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Act VI: Demonstrations and Matchmaking

When my jet finally arrived in Alta, Norway, I immediately headed off to find the local Chess bunker. To my surprise, there wasn't one there. Chess had evidently never been assigned to this region before. That sort of irked me, but I needed transport of some sort to Masi, south of Alta. After staying the night at a hotel, I luckily got a lift from a local who was heading down to a place just south of Masi and on the east side of the Altaelva river. That suited me fine. At least that way, I'd know how to cross the river. What I was not looking forward to was the hike further east for two to three days to the strange ruins.

After we crossed the bridge just south of Masi, the local dropped me off and wished me luck, before driving further south along the river. I clipped on my skis, unpacked my poles, and began my cross-country trip. The journey was long and boring, although little wildlife appeared within view. The nights were spent inside my thermal tent and thermal sleeping bag.

By the fourth day, I was beginning to believe that I had missed the ruins or was simply lost. Then, by the late afternoon, I came to an icy downward flowing slope, lost my balance, and slid all the way to the bottom. I slammed into something solid. I shook the stars out of my eyes, then looked around. I had found the ruins. I was fortunate that the area I landed in blocked the wind almost perfectly. It was still cold here, but I wasn't hurting for ways to make heat. I pitched my camp and set up my tent. I headed inside the thermal tent and wrote in my portable journal about the time it took to arrive at the ruins. Then, I got into my thermal sleeping bag and drifted off into a warm slumber.

All of the next day, I studied the ruins. Several times I could have sworn that I had heard hoof sounds on the stone walkways in the ruins, but whenever I looked, nothing could be found. I knew something alive was around, but I always missed whatever it was. I was lucky that whatever it was left me alone at night. So I figured that if it went away at night, then I could study the ruins at night, without interruption. And so it was...

The night came and I stepped out of my tent and began exploring the ruins for anything useful or simply out of place. I found a controllable circular stone slab blocking the entrance to the only intact building in the ruins and I slowly pushed the stone aside enough to allow me entry. I slipped through the opening and clicked on my flashlight.

The chamber inside felt a lot warmer than it had outside in the ruins themselves and I thought that was odd. In the center of the chamber, a large round flat stone table stood, with some sort of sundial knob in the center of the table. I approached the table and attempted to turn the "knob" thing. I smiled when it did move. I frowned when the stone slab I was standing on also moved. I screamed when I fell down into the darkness beneath the stone slab.

I am not sure how long I was unconscious in the darkness under the ruins, but when I came to, I found that my flashlight had been broken in the fall. I tested my arms and legs, and smiled to myself when I realized that I was lucky that I hadn't broken my limbs in the fall. But now what? There was obviously no way I was going to be able to get back up the way I had entered.

I blindly walked through the darkness of the cavernous passage that I had landed in. I was beginning to get angry at Danath Gaul for sending me solo to this region. Especially to a place where Chess did not have a bunker. But I stopped my anger pretty fast. An angry mind is not a free mind. I had to remain calm if I was to get out of this situation.

After a small break, I resumed my blind journey. What I wouldn't have given for night vision right about then. But on the other hand, what if seeing was a bad idea currently. I might be walking through a place that, if I could have seen it, I would never have chanced coming this way. With that thought in my mind, I continued my trek through the darkness. I had to find a light source eventually. There was air down here, so there must have been a way for the air to get in before I fell in. I traveled on hoping to find the opening where the air was coming through.

I continued until I about fell over something. I knelt and felt the item with my hands. I smiled when I realized that it was a wooden wheel. A wooden wheel here could only mean that there was an entrance nearby. But where was it? I felt around on the ground for wheel tracks. If it had been rolled in, surely it would've left ruts or something. At this point, I was desperate for any helpful sign to get me free of the darkness. What my hands found was not wheel ruts, but a solid cloven hoof. What's more, was this cloven hoof seemed to be attached to something. I felt slowly up the hoof to the fur-covered leg. I frowned when I realized that the leg was warm. Whatever this creature, it was still alive. And chances were, it could see perfectly.

I continued feeling up the leg. After a foot, I reached the hock joint. That worried me. This creature had to be at least four to five feet tall, at the shoulder. I continued feeling up the leg to the knee, then further up to it's inner thigh. That's when I detected a long fur-covered tail, and it seemed to be prehensile. Well, that ruled out cattle, horses, deer, sheep and goats. So, what was this creature? I had to slowly stand as I felt further up his thighs, and my hands bumped in the ball sac and large sheath. I carefully worked around that, then my hands touched the stomach. I almost stopped feeling at that point. This creature was standing up like a person. That made the hair on the back of my neck rise.

