Date: Wed, 06 Oct 1999 18:16:32 CDT
From: "Matt (like I'm gonna tell)" <kaiser_cain@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Book - 2

	Hey loyal Nifty readers, I'm glad you decided to read my story (for
those who've read the first part, a special thank you for your responses)

	If you are underage, do not go any further.  If it is illegal in
your area to read this material, do not go any further.  If you aren't into
this kind of thing, do not go any further.

	(My personal opinion) If you like this kind of thing go on ahead.
If you are underage who cares? (just don't get caught) If it is illegal who
cares? (just don't get caught)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

	Okay... I'm so happy, I'm dancing on the roof!  (literally, how
scary is that?) I got a response from _you_ folks!  Not that many, but who
cares?!  I got a positive response!  No hate mail... *sigh* I feel
like... um.... er.... good... stuff..... Oh, by the way, when things are
surrounded by ":" it means it's a thought (mental stuff, ya know) (I'd have
rather made it italics, but I can't do that in Notepad, or rather, I don't
know how...)
	Also, I made this section longer than the first (as per your wishes)
	Okay, on to the story! Enjoy!

--------
The Book
--------

Chapter 3 : Chores and Discovery

	Judas woke to a pleasant aroma, and leisurely sat up in bed.  He
reached over to the tasseled rope (the one on the left) and gave a pull.
Abruptly the drapings surrounding his bed pulled apart to reveal his comfy
little room.  He glanced around out of sheer habit, taking survey and
making sure nothing had been tampered with.  :Being Resident Watcher may
have its advantages, but it comes with a lot of danger from would-be
assassings: he thought to himself.
	A window, a door, a table and chair with the Necronomicon atop, and
his bookshelf. :Everything seems in order: he thought satisfied, and rose
up a little.
	As if summoned by the rising of his master, little Tobias knocked,
very softly, on the door.  Tobias was a little brownie, hired by Judas
nearly 10 years ago.  Having a brownie manservant was extremely
advantageous, particularly to a practicer of the Arts.  Having been
transformed by the Dark Wars and the magicks in them, brownies were forever
young, and years of servitude had left them with a kind of vocation to
serve others.  Therefore, there was no chance of resentment or rebellion
from them, and they could be employed as long as they were wanted.  This
went double for practicers of the Arts, who generally lived about thrice as
long as a non-practicer.  This particular brownie was an exception, for
this one had a thirst for knowledge, and Judas intended to make him his
apprentice, the Guild Masters willing.
	"Master, be ye awake?" he murmured, barely audible through the
thick wood.
	"Yes, Tobias, you should know that," said Judas, exasperated by the
fact that they went through this exchange everyday, "You have a link to my
mind, you can tell when I'm awake."
	"Yes, master, sorry master," Tobias said, whispering, as he opened
the door to the room and entered carrying a tray of food.  He walked
carefully over to his master, carefully because Judas was notorious for his
temper after a night of merriment (Hangover, anybody?).  He set it down
softly, not wanting to even make a sound from the clinking of the dishes.
Atop the tray were favorites of Judas: freshly toasted bread dripping with
butter, freshly squeezed and strained prakka juice, and of course a comb of
honey (Judas had quite a sweet-tooth).
	"Hmm?  What's this?" Judas muttered absent-mindedly, picking up a
parchment that was placed next to the dishes.
	"Pardon, sir, but the Masters said to give this to you," Tobias
said hesitantly.  "Masters," plural, meant that Tobias was referring to the
Guild Masters.  "They said it was your i-tin-er-ar-y for today." He
continued, carefully enunciating each syllable of the long word.
	Judas sighed, and looked it over, "Idiotic old bags couldn't magick
their way out of a paper bag," he scoffed.
	Tobias was a little shocked at his masters lack of respect for his
superiors, then reasoned that it was simply the wine still talking, or
perhaps the spirits from the night before were paining Judas, and making
his temper short.
	Judas gave the parchment a cursory glance, paying careful attention
to the ones at top, for it was arranged according to the tasks' priority.
	"Hmmm, alright, you may go, Tobias, remember, you have lessons at
3rd Noonbell," Judas said, dismissing his charge, "And take the tray with
you."  Indeed, Judas had devoured his breakfast in short order.
	Tobias let himself out, closing the door behind him, as Judas
continued to contemplate the list before him, not really wanting to rise
just yet.
	"There's been another dispute between the Grakkas and Nymphs," he
muttered distractedly, "Only this time one Nymph has died..." Judas swore
softly and punched the bed.  Nymphs and Grakkas were notorious for their
inability to get along.  Nymphs, beautiful Sylvan creatures, absolutely
abhorred the uncouth savages known as Grakkas.  Unfortunately for both,
Faerun was known as both a haven for all, and a land of oppurtunity.  Both
races had firmly settled residents when they discovered each other, and
occasionally the two had been known to declare war on each other.
	Judas rose out of the bed with a groan, noting that his side was a
little sore from where a pesky Goblin had somehow managed to mark him in
his routine practice the day before.  He walked stiffly over to his table
and picked up his Necronomicon and walked over to the door, already
contemplating how nice a hot shower would feel on his sore muscles.

