardly."

"Then I'll deal, Lady."

"Also, you're going to have to lose those enhancements of yours. Most of them, anyway. Let's see..." There was a pause as Sleeper floated there. "Hmmmm...there's some...amazing. There's not a lot of you left, is there?"

"What are you, my mother?"

"Don't get testy. I'll be able to remove most of it, but I'll let you keep the rest. After all, I wouldn't want you to get a swelled head, or break down. There won't be anyone where you're going who can fix you."

"I gathered that."

"I noticed those things in your arms. I can't seem to remove them. Ah, I see. The material your arm weapons are made of doesn't exist on Norrath. It is beyond my power to remove them...so I shall make them more a part of you. Now this may sting a little..."

Sleeper would've yelled in pain, but by the time he could collect his thoughts to do so, it was over. "Okay…that was more painful than advertised…"

"I had to transform you. You're still a man, but you're going to be around for a while. That is, unless someone kills you. You're not as indestructible as you were before."

"I'll cope."

"You'll have to, since when I let you off this merry-go-round into the real world, you won't remember much of this. Only the really important things that I want you to remember. And no, you won't remember me or any of this. Have to keep the devoted going with faith. I start proving I exist and hand out eyewitnesses like candy, and it won't be nearly as much fun."

"What will I know?"

"You'll know you're not the…what do you call it again, cyborg you once were. You know you were brought here for a reason and you'll remember the life you had before. From there, you're on your own."

"Story of my life."

"I know. Now be quiet, you're being dropped into enemy territory. Can't advertise my presence, or I'll have to account to the siblings, they'll start talking about retribution, things get ugly."

"You're kind of….casual, for a goddess."

"And you're kind of cute, for a human." Merry laughter. "Ta ta."

Lylly looked down the hallway, then back at the other Tier'Dal. "All clear."

Maianta nodded and waved down the hole in the rock to the next dark elf in sight, who then waved down the next, and the next, and the next in a series of passages to a chamber below the cells. In the chamber, three other Tier'Dal mages continued their rituals, not allowing their skills to go to waste while trapped in the darkness below Neriak. Lylly kept a vigilant watch, knowing full well that as bad as their confinement was, there was much worse they could suffer besides being used and abused on a daily and nightly basis. Much, much worse.

Fortunately, Lylly was one of the best when it came to getting around without being seen. It was thanks to her that the others had managed to live as long as they had, smuggling in food and herbs, sneaking water from the guards' canteens, a swallow or two at a time. Five years of hellish treatment, and despite Lylly's best efforts, they were all getting weaker.

She caught sight of light growing down the hallway and hissed down the passageway. She ran to her place on the cell floor, snapping the manacles into place around her bruised wrists and ankles. The others scrambled up through the opening, the last one putting the stone cover back into place as they all chained themselves anew. By the time the jailers came to the cell, all of them looked as if they had nowhere to go and no way to get there. "Wake up, you scum! WAKE UP!"

The prisoners stirred and pulled themselves up. They had stopped asking whether it was night or day a long time ago. At first, some of them had smart remarks for the jailers. After a few months of beatings and punishment rapes, the smart remarks didn't seem as clever. They sat up and waited.

"Good." The head jailer smiled, clearly enjoying his work. The two women with him carried whips, and looked eager to use them. "Now, which will it be this time? You know the rules. The sooner someone volunteers, the more lenient we'll be…"

A loud noise, like a muffled explosion, came from down the hall from the cell. The jailer turned towards the noise, then to one of the whip-maidens. "Zoranthis, check out what made that sound." The woman nodded, heading down the corridor, taking out a dagger with her free hand. The jailer watched her turn the corner, then turned back to the prisoners. "This had better not be another cheap trick so you can get the guards running all over the catacombs looking for an intruder."

Lylly frowned. "We know nothing about…"

"Shut up, acolyte of a useless goddess. How dare you presume to think that Innoruk, God of Hate, would be considered inferior to that slut, Erollisi Marr? 'Goddess of Love', indeed? Love is a crutch for those too weak to embrace true power." He drew out a set of keys and unlocked the cell. "For your insolence, I think we'll just torture all of you…"

"Mutherin…"

The jailer turned to the other whip-mistress. "What is it?"

