Cirrus paced his quarters, brow furrowed and

muttering to himself. He frequently scowled at the object lying

on the small table beside his bed. The object  was temptation

incarnate, and Cirrus was suffering greatly.
 

                Thoughts swirled in his head. I could do great good

if  I could master whatever powers this be....the Wanderer said

that Lord Unka could destroy at will with it. If I were its'

master, Lord Unka would suffer for all he has done. Cirrus

clenched his fists in anger at the memory of his agony at  the

Magistrates hands.
 

                After the departure of Lord Unka and his prisoner,

Cirrus had attended to his priestly functions. He had lit the

candles in the shrines, made obeisance to those gods whose forms

he knew, and made the celestial observations central to his own

faith. All the while his mind focused on the things the Wanderer

had told him. The  key to power was in his grasp, but power was

dangerous. And who knew what horrors this thing could bring

forth. His own powers were modest, as a healer he was a man of

some repute, but he knew the herbal medicines he dispensed

along with his incantations helped greatly. He longed for the

power and wisdom that had been the treasures of his druid

forbears.
 

                    Cirrus could deny himself no longer. He took the

object from the table and examined it closely.  The weight of the

thing made it neither wood nor stone, but something in between.

Tapping it with a fingernail made an unidentifiable "click"

sound...and provided no answer to his  questions. there were

several hollow indentations on one side, with small raised disks

centered in each. At what he intuited was the top of the object...A

page, Grouch had called it...Cirrus tried vainly to decipher the

runes engraved there. There were seven symbols there, a

number of some significance to a druid astronomer, a Prime

number.  Holding it to his ear, he heard no sound from within.

Deep in thought, he absentmindedly rubbed his thumb across the

disks.... and felt one of them move.  He quickly tested all of the

disks, and all of them could  be depressed.
 

          While rapt in his discovery, Cirrus was unaware of the

small red light that had briefly flashed beside the runes at the top

of the object.......
 

               In a small dark room, the monitor flashed to sudden

life, a "message received" banner flashing repeatedly across the

screen. After a short time the banner ceased, the computer having

decided there was no user present. The computer switched to a

preset command mode, and opened the message. Recognizing the

tamper signal from the pager, the computer returned a signal of

its own.....
 

                 In another room, Modem slept, dreaming of other

worlds......
 

                 The pager received the signal and a separate, larger

power cell released all of its energy through contact points set

throughout the case of the pager in a single massive surge.....
 

                    Cirrus' eyes bulged in horror at the blue arcs that

flashed through his hands, up his arms and through his body. He

tried to scream but his jaws were frozen in a rictus of pain. His

body jerked in a macabre dance, a marionette gone berserk. The

pain was incredible. In what seemed an eternity, but was

actually less than a second, the agony ceased.
 

                    Cirrus threw the object on his bed, and swore to all

the gods that Grouch, or his Lady, were welcome to the cursed

thing, he would nae touch it again.
 

                    T’Jae and Lady Sweet ate slowly, while the

Brat continued her tale.  "As I was saying, m’lady, Jessica is

Lord Unka's daughter, and the jewel of his eye, she was. She

did nae wrong, by her fathers word. But during the nights that

Grouch was telling his tales, she always contrived to be near

him. As the tale is told,"  T'Jae paused here, taking a bit of

cheese and a sip of water."  She soon invited him to her

bedchamber, and he, being the rogue he is, took full advantage of

the offer." T'Jae winked at the Lady. "Your Wanderer is a

randy one, he is. I had oft told him his name "wanderer" was

given for his eyes."  T'Jae chuckled merrily.
 

                  Lady Sweet was listening with rapt attention. This

was a side of Grouche she had not seen. Although she had

thought to a certainty that he was adept with the ladies, she had

had no proof.
 

                T'Jae, pleased with an attentive listener, continued.

"The two's rendezvous' continued for several nights, until, on

the final night, they became too brazen. Jessica left the hall early,

practically beckoning Grouch as she left. This was done right

before her father's very eyes.  Shortly after, Grouch claimed

exhaustion, and  left the hall also. The Magistrates suspicion

had become aroused, and he had one of his lackeys follow the

Wanderer discreetly.  Grouch, of  course, went to Jessica's

bed."
 

                 T'Jae smiled at the memory  "Ah, m’lady, it was

rare bedlam that night, thee wouldst not have believed. When  the

Lord was told, he went mad. He immediately demanded

Grouche's head and offered a hundred pieces of silver to the man

who could bring it. There was a great commotion as the guests,

eager to please the Magistrate and claim his silver, made for the

chase. Fortunately, the hue and cry alerted Grouche that

something was afoot. He donned as much clothing as would

provide modesty and was out of the room and on his way out of

the fortress before any had come near."
 

                    "They did not catch him.........ah.......in the act?"

asked Lady Sweet.  "No, m’lady, they arrived too late, he had

already escaped. He came here and gathered his belongings. By

his time the guards were searching through the city. He was

very clever though. He donned some old rags and a slouch hat,

and took a bell I had here. He tied his goods into a bundle, and

hung them from a staff. He then went into the streets.  Each time

someone approached him, he would ring the bell and call out

"Leper, Leper.....Unclean!"   No guard would come near him.

No one questioned him at all. In this fashion, he  made his way

to the gates and out"
 

                     The Lady was amazed. "He hath truly done

this?.......  He escaped with no one the wiser?"  Brat nodded

"Aye, he walked out a free man, with no tales told. The

Magistrate to this day knows not the truth. Lord Unka was

outraged. It is said  he went to Jessica's chambers and beat her

within a hairsbreadth of her life. She was quietly taken to a

convent nearby the next day. On that day also The magistrate

tried and convicted Grouche of disturbing the Kings Peace,

using the disturbance of the town the night before as evidence.

No mention was made of the reason for the disturbance. He

passed sentence.....hanging...and therefore avoided besmirching

his own name. And there it has stood."
 

                  Brat leaned closer to the Lady, "Lady Abbey, the

abbess of the convent, says the girl is entirely unrepentant of her

sins. The girls swears to commit them again if given a chance."
 

                    Lady Sweet laughed heartily. "And little chance

she shall have, inside a convent."  Brat laughed along with the

Lady. "Aye, the men seem to be somewhat lacking there," and

laughed uproariously at  her joke.
 

              A discreet knocking at thee door, and Brat said,

"ah......that would be your friend, Brian of Blunt. Come, Lady

Sweet, We have much work to do...........

    A message from the Lady:

            Welcome to Episode 16 of the saga.  The story of the Quest,
            we hope you enjoy your visit.  Consider yourself a welcome guest.
            Return often to stay abreast of the newest tangle in our adventure.

            With any luck... we will meet!!  The Bard is a master dream
            weaver, and story teller... a treat you won't want to miss!

            Please take a minute and sign the guest book.

            Remember the Bard is always adding characters, found in each new
            episode.  You will find that episode here and don't be surprised to
            find a friend or even yourselves as part of our journey.

            Fare thee well... Godspeed!