	Judas walked out of the front gates of High Tower, feeling
refreshed and far more able to deal with the day's tasks.  He sauntered
along over to the stables where Draecon, his steed, was kept.  He found
Draecon dozing lightly in his stall after having been groomed for the day.
	"Up, ya lazy bum!" Judas teased, tapping the Wyvern on the
shoulder.  Draecon stirred slightly and gave an annoyed little <whuff!>
	Judas reflected, without knowing why, on how lucky he had been to
come to own this particular Wyvern.  Wyverns were rare creatures, spawning
perhaps thrice in a lifetime, with at max 2 offspring from each mating.
Wyverns were the largest and most economical of travels, being smaller than
a Dragon (who generally ate 1/2 their body weight a day [that's 2 tons])
and could fly, unlike horses.  Judas and Draecon's chance meeting had been
when Judas was 14 and Draecon 58 (about the equivalent of 12 for Wyverns)
and their friendship had done nothing but grow over the years.
	Judas gave Draecon a little shove, and Draecon woke up with a
good-natured growl.  "Let's go, sleepyhead," murmured Judas affectionately,
"We've got a long day ahead of us."
	Draecon groaned.

	At Sylva, the community of Nymphs, Judas encountered an outraged
populace that was 2 hairs from arming up and declaring war.
	"HOLD!" Judas cried, raising his hands.  The mass of men and women
slowly milled to a halt, and began staring at the newcomer with no little
hostility.
	"Who are you?" came a call.
	"What do you think you're doing?" came another.
	The insults and questions to his authority failed to crack Judas'
shell of calm (a long shower and quite a bit of willowbark tea to sooth his
headache helping him out) He calmly raised his head, and calmly raised his
hands, and calmly proceeded to say softly, "I SAID HOLD!!!!!"
	The insults and questions abruptly stopped.
	"I am Resident Watcher of High Tower, and _you_ are all in direct
violation of of the peace treaty _you_ negotiated with the Grakkas no more
than two moons ago." he said calmly and coldly.
	"They killed one of our own!" came a cry.  Following that the dam
of peace burst as more insults began to ring out.
	"SILENCE!" he boomed.  "Enough of this chaos!  I want to see
someone in charge!"
	"That would be me, _Resident Watcher_." the man all but sneered to
Judas' face.  He was a Nymph of middle age, with a killer bod probably
earned from bullying those who opposed him.
	"Can you tell me what happened, and possibly keep the peace?" Judas
_did_ sneer at the man, having no love for insubordination.
	"It's simple enough," said the man, "Those Grakkas killed one of
our most beautiful maidens and now we're going to make them pay!"  At the
end of that he raised his hands and his people gave a blood-curdling war
cry.
	Judas was now nearing his boiling-point, but somehow managed to
rein in his temper.  "You will do no such thing," he said, saying each word
with deadly emphasis, "You will not take any action until I have the entire
story."
	The people grumbled, vastly discontent with this, and one had the
audacity to jeer out, "And if we don't?"
	Judas' eyes flashed red for a moment, showing how angry he really
was.
	"If you don't," Judas continued, "I will haul you off in manacles
to be fed to the Krakkans."  There was a gasp at that, for the Krakkan were
the vilest of creatures and being fed to them the harshest punishment
known.  The Krakkan resembled gargantuan worms, and the Masters of High
Tower kept them under VERY careful lock and key, for before, when they ran
free, they threatened all of civilization.  Being fed to the Krakkans was
like the death penalty, over and over again...  When they first devoured
you, their weaker stomach acids (compared to those of humanoids) digested
your skin alone, an excruciatingly painful torment.  Then, you were
excreted as $#!+ and consumed again until nothing was left of you but
bones.  It was rumored that you were actually alive and conscious
throughout the entire process, a horrifying prospect.
	Judas nodded shortly at the gasps and looks of fear.  He pulled at
the reins of Draecon and went hurdling towards the Grakka's residence of
DarkHaven.

