Quest

From  your little cottage, head down the north path.
Stop by the well at the top of the green hill and make a wish.
Keep going north until you reach the crone in the wagon.
Give what she asks for, she will give you a watch; then go northwest to the gnome's burrow.
Do not give the gnome what he wants, throw him down the river.
Take the gnome's compass and follow the north road.
You will reach a gate, you must lie to the guard to get by.
Go to the castle to the north.
Enter the main hall; there are three doors guarded by three owls.
One lies, one tells the truth, and one carries away the questioner (hint: it is not the middle one or his brother).
Once past the owls through the correct door; go down the east passage.
You will meet cooks and beggars, asking for help; only give it to the wall-eyed, one-legged one.
He will give you an iron key; go up the northern stairs to the top and open the door with the key.
Once in the tower; a djinn will try to tempt you; do not fall for it, take the djinn's daimond belt.
Count to five and jump out the only window to the west; a flying carpet will catch you.
Fly the carpet to the tree with three trunks; get off and travel south along the dirty brook.
A fairy will come from the brook and ask you to help her clean the river; do so.
She will give you a clam for your efforts; do not open it, go south.
You will reach a fork, the wind will tell you to go a certain direction; go the opposite of what it tells you.
You will come to two huts; a witch lives in one and a sage in the other, enter the one with the sage in it.
He will ask for the belt; give it to him.
The sage will give you a book in return; read only the 700th page, do what it says.
You will come to a tower guarded by four ogres; give the western ogre the compass, he will leave, enter the door.
Four bottles sit before you in a room ringed with fire; one is poisoned, one summons a demon, one returns you home, and one cancels the flames, drink this last one. (it is not the one to the left or middle)
Go up the white staircase.
Five doors are at the top; enter the middle one.
The princess held captive in the room will ask you to stay with her; you must refuse.
Press upon her the importance of your mission.
She will give you a rope, a mirror, and a potion; do not drink the potion.
Use the rope to climb down the tower, use the mirror to direct sunlight on the ogre, it will turn to stone.
The princess will follow you; lead her down the western path.
It is getting dark; you must keep going though.
Continue down the path to the ferry; give the ferryman the clam, he will take you across the river.
Take the torch from the pile of hay; light it and take the two horses waiting for you, take the middle path.
A man will tell you he is a guide; do not look at him or talk to him.
You will come to the foot of the dragon's mountain; drink the potion.
Take the sword and slay the dragon; take none of his treasure except a ruby necklace.
Go down the other side of the mountain; a sphinx will be waiting.
It will ask a riddle; answer correctly. (the answer: A key, a rabbit, and a pot.)
Be warned; once you turn your back on the sphinx it will attack you.
Tell the sphinx the riddle read from the 700th page from the book; it will fail and eat itself.
You will come to a mountain pass that splits in two; take the one that the falcon flies over.
Follow the falcon; do not look around, only at the falcon.
You will come to a river; a fox offers to take people across, do not except.
Use the mirror to show the fox it's reflection; it will attack, run across the ford to the north.
Follow the runestones through the field, you will arrive at a dwarf's house; rest there for the night.
In the morning, the dwarf will tell you where to go, give him the watch or he will follow you.
You will find yourself in the Great Wood; search for the fairy ring with the purple toadstool, be wary elves will be watching.
A fairy will appear and demand why you are here; giver the ruby necklace.
She will tell you the way to the king's castle and a water skin, go there.
Give the princess to the king, he will tell you the way to the Garden and give you a sword.
Follow the path north.
You will find a great river; a bridge crosses the river.
A troll will come up and try to eat you; slay him with your sword.
Follow the path east to the giant cliff, climb it with your rope.
The Garden is at the top; a riddle is inscribed on the gate.
The badger knows the answer, find his burrow.
Give him the mirror, he will tell you the answer.
Take one and only one apple from the tree; then flee.
The warlock will chase after you.
Run to the cliff, throw the water from your water skin at him.
The warlock will melt.
Do not eat the apple; return home.
And rest...

Deceased SACorps agents.

Cmdr. Alexandre Sherman:
Sex: Male.
Age: 48.
Date of Death: August 24, 1917.  Munich, Germany.
Special attributes: Energy battery.
One of the first three members of the SACorps, and the only one to die.  Alexander died during World War 1.

Sgt. Peter Smimov:
Sex: Male.
Age: 57.
Date of Death: March 15, 1947.  Moscow, Russia.
Special attributes: Magician.
A skilled magician and former member of Antiochus's Carnival.  Peter was possessed by Nimue and was killed by Lance and Ariadne.

