Legends of Amacia: Mysteries of Tiamat

Meanwhile halfway around the world in a small private resort just west of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a small group of men met in a lodge-meeting hall. They were a peculiar lot of lawyers, generals, politicians, financiers, doctors, and business leaders from all over the world. They talked quietly as they sat around waiting for someone. Suddenly, the door opened and their attention fell on a couple of men who strode boldly into the room. One sported a very high dollar blue suit and dripped of evil. His companion appeared to be a soldier of significant caliber in military fatigues, packing a semi-automatic pistol on his hip.

“Thank you for coming, gentlemen,” the man in the suit said as he sat in an empty leather executive chair near the fireplace. The soldier took up position next to him, standing at ease behind the chair with his hands behind his back. “I think you all know why we’re here: the renegade Beowulf,” the man in the suit stated icily. “He’s become a menace to our great cause. He knows our plans. He knows about our technology. Shit, he even knows about our alliance with the Draconians and Ruticulians. He knows what we’re about to unleash upon this festering world. And to make matters worse, he seems to have unlocked technology that’s far beyond our own and our allies. He and those with him have become very dangerous to our cause. Now where is he?” Venom dripped from his lips as he spoke.

Everyone looked at each other for a few moments. Then a general stood, addressing the man in the suit. “Sir, he has disappeared off our scopes,” the general reported. “He and all of his research and money have vanished. Neither hide nor hair of him has been seen in over six weeks. Somehow, he’s managed to stay one step ahead of us. The closest we ever came to neutralizing him was six weeks ago when we moved on his friend Harry Clint and raided his offices and bank accounts. We had limited success with Mr. Clint in that we were able to draw Beowulf out by attacking Mr. Clint’s wife, burning his house, and turning him into a terrorist. Unfortunately, we missed them on every other occasion after that.”

The man in the suit sat there with a darkening countenance. “You god damned fool,” he hissed. “You gave away our position with your incompetence. Now he is beyond our reach! Clarence.” The soldier beside him pulled his pistol, executing the general with one shot between the eyes. Blood and brains exploded from back of the general’s head, splattering on those near him. He fell to the floor with a thud with blood and brains oozing out of the gaping holes in his head. Gasps escaped from the lips of general’s comrades. “I will not tolerate this kind of failure!” the man in the suit shouted furiously. He turned to the man nearest to his right, roaring, “Mr. President, you have but a little time in order to find these people, otherwise, I’ll have your soul for breakfast. Do I make myself clear? Do whatever it takes to find these men. They must not interfere in our plans. The Black Prince is very, very displeased by your lack of progress. Find and exterminate them with extreme prejudice, otherwise you’ll be his blood tithe.”

“Sir, we have operatives all around the world and the word is Beowulf is hiding somewhere in the Far East,” another general fearfully informed. “Where exactly he’s hiding no one seems to know.”

“So, we do have some intelligence on his location,” the man in the suit declared.

“It’s not so much intelligence as rumor,” the general stated carefully. “It’s said that he can appear and disappear at will and has a couple of large alien cats as companions. It’s also been reported that he located the fabled Temple of Tiamat, but no one seems to know where it is.”

The man in the suit raised an eyebrow. “The Temple of Tiamat; how long has this rumor been floating around, general?” he asked.

“It has been floating around for about two years, sir,” the general reported. “No one seems to know where this Temple of Tiamat is, just that it’s lost in the mountains of Southeast Asia.”

“Why wasn’t this brought to my attention earlier?” the man in the suit asked icily.

“Somehow it was overlooked until a week ago,” the general reported fearfully. “I wasn’t briefed myself about the rumor until four days ago. Why it took so long to come to me, I don’t know.”

“Lapses in intelligence will not be tolerated. The only reason I don’t execute you over this failure is we still need you. Don’t let it happen again. Next time I won’t be so forgiving,” the man in the suit growled.

“I assure you, this will not happen again. I’ll deal with it myself,” the general insisted.

“Good. Now check with the governments of that area and see if there has been any archaeological digs opened in the last three years,” the man in the suit ordered. “This may be the break we need in order to find him. Beowulf has a nose for antiquities. He seems drawn to them like a moth to flame. That’ll lead us to him. Now, has there been any success in tracking down his money?”

“Not as of yet; but rest assured, we will find it,” one of the bankers reported.

“Sir...is Beowulf really that big a threat to us?” one of the lawyers asked cautiously. “He’s never openly resisted us before.”

The man in the suit’s countenance darkened again, forehead furrowing as anger rose in his face. “Yes, he’s a greater threat than you can even imagine,” he said with great venom. “Let me tell you exactly who Beowulf is. He was a seventh-level master wizard...the greatest assassin ever to walk the Earth. He became so powerful that we allowed him to be a crucial part of our operation. He could literally kill with a word and was very good at it. He had access to the most sensitive parts of our operational plans. It wasn’t discovered that he was a threat to our plans until six months ago. It was then that we discovered that he had betrayed us and became a Christian. Even worse than that is he was somehow able to hide it from us for almost twenty-seven years. That makes him the most dangerous man in existence. Now if you dare question what I say again, I’ll have your head on a plate.”

“Y-y-Yes, sir,” the lawyer stammered fearfully.

“Okay gentlemen, you know what to do. Find this traitor and all his friends. I don’t care if you have to torture every person he has ever associated with. Find him, or all of our asses are up shit creek and I’ll personally tear every one of you into little pieces. Do you hear me, Mr. President? Do you hear the words coming out of my mouth?” the man in the suit asked, anger and hate dripping from his lips as he stood. “Find and destroy Beowulf.”

“Yes, sir,” the President answered fearfully, icy chills racing down his spine. “We’ll find this terrorist and eliminate him and all those who’re part of his cell.”

“Good. Now get to work!” the man in the suit barked as he and his bodyguard started to walk out. The man in the suit turned and hissed, “And clean up this mess before you go.” At that, he left the room with his bodyguard.

“How dare he talk to me like that! I’m the President of the United States!” the President growled angrily after the man in the suit left with his bodyguard.

“You seem to forget your place, Mr. President. He put you in that position. He can damned well remove you as well any time he wants,” one of the generals rebuked.

“We all owe our positions to the Brotherhood. Lord Hades is in charge and if we value our lives and position, we’ll do as we’re told,” one of the financiers stated. “Beowulf has made a monkey of us and our gods. He has to pay in blood for his treason.” Everyone agreed with that position.

“I’ll send in a cleanup crew to take of this,” the general who rebuked the President said as they left the room.