I continued feeling up his buff fur-covered stomach to his fuzzy muscular chest region. At this point, I was standing up straight. I was glad I couldn't see now, otherwise, I'd likely have fainted. I continued feeling upwards further as my hands worked over his neck muscles, to his bovine-shaped head. Now, I was sure that this was a minotaur. It was the right size, and the right shape, but that tail was all wrong. Minotaur tails were not prehensile. Then, the creature seemed to flex what sounded like wings. Wings on a minotaur? My heart began to sink as I had the full realization that I was standing in front of a demon and I had just groped him all over.

"You're a demon, aren't you?"

Then, I saw two pinpoints of eerie red light open at about where his eye sockets would be.

"By the great seal, you're a human! I haven't seen a human in over 1500 years. But..."

The demon sniffed me over and ran his hands all over my body.

"...you're not like the others. You have no armor nor any weapons and you smell fresh and clean, instead of vile and filthy. But where are my manners? You're lost, hungry, and in need of rest. And being human, you need light. I apologize for keeping it so dark here, but my people lie further along this passage. We've been down here since Loki tricked us into attacking Forseti and Forseti sent us directly into the heart of the mountain. Come, I'll build us a fire and prepare you something to eat."

After an hour, the demon had built a very bright fire and had some meat from a cave dwelling animal cooking on a spit over the fire itself. When my sight had returned enough for me to see, I took another look at the so called demon.

Though sitting, he was probably about nine to twelve feet tall, from his large cloven hooves to the top of his head. Judging from his mass, I hazarded a guess of his weight to be about 900 to 1400 pounds. There was no way to know for sure without the proper tools. He was indeed shaped like a minotaur for the most part, yet he was also very goat shaped in other regards over various parts of his body. His prehensile tail is what intrigued me the most. It was about half his height in length and had a spade shaped wedge on it's end, though the whole tail was covered in soft rusty red fur. Then there was his wings. Large leathery wings, like a dragon, though covered in a very light rusty red coat of fine fur. In this region, being fur covered was probably expected. He had muscles all over most of his bovine body, though his genitals were shaped like a goat's, being long and slender within it's sheath, though still, very muscular in mass. His ball sac was very large, like the bull he was.

"Your people have been in these tunnels for 1500 years? Where are you originally from?"

The demon raised his head to look at me, an intrigued look on his muzzle.

"We hail from Wazriel. It is a desert region surrounding the great garden of 'He Who Makes The World'. We never try entering his garden. What is his, is his, and what is ours, we share. About 1600 years ago, roughly, we lost an artifact, and were ousted from Wazriel to wander the world. We entered this region. At first, the humans welcomed us due to our size and strength. They called us Jyantz. But after they saw our wings, they called us Demoons and sent us further to the north to make our way. We found a nice area, with much greenery, a nearby river with much fish and began building our home from the stones themselves. Our pride was the magical sundial that we had created to keep track of time. It was to also house the chamber for our stored treasures. The sundial was also a doorknob, of sorts. You turned it and the opening to our vaults became clear."

I blinked my eyes at that statement.

"I saw that building. That's how I entered these tunnels."

It was his turn to blink his eyes.

"You came in that way? That means we can leave this place at any time. Will you lead us back to where you entered? Please, if you aid us, powerful allies you will have whenever you call on us. Do we have a deal?"

I stood up and walked over to his side, and shook his large paw-like hand.

"You have a deal. I am called Jansen Tanner. What can I call you, other than 'demon' or 'hey you'?"

He shook my hand firmly.

"Among my people, I am called Mykaelic. Come, we eat. Then, I rally my people and you lead us to where you entered from."

Mykaelic and I ate the meat and he shared his drink with me. I was grateful for the meal, and thanked him as best I could. Then, he sounded a horn he had with him and his people, a good herd of 800 plus demons of all ages, approached the two of us. Mykaelic explained to them that this human, me, was going to lead them out of the tunnels. Freedom was at hand.