Capt. Sydney Thorne:
Sex: Female.
Age: 75.
Date of Death: September 2, 1996.  Concord, Mass.
Special attributes: Psychic.
The only member of the SACorps to die of old age.  She died peacefully in her home at Concord.

Col. Roslyn Addams:
Sex: Female.
Age: 36.
Date of Death: July 10, 1974.  Kansas City, Missouri.  
Special attributes: Extreme flexibility.
A former employee of Antiochus, Roslyn died during the Seven Days of Darkness.

Lt. Dr. Charles Swift:
Sex: Male.
Age: 44.
Date of Death: July 1, 1940. Iraq.  MIA.
Special attributes:  Physical animal qualities.
Charles went missing in Iraq below the Euphrates.

Cmdr. Ariadne Jones:
Sex: Female.
Age: 29.
Date of Death: October 30, 1948.  Mount Tai, China.
Special attributes: Mind control.
Died fighting the Dragon King.

Lt. Mandy:
Sex: Female.
Age: 32.
Date of Death: January 16, 1961.  Sub-Mediterranean.
Special attributes: Precognition.
Drowned in Atlantis, allowed Lance to escape.

Cmdr. Milo Smith:
Sex: Male.
Age: 40.
Date of Death: March 23, 1982.  Manhattan, NY.
Special attributes: Pyrokinesis.
Slain by occultists in New York subway.

Capt. Harley Green:
Sex: Male.
Age: 45.
Date of Death: February 25, 1985.  Carpathian Mountains, Romania.  
Special attributes: Werebear.
Killed by Dracula as Harely and Lance fled.

Col. Daniel Chun:
Sex: Male.
Age: 26.
Date of Death: September 3, 1968, Mt. Everest, Nepal.
Special attributes: Chi, martial arts expert.
Destroyed by the Mahatmas.

Lt. Kishba:
Sex: Female.
Age: 800.
Date of Death: November 19, 1956.  Tatra Mountains, Slovakia.
Special attribute: Slavic faerie.
Killed by Zeus.

Sgt. Rupert and James:
Sexes: Males.
Ages: 31.
Date of Deaths: December 4, 1945.  Tehran, Iran.
Special attributes: Mentally linked twins, psychtaxonomy.
Died fighting Fifth Star Cult.

Lance DeMoi and the Coven Covenant.

Lance leaned over Allison's shoulder.
"According to the Wicce Compendium, it's a witch symbol.  It looks like an upside down triangle with an X across it?  I think it is a symbol for war."  Napoleon said over the headset.  Lance swiped a bit of the nearest edges, he tasted it.  He spat.
"Tastes like lead, newt's eye, and nightshade."
"That's definately a witch formula.  And, Lance, there are other ways to test the components of witch symbols."
A Los Angeles detective, Clark, edged over.
"And what, uh, what department are you guys from again?"  He looked first at Lance then at the symbol on the brick wall.
"DPIR."  Lance flashed the officer his badge, "Cpt. Paranormal Investigator Lance DeMoi at your service.  And this is my partner, Sgt. King."  They shook hands.  The detective stared uneasily at Lance's right eye, which was green and glowed gently.
"May we see the victim, Detective?"  Allison asked.  He nodded and lead them to the ambulance.  Lance and Allison folded back the white covering: the dead actress was popular during her life.
"No signs of external or internal wounds or injuries, no poisons, or drugs it appears, I don'-"  The detective was saying, Lance cut him off.
"It was either a spell or a rare black magic poison.  We're dealing with a witch orchastrated murder here, Officer."
Clark pushed his glasses up his nose.
"A spell?  Really?  Chief wasn't lying, this murder is weird."
"Was the victim, the actress, involved in anything unusual?"  Asked Allison as they walked into the house.  The inspector thought for a moment.
"Yes, I think so.  Kimberly was involved in a large variety of clubs and organizations."
Lance and Allison surveyed the place where the body was found and any questionable items.
"Mind if we look about?"  Lance asked.  The detective glanced over to his superior, who nodded his consent.
"Yes, you may."  The three of them walked through the actress's mansion: past large, richly decorated lounges, an enormous kitchen, in which Kimberly's caretakers were being questioned by police, and other such gilded rooms.  Lance scanned the walls, floor and ceiling with his magic eye for any hidden doors or rooms.  He stopped outside her bedroom.
"In there.  There's a hidden trap door, it leads down into the basement."  They entered, passed the investigators searching the room and tried open the little door.  It was tightly sealed.  Lance brought his heel smashing down on the wood planks; the broken door fell down the shaft, he leapt down onto the ladder.  Bianca and Clark followed.  The ladder lead them down into a crawl space, separated from the rest of the mansion by thick, concrete walls.  Lance and Bianca looked around the room: it was filled with, large, leather bound books, cauldrons, voodoo dolls and bone implements.
"Looks like like little Miss Pretty was a bride of Satan."  Lance said, his right  eye scanning the chests and drawers.
Biance threw an arm in front of Clark and Lance.  "Wait.  I sense someone, or rather, something."
Clark whispered, "How?"  Bianca tapped her head with a finger.
"Telepath."
Bianca then motioned Lance toward a small door in the wall, they both drew guns loaded with silver bullets.  Lance kicked open the little door, gun at the ready.  A black shape flew out of the compartment beyond, but both Bianca and Lance fired.  The cat familiar flew against the wall as the force of the bullets hit it; Lance stopped over and picked the wounded animal off the ground.
"Name."  Lance demanded of the familiar.  The large black cat quivered, Lance shook it violently.
"Bartholemew!"  The demon whined.
"That's better.  So the famed actress Kimberly was witch.  Why?"
Bartholemew whimpered.
"She, my mistress, joined a club, the Five Star Nightclub.  After proving her devotion my mistress was allowed into the inner circles of the Five Stars. There, in a ritual, she was vested with eldritch powers from the Mistress.  But my master grew afraid of the Club, so she was going to talk to the authorities.  Now the Mistress couldn't allow that, so she had my master killed."
Lance nodded, "Good.  Now where are the headquarters of the Five Stars?"
The demon whimpered again.
"They're gone now, it's almost the Winter Solstice, they're going to the Witchmeet."
"Where is the Witchmeet?"  Bianca asked.  The DPIR had been searching for the site of the Witchmeet for years.
"Where the Wizendmeet is."  The demon managed a small sneer.  Lance smashed it upside the head with his gun.
"And where's the Wizendmeet?"
"Ireland!  It's at Ireland!  But first they'll be going to Salem"  Bartholemew gasped.
"Thank you."  Lance said politely.  He threw the demon against the opposite wall and shot it dead.
"All right then.  Bianca, call Richard, we're going to Salem."  Lance told Bianca as he holstered his gun and walked toward the ladder.                  