She pointed down the corridor and the jailer turned, aggravated at the interruption. He saw the prone form of the other woman, lying motionless on the floor. He saw a massive shadow, the size of a troll, standing over her. The shadow moved, turning to face the jailer and his aide.

"Typhea, get the guards…get them…!"

The shadow moved, rushing towards them, seeming to swallow the other female in its darkness. It turned, then the woman flew at the jailer, knocking him down. The jailer pushed the woman's unconscious form off of him and sat up to find the dark shadow standing over him, a rapier pointed at his nose. "Keys. NOW."

"Who are you?"

The tip of the blade pushed into the flesh of the nose, then flicked down, cutting a slit in one of his nostrils. The jailer howled in fresh pain, looking up at the man. It was easier to see the details now. A man, a human or barbarian by the look, wearing strange, black clothing, with a long overgarment and a wide-brimmed hat. "I'm not going to tell you again. Keys. NOW!"

The jailer held up the keys. "It will make no difference. You'll never get out of here alive. You're dead."

A low chuckle came from the throat of the stranger. "Oh, if I had a nickel for every time I heard those words…" He took the keys and tossed them into the cell. "We're getting out of here."

Lylly picked up the keys, looking closely at the human. "Who sent you?"

Sleeper tried to remember what happened. His mind was a blank after saying goodbye, but he did remember one name. "Erollisi Marr."

"Thank the goddess," came a cry from one of the mages as she removed her manacles.

"Shhh!" Sleeper said quickly. "Let's not let everyone know we're leaving just yet." He gestured with the rapier. "Inside, pal, and carry those two with you."

The jailer looked indignant. "I am not going to share a cell with those useless corpses. You did me a favor, killing them for their incompetence."

"Two things, pal. One, they're not dead, they're unconscious. Second, the only reason you're not just as unconscious is because I need you to direct me to the way out."

"You won't need him."

Sleeper turned to Lylly. "You know the way out?"

"Every step."

Sleeper turned back to the jailer. "Guess I don't need you then."

One of the warrior Tier'Dal, a male named Spidrus, drew a dagger from one of the whip-mistresses. "Let me kill him!"

"No," Sleeper said firmly. "This is a rescue operation. Hang him up by his ankles and leave the other two in the cell with him. What do you think his superiors will do to him if they find him like that?"

Spidrus considered, then unbelted the sheath from the whip-mistress' waist, putting it around his own waist.

"Good. Now lock them up."

"There…now don't they look cozy?" Sleeper dryly commented.

"They would look better peeled like tubers," one of the shadowknights, a female named Leyastra, said with acid in her voice.

"Business before pleasure." Sleeper turned to Lylly. "What's your name?"

"Lylly. The others are Maroca, Spidrus, Maianta, Jeffren, Ialai, Yllen, Sapra, Geidos, Quilla and Leyastra. They're all devotees of the forbidden goddess Erollisi Marr."

"Goddess?"

"The goddess of Love. Don't you know who she is? She did, after all, send you."

"Well, that's a long story and we'll have to get into it after we're safe. Okay, Lylly, here's the deal. We need a way out with as few guards as possible. You say you know this place."

Lylly thought about it. "The only way I know is the drainage passages to the sea. But we can't go that way. All sorts of scavenger fish lie in wait for anything that might be considered food."

"How long before you're discovered missing?"

"A day, maybe two. We've been there for so long, the others simply take it for granted that we haven't escaped. As you may have noticed, we could not survive any sort of escape attempt. We may not, regardless."

"Alright. I'll get you to the passage exit, then I'll get us a boat and some supplies. Hopefully by then, they won't have noticed you're missing."

"There are guards at the exit passages."

Sleeper smiled. "Good. I've got some frustrations I want to take out on someone."

"You sound like you're enjoying yourself," Lylly said skeptically.

"Believe me, I am, but not for the reasons you think." He checked his belt pack, glad that his energy bars were still there. "Here, ration these out, but only nibble them. Think of them as highly-concentrated food. Eat too fast and you'll get sick."

Lylly took them, looking at the foil-wrapped packages. "They don't look tasty."