	At DarkHaven the residents weren't two hairs away from arming up,
they were already armed up and a hair away from leaving to attack their
neighbors.  Judas winged in, Draecon gliding as softly as one could hope
for.  As he landed Judas noted that the Grakkans didn't seem to be as
bloodthirsty as the Nymphs had been.  :Good,: Judas thought, :Maybe I can
get these fellows to forego the bloodshed.:
	"Citizens of DarkHaven, residents of Faerun, listen to me!" Judas
boomed, since he surmised that these folks seemed much readier to listen to
authority.
	"Get out of here, you don't belong, you're not one of us!" came a
bellow. :Well, maybe not as ready as I thought.: thought Judas.
	"I belong where there is trouble," retorted Judas, "And there is
much trouble here!"
	A bulky Grakkan made his way to the front of the circle surrounding
Judas, and looked Judas dead in the eye before answering, "There is no
trouble with us, only with the Nymphs and their false accusations."
	"False accusations?" questioned Judas after a moment of thought,
"Would you care to tell me your side of the story?"
	"We are a peace-loving folk," began the leader, "We have no quarrel
with Nymphs.  We only defend ourselves when the Nymphs find some outrageous
reason to attack us."
	"Why would they do that?" asked Judas, a bit disbelieving, but
feeling obliged to let him continue.
	"Because we are not beautiful by their standards," said the Grakkan
simply, and Judas had to admit that the statement made sense.  "They wish
to annihilate us because they cannot stand to look at us."
	"And that supposed murdered Nymph."
	"That is the reason we are arming," said the Grakkan, "Our scouts
have detected a new stronghold in the depths of the jungle.  Our mages have
detected Dark Magicks being practiced there.  We are prepared to lay seige
to the stronghold.  We also believe that this new Dark Mage may be the true
murderer here, and we are prepared to destroy this evil before it strikes
again!"  At that last comment the entire Grakkan village raised their arms
and gave a war cry.
	"You will do no such thing." Judas replied shortly, raising his
hand at their cries of protest, "A Dark Mage is no thing to be trifled
with.  I will investigate this myself.  In the meantime try to convince the
Nymphs and make peace."
	"Very well," grumbled the leader, "We bow to the authority of the
High Tower."
	Judas nodded, very satisfied in the way this exchange had gone, and
sent Draecon winging to the skies.