Then, the return trip began through the dark tunnels. I was allowed to carry a lit lantern to light my way. Following my tracks was easy now. Soon, after a few days, we reached the spot where I had left my broken flashlight. It was a good thing that I had left it here. I stopped, then shined the lantern up towards the ceiling. Sure enough, there was the still open slab where I had fallen into the tunnels. I called Mykaelic over and pointed to the opening above.

Mykaelic placed a coil of sturdy rope around my neck, then held me and flew, or rather, hovered straight up to the opening. Once we were there, he pushed me up through the hole, and had me tie off the rope to something solid. That part was easy. I coiled the lasso portion of the rope around the stone table in the building, then tossed the remainder of the rope down the hole. Then, I stood back and watched as Mykaelic climbed up out of the hole.

Once Mykaelic was free of the tunnel, he went over to the stone slab door, and rolled it completely out of the way, allowing moonlight to enter the building. Then, he directed me to step out of the building, to assure my safety. I did so and watched from a distance as he began widening the opening in the floor or so it seemed. What I came to understand later was that Mykaelic had used some of his magic to cause the entire chamber to become a spiraling staircase down into the tunnels. Though in doing so, the effect of a vault was now gone, to be replaced by a permanent spiral entryway into those mountainous tunnels.

The demons began slowly ascending the stairway, as Mykaelic stepped outside of the building to access the damages that time and weather had caused to their home. He sighed when we realized that the central most building was the only structure still standing.

But I had kept my word; I had led them out of the tunnels.

"Mykaelic... What will you do now?"

Mykaelic turned to face me, and rested a paw-like hand on my shoulder.

"We rebuild, if allowed. Though from what you tell me, demons are misrepresented in your world because they do not know what we are really like. If there were only a way to set things right..."

I hummed and started getting an idea. Danath Gaul would certainly flip out over such an idea, but the ends would benefit both the demons and Chess.

"Maybe there is a way to set things right, although... it will be slow, at first. That is, if you're willing to trust me once again."

Mykaelic looked at me fully. He was beginning to trust me. I did free them from the tunnels, after all.

"I am listening, Jansen. What is your idea?"

After explaining my idea and gathering his people for the journey, Mykaelic, with me riding on his back, led his people via flight through the night time skies. We were heading southwards. Flying by this method was sure to take at least three to four days, but there was no way I could explain their presence when trying to get them on a cargo plane. So, we journeyed through the nightly darkened skies and rested during the days in caves, barns, and other abandoned structures. We were damned fortunate to only be seen by a very few, though most of those few were teenagers, and mainly, were male humans, at that. And their reaction was not fear, but a friendly wave and smile. The demons politely returned those waves and smiles as we continued our journey southwards, then southeast. Soon, we arrived in the base Chess headquarters, within the entryway to the Chess cafeteria.

Once Mykaelic and I had all of his people within the cafeteria, I used a wall phone to call Danath Gaul. I asked him to come to the cafeteria. Moments later, he entered the cafeteria. His jaw literally bounced off the floor when he saw all the demons in the cafeteria. And I was standing there with them. This was going to be a tough explanation to make but I was ready.

I explained calmly that the ruins that were found belonged to the demons. Then, I gave my entire report and explained the plan. The demons would live in the sub levels of Chess' headquarters, and would share their knowledge of things with Chess in return for being allowed to stay here, towards the eventual goal of properly representing Mykaelic and his people in the world.

Danath Gaul had regained his composure during my report and during my telling, other agents came and were listening from the door, most were afraid to enter; others simply came on in and got some dinner. Finally, Danath looked between me and Mykaelic, and spoke.

"You're a real card, Jansen. What kind of card, I don't know. And I must be crazy for even agreeing to this plan, but they are all already here, so we can't really throw them out now, or the whole region would be screaming about demons. Mykaelic? Your people can stay. You can make use of the lower levels, from Section C through Section G, however you like. We of Chess will provide you with educational material, so you may learn about the current world. I am trusting you to keep your people out of serious trouble."

Danath then turned fully to Jansen.

"And here I thought that ruins would be a safe, non creature place to send you. And you dig up a whole tribe of time lost demons..."

Jansen noticed that Danath was smiling. So, he either he wasn't fully upset, or he saw advantages to this deal. Whichever the case was, Jansen knew he wasn't going to punished for bringing the demons back to the base.

Danath continued.