Sleeper opened one, peeling the wrapper back. "Try one now."

Lylly took a nibble, then grimaced slightly. "I think I'd be better off eating that paper-like wrapper you peeled off."

"It may not taste like much, but you'll feel better for it. Eat up. I'll be back."

Lylly nodded, turning back to hand the energy bars to the others, then looked over at Sleeper with another group of questions. She blinked.

Sleeper was gone and she hadn't heard him leave.

Sleeper took stock of his possessions, increased suitably by the pacification of the guards that surrounded the sewage outlet. The three guards weren't dead, but considering they were dressed in their undergarments and tied back-to-back, they would likely wish they were when their relief arrived.

Sleeper didn't find any armor that fit, and the swords they carried didn't have the fluid feel of the rapier Harlequin had given him years ago. In fact, the rapier seemed more balanced. More of a magic-rich environment, the blade's likely more powerful. Better watch that. He took the clothes and the equipment, though, the freed prisoners would likely find them useful. As he rolled up the equipment and stashed them nearby, he looked up at the sky over Neriak. Even though it was midday, the sky still had a dark tinge over it, making daylight like twilight. Forbidding place…but these elves aren't the only ones who benefit tactically from darkness. Cybereyes are gone, but I still have some natural nightvision. No cybernetically-enhanced senses. This is going to make things interesting.

He looked towards the city harbor. Time to do some fishing.

Yllen and Sapra, two of the female mages, finished eating their food and crept over to the open mouth of the sewer, sitting next to Lylly. "What do you think?" Sapra asked.

"Slaver, likely. I doubt Erollisi Marr actually sent him. He's likely a slaver, or a mercenary at best. He'll probably try to put collars on us as soon as we're away from Neriak."

Yllen shook her head. "I don't think so. I saw his eyes as he regarded us. A slaver would've been more likely to command, have a way out already planned."

"Well, if he wants to take us, there's not much we can do to stop him. We're starving and weak, and he's just given us food and water. It will be a week before any of us are up to fighting strength. He'll wait before taking us, unless he's aroused by the sight of skeletons."

"You're too cynical," Sapra noted.

"I've been around longer and I was born in Neriak, unlike all of you. You had the benefit of being raised in a monastery where you felt the affection of those who cared about you. Not me. I was chased out of Neriak for my crimes and dared to return, guiding you in to minister to those who wanted to learn other ways besides hate. So spare me the platitudes. I'll believe it when I see it, and not until."

"Do you always expect the worst of people?" Yllen asked.

"Yes. And I haven't been disappointed yet." Lylly gazed out over the dark water of the sea.

"You may be disappointed by this one." Sapra said sagely, then stretched her arms. "He was right about one thing."

"What?"

"Those bars he gave us were filling after all. If we continue eating like that, we may be at full strength sooner than expected. Not exactly fortuitous if he plans to keep us docile," Sapra added, standing and heading towards the others deeper within the passageway.

Yllen stayed with Lylly to keep watch. "She's right. I already felt strong to work on some of my healing spells."

"So he made a mistake, helping us too early."

"You think so?"

"I just hope I'm not going to have to fight my way out of a collar. I've been there once and I have no desire to return."

Yllen nodded. "I will not allow that to happen. If he is what you say, we will be ready for your signal."

"Good. Tell the others."

Sleeper rowed slowly and pulled the boat away from the dock. It was easier than he thought, since the guards at the docks were more concerned with their warships and merchant boats than with small fishing boats. Especially one in this shape. I just hope this thing will stay afloat long enough to get out of sight of the town. He raised his foot, glad that his boots were waterproof. At least my feet will stay dry until the water gets higher. Okay…time for a little personal inventory. No cybereyes, no cyberears, no commlink…in fact, looks like no headware altogether. Slower than I was before, and I feel weaker as well. Sleeper raised his arm and made a fist, then cocked it forward. A silver spike with golden veined through it slid instantly forth. Still have these, apparently. Thank God for small favors. Looks like you're starting back at square one, with the first mods you ever received. The natural enhancements seem to be there, which just goes to prove that there's no substitute for exercise. Still feel hungry, but not as much as usual. Looks like whatever was used to get me here took away almost everything artificial. The good news is, I don't need to be hooked up to a ton of machinery every night to keep me sane. I'll just have to be more careful from now on. Better keep the cyberspurs to myself. Not sure when I may need concealed weapons.