	At the supposed stronghold Judas could sense that the fortress was
indeed the base of some sort of operation.  Sending out a delicate probe he
detected not only Blood Magick of the highest order, but also some Runick
Magick in recent usage.  That was alright, since as Watcher he was familiar
with both Realms.  He ordered Draecon to land very gently, :no sense in
tripping any traps,: he thought, :best be on alert for anything.:
	The castle was large, and very new, and Judas could almost taste
the taint of Blood Magick in the creation of the base.  He stalked over to
the front door, and wasting no time in preliminaries, blasted it down with
a surge of raw power.
	When the smoke had cleared, Judas walked inside nonchalantly,
peering into the darkness curiously, but without much caution.  Out of the
haze a figure walked, limping slightly.
	"Who are you?" it rasped.  Out of the mists now, Judas could see
that the figure was an aging Elf, a rare sight, and could sense great power
within him, which was slightly disconcerting.  Elves' power, according to
lore and most research done, could only decline with age, and if this
creature was this powerful now, it could only mean that in his prime, this
Elf must have been a force to be reckoned with.
	"I have heard allegations that you have been following the Darker
Path," Judas began.
	"Darker Path!  What lies have you been told?!" spat the Elf,
interrupting him.
	"Hold your peace," Judas said sharply, "I have sensed it, and the
proof is uncontestable, you have sold your soul to the evil within, and you
must be brought to justice."
	In lieu of a response, the Elf sent a bolt of fire winging towards
Judas.
	:Damn.: was all Judas could think.  He raised his hand and a
barrier arose, stopping the bolt with no difficulty.  He countered with
manacles of pure Magick, glowing vises that clamped around the Elf's arms
and legs.
	The Elf broke the vises after a moment's struggle, and pulled out a
Runecaster from beneath his cloak.  He turned it once, and Channeled power
directly into it.  A myriad of Elemental daggers (lightning, earth, ice,
and fire) flew from the Runecaster towards Judas.
	Judas hastily erected a new shield, one of Magicka, and managed to
absorb most of the shards.  He then called forth the earth and the sky,
creating a fissure beneath the Elf and blasting through his protections
with a bolt of lightning.  The Elf didn't have a chance, and with a howl of
agony vanished into the fissure.
	Judas stood for a moment, as if expecting the Elf to resurface and
resume the battle.  He was drained, for the Elf had been very strong
indeed, and breathed heavily as he replenished his channels with the stored
Power of his Amulet (made of pure Aquamarine, the stone he had the greatest
affinity to).  When the Elf didn't surface, he knelt down, his knees
shaking and unable to support him.  He remained that way for just a moment,
for out of the fortress came a forlorn cry...
	"Help me, please!"
	Judas leapt to his feet with a muttered curse and dashed into the
building.  He called a Vindir, a wind elemental, and sent it before him to
find the presumptive captive.

	Up in the tower, Judas finally found the source of the plea for
help.  A young man, in a cage, shook at the bars of his prison in vain.  He
was dressed in ragged clothing, but even his shabby garb couldn't disguise
the fact that this boy was very handsome, and obviously of noble lineage.
	"Hold on," said Judas placatingly, as he walked to the cage, "I'll
have you out in just a moment."
	"Oh, thank the gods," the youth practically wept with relief, "That
Sorcerer-"
	"Is gone, don't worry." Judas interrupted, "Who are you and what
are you doing here?"  By now Judas had managed to pick the lock (no sense
in wasting Power on a simple lock, right?) and was now half-carrying the
young man to a chair.
	"I am a Rune Kaster, sent by High Tower to deal with a renegade
sorcerer.." began the young man.  Judas felt a spark of recognition at
that, and pummeled his head for when he had heard of this...
	"Instead, he locked me in here and forced me to aid him.." Judas
clicked his fingers silently, for he recalled where this was from.  This
young man (Judas couldn't remember his name) was one of the most promising
of the new recruits from last Summer, but had mysteriously vanished on a
fairly routine mission 2 moons ago.
	"Yes," interrupted Judas, "And this Elf is the one who slew that
Nymph?"
	"Yes," replied the youth, a bit bewildered at how this man would
know that, "How did you...?"
	"I was sent here to investigate that very deed," explained Judas,
"Now, what is your name?"
	"Matt."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