"You're crazier than this whole organization. I have half a mind to send you back to San Francisco, but... instead, I'm going to promote your sorry ass and hope you can deal with the increased ranks."

I blinked my eyes. Did Danath just say 'ranks'? As in more than one rank?

Danath continued.

"I'll process your new White Knight rank immediately. But if you ever pull a stunt like this again and I'll tie your shiny ass down and let Mykaelic use you as a breeding tool. Now, lead your demon friends down to their new quarters. I've got to somehow explain this to all the other agents."

Danath turned and left the cafeteria. I chuckled once he was gone. I was now a White Knight. I wasn't doing any of this for a promotion, but the ends of the plan seemed to drop it in my lap.

Of course, I did lead Mykaelic down into the sub levels. They were all impressed by the artificial lighting and the non magical way the lights could be controlled. They also loved the enormous head room and wing span length of the hallways and doorways. I showed them how the doors worked and explained how the bathrooms worked and gave explanations on just about everything else we encountered. They especially loved the elevators. I knew some agents were going to get a shock when they encountered a demon elevator operator.

I finally got Mykaelic's people settled into the hundreds of rooms throughout the C, D, E, F and G levels of the complex. Mykaelic and I settled down in the final chamber on G level and he hugged me very tightly and began to show some affection for my aid in getting his people here.

My next mission wasn't for several weeks. This was because Danath Gaul had a devil of a time locating me. *snickers* I wasn't at the first place he looked. The people on the scooner hadn't seen me since before the trip to Spain. That got Danath worried and he spent almost every moment trying to find me. *snickers* When he finally did locate me, I was sitting naked with Mykaelic in the center of Mykaelic's chamber reading some history books. Yes, I had to teach them -all- how to read and write in English, but I was fortunate that they were quick learners.

Danath cleared his throat getting both our attentions. I hugged Mykaelic, grabbed my clothing, then stepped out into the hallway. I got dressed as Danath exhaled a long breath with a smile.

"Jansen... had I known you were down here four weeks ago, I could have saved myself a -lot- of searching. But I finally found you. And I won't ask why you were naked. I don't want to know. I have a mission for you. This is something I think you can handle. You'll be traveling with another White Knight named Byron "the bull" Lyman. He actually volunteered to accompany you."

I grinned when I heard the name Byron. He was one of my favorites.

"What is the mission, Danath?"

Danath handed me a White Knight jacket, then continued.

"This time, you're being sent to Austria. I am not sure how this ties in with our line of work, but anything is possible. Male teenagers had been vanishing from a village. There were no signs of foul play, though someone reported seeing a black winged creature carrying someone in it's claws. That is reason enough for Chess to get involved. You're to take a private jet to Innsbruck, Austria, hop on board a west bound train to Landeck. In Landeck, a local boy named Karl Raab will meet with you both and be your escort into the Tyrol Alps. Karl will lead you to the now deserted village. Karl is a goat shepherd and works his flock throughout that area. If you and Byron leave in the next fifteen minutes, you can arrive in Innsbruck in the next nine hours. Now, get going and good luck."

I rushed off to team up with Byron. I was glad to see him all packed up and awaiting me at the transport station. We rode to the airport, then boarded our private jet and were on our way to Austria. Byron handed me my gun with silver ammo and went over the check list of things he had packed for us. I listened astutely and asked about various things when he gave me the chance to ask. Then, we sat back and chatted casually about various things. Byron was pleased to see that I had made White Knight. He was still amused by the way I had acquired the rank.

Nine hours later, we arrived in Innsbruck and headed over to catch the train to Landeck. The train trip was very quiet, and allowed us both to catch up on our sleep. We arrived in Landeck about three to four hours later. Byron and I carted our gear off the train and then, headed off to find Karl Raab in the south part of Landeck.

After gaining some pretty precise directions from folks, we finally located Karl in an eatery on the very southern edge of Landeck. Karl Raab appeared to be eleven years old, with fair skin, short black hair, and brown eyes. He stood around four feet ten inches tall, and weighed about 80 to 90 pounds. He dressed in a shirt, light jacket, cloth pants, and hiking shoes. He carried with him a simple shepherd's crook, and also had a light-weight cloak with hood, though he kept the hood down. Karl greeted us, then finished his meal calmly. Afterward, Karl led us out of Landeck and into the Tyrol Alps. After an hour, we arrived at a small vale where Karl gathered his goats, and herded them onwards towards the abandoned village.