He looked towards the edge of the coastline ahead. He didn't dare speak, not sure what sort of defenses or alert systems Neriak's leaders would have this far out, but deciding to err on the side of discretion. He reached for the bucket floating on the bottom and started bailing.

Time to figure out my next move. I might be able to patch the boat; there's plenty of debris at the mouth of the sewer entrance I can use for a temporary fix. That elf, Lylly, she seemed to know the score; I'll bet she can guide us out of here. The sixty-four million nuyen question now is, why did this Erollisi Marr pick me? Surely there was someone more local she could've brought in. His eyebrows furrowed. Not that I'm complaining about the new lease on life, but I wish I knew more about what was going on. The language they were speaking, I could understand what they were saying and they could understand me, but the sounds were different. Looks like Erollisi fixed my voice and my language comprehension. Wonder what else she did.

Sleeper sighed. "Dimensional travel should come with a manual or instructions. Next time, I'm going to get better travel accommodations than Erollisi Marr Travel Agency. Didn't even get an air bag or a bag of peanuts."

"He's coming."

Lylly nodded. "Who does he have with him?"

"No one," Ialai confirmed. "There's a boat at the shore. It needs repair, but I think I have a spell that can repair the damage."

"This man must either be telling the truth or he's the worst slaver or mercenary I've ever seen. No escape plan, no decent transportation. He's a disgrace."

"Don't be too critical, Lylly. He did free us, after all, when no one else did."

"He's a man, and worse yet, a human. You all know what they're like. Stupid, short-lived, oversized…"

"Oh yes, I know exactly what those creatures are like. But it could be worse. He could've been someone more debased, evil, depraved."

"Exactly."

"He could've been a Tier'Dal."

"Yes, he could've…" Lylly stopped, then turned to Ialai. "Are you trying to make a point?"

"Could be it has been made already."

"Very well, Ialai, you've made your point." Lylly looked up at the sky. "It's getting darker. What is taking him so long to get up here?"

"He just pulled out a large bundle. He's bringing it up to the passage." She smiled. "Get the others."

Lylly nodded and moved quickly to the back of the passage. "He's back. Be ready. Come on." They nodded and crept closer to the mouth, preparing an ambush in case the stranger's intentions were less than honorable.

When they looked over the edge of the rocks, they saw the stranger standing there, opening up the bundle. "Here. I got all the clothing and gear I could find on short notice. Hope you can find stuff in here you can use. I also found some weapons. I'll let you decide what to use."

"Uhm…thank you." Ialai was a little startled.

"Now, I'm going to see if I can make that boat more seaworthy. If any of you can help, come on out after you've finished changing." Sleeper turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Sleeper stopped and turned back. "Yes?"

"We don't even know your name."

Sleeper considered. "Sleeper" is all but gone now. "Call me…Stephen."

"Stephen." Ialai smiled. "Thank you, Stephen."

Stephen nodded and left the tunnel.

The other dark elves moved into the light cautiously, looking at Ialai. "Well?" Jeffren asked.

"I think we can safely say that he's not going to try to enslave us," Ialai said, a truly joyful look on her face for the first time in years. "Look! He has brought us armor, weapons, food and drink, even the silver and gold the guards carried. Truly this man was sent by Erollisi Marr to rescue us." She looked at Lylly and tsked. "And you were worried."

"I am still worried. But, armed and clothed, I will feel less worried." She picked out a set of leather armor and put it on, drawing out a pair of shortswords. "I would feel better if I had my own gear, but this will suffice."

"Come," Quilla said, one of the clerics of Erollisi, "let us do what we can to help him with the boat. The sooner we leave, the better."

The others agreed and walked out to assist. Lylly was the last to go, shaking her head at their naivete. "Far too trusting. You'd think a few years in hell would open their eyes, but they still see saints where they should be wary of sinners. As soon as this ship of fools has cleared the coast off Nektulos Forest, I am going to find the nearest place to part company before he can take advantage of me."