	Judas looked at Matt oddly, "Aspirin, I want some aspirin please."
	Matt gave Judas an odd look as well, "Judas, you said smelling
salts, not aspirin."
	"Smelling salts, what are those?" Judas asked, confused, "Why would
I ask for something I don't even know exists?"
	"I don't know," said Matt, scratching his head, "But.. nevermind,
I'll get you that aspirin."  Matt rose from the sofa and walked into the
kitchen.
	Matt returned with the aspirin and a glass of water.  Judas took
them gratefully and downed them with a <gulp!>
	"Now, what happened?" asked Judas, after giving the aspirin a
moment to take effect.
	"I told you!" Matt exclaimed, exasperated.
	"But that doesn't-" Judas began.  Abruptly a glazed look came over
his eyes and he rose from the couch.
	"Judas?  Judas, are you alright?" Matt queried, a worried look on
his face.
	Judas paid him no heed, and began to walk stiffly towards the
staircase.  At the base of the stairs Matt grabbed Judas by the arm, trying
to get his attention.  Matt all but ripped off his own arm; Judas felt like
stone, and was as unmovable.  Judas stalked up the stairs and began walking
towards the attic stairwell.
	"JUDAS!!!" hollered Matt, not giving up.  Judas didn't respond, not
that Matt expected him to.
	Judas reached the stairwell, with Matt a breathe behind.  He walked
up the stairs and into the attic.
	"What's that?" asked Matt, again not expecting a response, and
again not receiving one.  Matt was looking directly at the chest at the
back, which was emitting an eerie light.
	Judas walked to the chest, and placed one hand upon it, and the box
grew dark.  He laid one hand on the lock, which promptly undid itself.  He
opened the chest and took out a large dark object--
	-- a book.  The book was, Matt noted, in terrible shape.  It was
easily centuries old, and probably hadn't been seen for decades, if not
centuries as well.  There was an insignia on the cover Matt couldn't
identify, but which seemed to glow of it's own accord.  The book was once
gilded, even Matt could see that, but the gold dust had long since all but
worn off.
	The book in his hand, Judas collapsed.  This time Matt was better
prepared, he was right behind Judas, and managed to catch him before he
gave himself a concussion on the wooden floor.  Matt carried Judas to his
bedroom, after trying, unsuccessfully, to pry the book from Judas' fingers.
He placed Judas onto the bed, and went to get a glass of water to splash
him with.
	When Matt returned, Judas was no longer in bed.
	"Awww, damnit..." muttered Matt, looking around frantically.
	Matt found Judas wandering the master bedroom, which had been
vacant for nearly a year on account of his parents' prolonged vacation in
Hawaii.  Judas had that glazed look in his eyes, and couldn't seem to see
anything, although he didn't bump into anything either.
	"Judas!" Matt shouted, approaching Judas rapidly, "JUDAS!!" he
yelled directly into his face, giving him a shake to add emphasis.  Judas'
eyes suddenly came back to life.
	"-make any sense!" Judas finished.  Then he looked around, and got
a very unusual look on his face, "What am I doing here?" then he looked
down, "What is this?!"
	"Why don't you tell me?" retorted Matt shortly, angry at being in
the dark for all this time.
	"I have no idea!" Judas said, shrugging his shoulders, "Last thing
I remember I'm talking to you in the livingroom!"
	"Well, then, what the hell is going on here?" Matt said, a
frightened look replacing the one of anger.
	"Um, at the risk of being repetitive, I have no idea!" said Judas,
somehow managing to crack jokes despite the situation.  Judas suddenly
frowned.
	"What?  What is it?"
	"I can't put the book down..." Judas replied, a panicked look on
his face.
	"What do you mean?  Just let go!" said Matt, as if to a child.
	"Well gee?  Why didn't I think of that?" the sarcasm was
unmistakable, "What do you think I've been doing, you moron?!"
	Matt took hold of the book and pulled.  No luck.  He grabbed Judas'
fingers and pulled.  No luck.  He gave Judas a good shake (which Judas did
not appreciate).  No luck.
	"Stop!" cried Judas, as Matt began pacing.  "Let's see what's in
this damn book that it's so important!"
	"Whaddaya mean important?" asked Matt, "The only thing we know
about it is that it has seperation issues!"
	"There must be some significance," continued Judas doggedly, "I for
one am curious as to what this is all about."
	The two stood shoulder to shoulder, and looked down as Judas
cautiously turned the first page.  Necronomicon, the book said on its title
page.  Judas flipped the next page with care, and saw--
	--himself, in a black robe brandishing the book and a wizened
staff.
	Both boys stared blankly at the picture, but the picture was hardly
a shock after the day they'd had.  Judas flipped the next page and beheld a
picture of--
	--Matt, in a red robe brandishing a long straight staff with many
inscriptions upon it.
	Both boys looked at this picture, and Judas flipped the page again.
At that point the Judas shut the book hastily, for there was a picture of
the two of them, sans a great deal of clothes, in a very passionate
embrace.
	"Ummm..." Judas murmured, red with embarassment.
	"Why'd you close it?" asked Matt, for he had not seen the picture.
	"Ummm..." Judas repeated.
	"Com'on, don't you want to figure out what's going on?"
	Judas heaved a sigh, and carefully opened the book (past the
picture) and the two were taken aback.  The entire book was in a very
foreign script.  VERY foreign, which bore no resemblance at all to any
other written language they knew of.
	"Uhh, I don't get it." said Judas intelligently.
	"I don't either." muttered Matt.
	Judas then put the book down on the bed, and let it go.
	"What the?!" the two said simultaneously.  The two boys gave each
other a look, and walked out with their faces towards the book at all
times.