We arrived in the abandoned village just as the sun was setting. Karl allowed us to stay at his place. A simple one room shack with a doorway leading into the connecting barn where his goats were bedded down in the fresh hay. We ate a simple meal, then, while Byron sat with Karl in the shack, I headed off to the outhouse. This was a trip that Byron wanted no part of. That suited me just fine. What I didn't tell Byron was that after I finished in the outhouse, that I planned on exploring the village for clues. Well, he didn't ask, so it's his loss.

I finished my business in the outhouse, then cleaned myself and redressed. I emerged from the lone little building and headed off through the now abandoned village. It was while I was peering in a shop window that I noticed something white in a broken mirror's reflection. Whatever it was stood almost directly behind me. I decided this time to not try to see it, but instead, just talk to it.

"You're my guardian angel, aren't you?"

The voice that presented itself back to me was calm, soft, understanding, though very male.

"If that is what you want to call me, so be it."

I leaned on the window a bit with my forehead.

"What happened to me in Kenya?"

The voice replied without emotion.

"If I solved your problems for you, no knowledge would be gleaned from the mystery. Otherwise, I prevented you from being infected."

I closed my eyes. Byron had been right. It was nothing he did that saved me. This creature saved me.

"Why are you here now?"

The voice replied with the same non-emotion as before.

"The creature you seek this time is a female gargoyle. I only ask that you do not kill her. She is in heat and seeks a mate. You will know what to do when you meet her."

That surprised me a little. I couldn't stand it anymore. I quickly turned around to face the white creature. Nothing was there. No tracks, no scent, nothing.

"I am losing my mind."

The voice speaks from the air itself.

"I am protecting you but you must never try to see me. The day you do, you will lose the protection that I offer you. Now go. She is on the prowl and will soon fly into view."

And at that very second, she flew into view, and boy, did she ever. I recalled seeing Saul in flight, but I wasn't prepared to see a female gargoyle in heat flying. She landed right in front of me and started to grab me, then stopped short. She sniffed the air, then, sniffed my hands.

"You've been with a male gargoyle."

I exhaled slowly.

"Yes, I have. His name is Saul du Morvan of Saulieu, Bourgogne, France. He was very kind to me then and was thankful of the aid that I gave him."

The female gargoyle, who was extremely similar in appearance to Saul, smiled at me.

"I would very much so like to meet this Saul."

I stepped back a step.

"I understand that you kidnapped several teen aged humans recently. If they are still alive, I would like for you to release them unharmed. Do this and I will personally see to it that you meet Saul in France."

She lowered her head, then glanced to one side. Byron was standing there. He had apparently caught the last part of the conversation. Yet, Byron remained silent. I was pleased that he had not pulled his gun. The female gargoyle turned to me again.

"They live and I will release them. My time in heat made me want to mate immediately. And they were convenient. But they couldn't satisfy my urges. I suppose it was wrong to kidnap them. I am called Astraea Tirzal. Wait here. When I return, the teenagers I shall release."

Astraea took flight again and whipped off into the night. Byron shot a glance at me.

"You are as crazy as Danath said. And you're not even carrying your gun."

I said nothing. When Astraea returned quite slowly, she carefully lowered a very large cage to the ground, then landed beside it. She then unlocked the cage and opened the door widely. Astraea then walked over beside me and sighed.

"What I did was wrong, but you said you'd escort me to see Saul. We can go right now. Please?"

I looked to Byron once again.

"Maybe I am crazy, but if people like Astraea offer to help us in the future, we will know that it is because of the effort that I made when encountering them. Yes, Astraea, we can go now. My friend will see to it that these teenagers get back to their families."

I climbed up on Astraea's back and she took flight to the west, allowing me to direct her path.

---

She was startled when her telephone rang. She picked up the receiver.

"Hello?"

There was a pause as she listened to the person talking.

"I have not forgotten. I will bring the decorations to the church on Saturday. Thank you for reminding me."

There was another short pause.

"You too. Goodbye."

She hung up the phone and exhaled a breath of air.

"Raechel about scared me to death. But not as deathly scared as Jansen was when he fell into that dark hole. He was lucky to survive that fall and not break his neck. And it is good that he is being a gentleman to Astraea Tirzal. But I am wondering why he was naked with the demon..."

She grinned and continued reading Jansen's agent history.

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