She followed, keeping a close eye on Stephen.

"Stephen?"

"Yes, uh…Leyastra, right?" He looked down at the younger Tier'Dal.

"Where do you come from? Antonica? Faydwer? Luclin?"

"Uhm…you wouldn't believe me if I told you." He continued to row through the night. Unfortunately for him, his choice of words only intensified the curiosity of the other Tier'Dal.

"Try us," Geidos said.

"I come from another world. One far worse off than this one."

"Now I find that very difficult to believe," Lylly quipped. "How bad could it be?"

As Stephen began to talk, the other Tier'Dal moved closer to listen. "Think of a world filled with tyranny. There were no governments any more, only rich businesses so powerful, their influence spanned the world. They corrupted and polluted the land, poisoning it. Imagine being somewhere where it wasn't even safe to breathe the air because of what had been done to it for the sake of making money. Food was short, so hard to find that many had to resort to eating food that was little more than beans and fungus, carefully made and sweetened to make it edible."

"Didn't they have magic?" Quilla asked.

"Yes, but simple magic wasn't enough for some, using blood magic and other corrupting magic to gain even more power and control that which they didn't already own."

"What do you know of such forces?" Maianta asked.

Stephen took a breath. "I fought against them. Me and my companions."

"Where are your friends? Are they here?"

"No. Just me."

Geidos noted the touch of sadness in Stephen's voice. "What sort of enemies have you faced?"

"All kinds. Vampires, monsters, men, even dragons."

"You have faced dragons? I do not believe it," Lylly said flatly.

"Actually, I got kind of a reputation for being a dragonslayer long before I could actually kill one. It's sort of a funny story, actually. I was working with my friends to find a magical statuette, supposedly holding some sort of evil entity. A dragon stole the statuette and became some sort of undead creature. I ran to the roof with an explosive device, trying to engage the creature. I figured I was dead already, but I was going to do my best to take that thing with me. I reached back to throw the explosive when someone from the media…think of them as extremely advanced minstrels…took a picture of me preparing to attack."

"A picture?"

"Yes, they had devices that could take anything visible and re-create it as an image on paper."

"Go on," Maroca, normally the quiet and reserved type, actually spoke up in entreatment.

"Well, the attack failed, but the thing was defeated and destroyed by a surprise attack by another dragon. The media never noticed the dragon, and when they re-told the tale, they made it sound as if I'd destroyed the dragon with one blow. Needless to say, a few dragons didn't sleep well for a while and my life became more interesting."

"I knew it." Stephen turned to Lylly, who had been sharpening her swords. "A charlatan who made his way on his reputation."

"Lylly!" Geidos almost stood up in the boat. "Why are you so hostile towards someone who has done so much to help us without asking anything from us?"

"Because I know he will, eventually. So spare us the suspense, human. Why don't you tell us what you want from us. Perhaps one of the females, or more, to warm your bed? Or one of the men? Or do you want one of us to stay with you as your servant in return for our safe passage? Don't be shy, we're all dying to hear it," Lylly spat at him viciously.

Stephen looked at them all, then back to Lylly. "Alright, Lylly. You want to know what I want?"

"I'm breathless with anticipation."

"Fine. I want to go home. I want a lifetime supply of Oreo cookies. I want my M107 HMG. I want to see my friends and let them know I'm alright. I want my Riverine instead of this leaky boat. I want a little sanity in an otherwise chaotic world. I want to see the sun shine and not have to worry about some large organization hounding me every moment of my life. I want to be able to sit down and read a good book. I want to settle down and have a family. I want to be able to know that I did something that made this world a better place. I want to be able to dream again. And dammit, I want to be able to have at least one person in my life I can rely on!" he finished, looking into Lylly's eyes. "You think you can help with any of that?"

Lylly didn't show it, but she was taken aback by the force of his words and delivery. She looked at Stephen for a few minutes, then turned her back and continued sharpening her swords. Stephen turned and faced the bow, keeping an eye out for hazards, eddies or hostile fish big enough to threaten the boat.

No one spoke for some time, and most of the Tier'Dal lay asleep in the boat. Lylly was still awake, watching from the stern to spot anyone or anything following them. Stephen was also still awake, leaning over the prow, lost in thought.