	"So what's the game plan?" asked Matt, as they entered the
livingroom.
	"Wha?  Why are you asking me?" replied Judas.
	"Because you incinerated that guy, or whatever, you found the book,
and the book obviously likes you alot." answered Matt, "Not only that, but
your picture came before mine, meaning you are probably the leader, or
whatever."
	"Well, that's too bad, 'cuz I'm completely in the dark about this."
Judas said, collapsing on the sofa with a dull <oomf!>.  Matt sat down with
care on the sofa next to Judas, not wanting to think about anything at all.
The two sat in complete silence, both trying not to think about what had
happened.  Finally, one spoke up...
	"I don't know about you, but I could use some rest..." said Matt
hesitantly.
	"I dunno," began Judas, "If by 'some' you mean 'a lot' then yeah, I
could use some rest too."
	"I don't even want to think about this," Matt said, clutching his
head, "I just want to sleep and maybe all of this will turn out to be some
nightmare."
	"If only..." chuckles Judas softly.  "BTW, you're spending the
night, I'm not spending the night alone with that thing."
	The two boys trudged up to bed, not bothering with their
toiletries, and went to sleep.

	"Judas....."  Judas stirred slightly, but did not rise.
	"Judas..."  No response at all from the prone body.
	"Judas!" Judas got up with a wince.
	"What?  What is it?" he growled.  Then he looked around... :What
the?!:
	His room had vanished, to be replaced with a misty substance that
was almost tangible.  He was standing up now, and wearing the black robes
from the picture, which was a surprise (Judas sleeps in the nude).  He
looked around again, trying to find the source of the voice.
	A figure emerged behind Judas, and placed a hand upon Judas'
shoulder.  Judas whirled, taking a defensive crouch.
	"Peace, boy," the figure said gruffly, "I bring you no harm."
	"What do you want.... ma'am?" Judas said, after looking at the
figure closely.
	The figure laughed, and Judas revised his decision, the laugh was
low, and gravelly, like rocks from a mountainside, tumbling down.
	"Don't worry, lad," the figure said, patting his shoulder, "When
the Lord placed his blessing upon me, it came with the curse of
adrogynomity.  You're not the first, nor will you likely be the last to be
confused."
	"What do you want?" asked Judas again, a little frightened of being
confronted by a hermaphrodite in his sleep.
	"I've come to teach ya, lad, there'll be need of it in the very
near future?"
	"How near is that?" asked Judas, still frightened, but regaining
some of his composure.
	"Too near to dawdle, boy," the figure rasped harshly, "The merging
is at hand, now on your guard!" the figure lunged at Judas.  Judas, in the
split second before contact, suddenly found a weapon in his hand.
	Judas gave a yelp and dove out of the way.
	"What are you doing?!" cried Judas, "I don't even know how to
fight!"
	"Well, that's what I'm here for!" it laughed, lunging again.

	Judas woke covered in sweat and breathing heavily.  :What was that
about?: he mused.  Dismissing it as a nightmare, Judas settled back into
the bed and soon fell asleep again.
	Across the Hall, Matt was experiencing a "nightmare" of his own.

	"Matt..." Matt, not being the deep sleeper Judas was, rose at once.
Matt looked around, but after today's events, was not surprised at all.
	Matt found himself in a room filled with scrolls of all sizes.  He
looked around calmly, sure this was a dream, and waited to wake up.... He
didn't.
	A figure walked out of the wall behind him, and placed a hand on
his shoulder.  Matt calmly turned around and looked at the figure.
	"What, aren't you scared?" laughed the figure, "Your friend
certainly was!"
	That got Matt's attention, he narrowed his eyes and glared at the
figure.  "What have you done to Judas?"
	"Ah, don't worry your pretty little head about Judas," chuckled the
figure, "He just found his first lesson a little hard."
	"Lesson?  What for?"
	"For the merging, lad, you have to be ready for anything.  It's
almost upon us."
	"The merging?" asked Matt, puzzled.
	"Nevermind, lad, there's no time to explain.  We must fill your
head with the Powers that Be."
	"Powers that Be?  Is this what you taught Judas?" Matt asked,
playing along with what he thought was his dream.
	"Powers?  Judas?  Don't be silly," scoffed the figure, "Judas'
Power is purely instinctive, your Power is the one that relies on Memory.
I taught Judas how to keep himself together should his powers fail him."
	Matt laughed a little, finally pushed to the brink by what he
thought was pure nonsense.  The figure glared at the boy, and grabbed his
shoulder.
	"Don't take this so lightly, boy," the figure snarled, emphasizing
each word with a rough shake, "What you learn or don't learn right now
could mean the difference between life and eternal suffering."
	"Al-al-alright!" Matt stuttered, trying to be coherent through the
jarring of his teeth.
	"That's the spirit, lad!" the figure beamed, all earlier anger gone
in an instant.  "Now, get cracking on those scroll!"
	Matt looked around the room again, filled to the top with hundreds
and hundreds of scrolls, and groaned.

	Matt woke with a pounding headache and a definite feeling that his
brain was on overload.  He groaned and said, "That's it, no more encounters
with the unknown before bed."  He chuckled a little at his nightmare, and
lay back down and soon fell asleep once more.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

	All right, thus ends the second chapter.. oops, third chapter,
second portion of my story!
	It's a bit confusing, I know, but to make it simpler, read each
section as a seperate story and you'll get it!
	If you hated it, e-mail me with suggestions or threats!
	If you loved it, feel free to e-mail me with Kudos and stuff!
	If you OK'ed it, e-mail me with suggestions on how to make it nicer
for you!
	If you don't feel like e-mailing me, then that's okay too, I don't
need a response.  If I _don't_ get too much hate mail, I'll keep writing =P
Same rules as last time.  The only time you shouldn't write me is if you
liked it, and even then feel free to lemme know what you liked about it,
and especially what you didn't like about it.  After all, how am I going to
get any better if I don't know what I'm doing wrong?

	-----------------------
	kaiser_cain@hotmail.com
	-----------------------

	Later,
	   Matt =)