"Stephen?"

He turned back to see Yllen sitting up, rubbing her eyes. "Yllen, right?"

"Yes."

"Sometimes I can be bad with names. I used to be a lot better." He chuckled slightly. "Are you alright?"

"I can't sleep. I'm cold."

Stephen nodded, removing his long coat and draping it around Yllen. The rest of his clothing could now be seen, a long-sleeved shirt, vest and slacks. The material was thick, yet moved like silk. "You dress well, but you do not wear armor."

"Oh, the clothing is armor. It's just designed to stop weapons from my world, although I think it might afford me some protection here. I relied more upon my cybernetics."

"Cybernetics? What are those?"

"Enhancements made to my body to make it stronger, faster, more versatile, more durable."

"Didn't they hurt?"

"In ways you cannot imagine. They were slowly killing me."

"Then why get them at all?"

"Better to die slowly and still be able to help people than to die quickly and help no one."

"You are determined to aid others. It affects every decision you make. It is a commendable trait." She moved closer to sit beside him.

"It's the only thing that kept me sane."

"Sane? Why?"

"You cannot alter your body to such a degree without it affecting your mind. And I had almost all of it altered. The more I altered, the more like a machine and less like a human I felt."

"It sounds horrible. Why would you do such a thing?"

"To survive. To challenge oppressors and opportunists. To defeat evil, uphold justice. To endure horror to spare others that horror."

"But why did you feel you had to do this for people you didn't know?"

Stephen looked out over the water. "A wise man once said, 'All that is required for evil to flourish is for good people to do nothing to stop it.' I won't allow that to happen. Not on my watch."

Yllen nodded, privately smiling at her suspicions being proven accurate. "There are many elves out there who have not half your conviction, and are hundreds of years older."

"Try growing up on the streets of Seattle. Nothing teaches you how to swim like being dropped in at the deep end."

"Such a horrible place, and yet you miss it."

Stephen shrugged. "It's the only place I knew. I don't know this place. I can speak the language, somehow, but none of this world is familiar. I don't even know what kind of money is used here."

"You need a guide."

Stephen nodded. "Wouldn't hurt."

"All you needed to do was ask."

"Didn't feel right. You've got people wondering what happened to you, who need to know you're all okay. I didn't feel comfortable imposing upon you, since I have a lot of questions and I don't think we'll be traveling together long enough to answer them all."

"You're very formal for someone in your business."

"I'm forced to deal with very formal people where I come from."

"Here, you won't see much of that unless you deal with royalty…or any high elf." Yllen rolled her eyes. "Even the lowliest of high elves consider themselves more important than a human king."

"Unfortunately, I know the type." He looked up as they cleared the edge of the coast and Stephen caught sight of structures and a harbor. "What's that up ahead?"

Yllen smiled. "That's Freeport. We've made it!"

"What's Freeport?"

"The last human bastion of freedom. It's a large port city on the edge of the Commonlands, with Nektulos Forest to the north and the Desert of Ro to the south." She sighed in relief. "We have people there that will take us in, but we shall have to be careful. Tier'Dal are not looked upon kindly, considering that their raids come from the forest regularly and harass those that travel through the Commonlands."

"More good news. Is there anyone there who would vouch for you?"

"One of the Guards, Captain Harus. He knows of us and our mission."

"Alright, where can I find him?"

"There is a shipping company on the docks. Captain Harus should be there. It's part of his regular rounds."

"Alright. Anchor here and I'll swim the rest of the way. When I find him, I'll tell him what happened. He should know what to do from there, right?"

"He'll escort us in."

"Good. I'll be right back." He smiled, then moved over the side, slipping into the water and swimming towards the docks.

Lylly sat up, watching his wake carefully. She wasn't sure why she was watching, only that it felt important for her to do so.

Stephen walked up the shore, dripping from head to foot. The cold water had served to refresh him somewhat, but he was still exhausted. As he walked up towards the dock structures, three humans, armed and armored, watched him arrive. They gripped their swords as he came closer.

The leader smiled. "That's the one. Kill him."

TO BE CONTINUED….