Homo Cosmicus.

It's the year 3089, the human species has devolved another step, though most still call it evolution.  They call themselves H. Cosmicus, the humans of the future, masters of the stars and worlds.  The Milky Way has been colonized by mankind.  Faith in God still prevails, though the average, secular human has no time for faith and the persecution of: there are still stellar codes to crack, evolutionary links to be made, worlds to be industrialized, and so forth.  The frontiers of science of the 21st century were achieved long ago, now though, there are new unknown things in the unimaginably big universe.  The Homo Cosmicus, is always discovering more and more science.  Or are they?  Are they just rediscovering facts that we knew in our long, ancient past?  We don't evolve, we wear down, we devolve: even our bodies degenerate, we get old and die.  The men of the future only live for an average of fifty years, though technology has allowed them to live extended, bastardized lives.  The only way for mankind and the universe to truly change is through one person,  Jesus Christ.     

Deep Space Colonization Program-NASA.

In the year 2112, deep space telescopes found the planet Persephone to be habitable.  So with MDR Corp funding, the UNOE made three ships: the Magellan, the Galileo, and the Armstrong.  The ships were loaded with settlers, crewmen, and soldiers and shipped off to Persephone.  While on the long journey, space-born bacteria got into the Armstrong's ventilation and got into the crew's hypersleep chambers, infecting them with a disease called Bedlam.  The Armstrong stalled and was left behind by the other two ships, who's crew members kept sleeping.  UNOE Space Control couldn't contact the Armstrong anymore, the intercom was broken.  The Magellan and Galileo continued for another few Earth generations toward their destination, Persephone.  Armstrong was left near the planet named Ogygia.

Klaus van Aachen.

It was a dreary, rainy day in the Holy Roman city of Aachen.  Klaus gazed out the opaque window onto the dirty street below; he saw merchants, artisans, soldiers, and commoners trudging through the muddy street.  He turned away from the window and crouched beside his ailing mother, Hanna.  His mother looked up at him.
"Klaus?  Is that you?"  Klaus's mother said in German.  Hanna's voice was weak.  Her face was sweaty and pale with fever; she had been bed ridden inside their little apartment for weeks.
"Yes, Mother, it is me, Klaus.  I'm going out, Mother, but I will be back soon, with medicine."  Klaus said.
"Where are you getting the money for all these fancy medicines, Klaus?"  Hanna furrowed her sweaty brow.  Klaus freshened her cold head cloth.
"Do not worry about that, Mother, just rest and drink water."
His mother nodded wearily and laid back, deeper onto the straw mattress.  Klaus put on his cloak and placed his hat over his head, he grabbed and strapped on his knapsack, then headed outside, into the rain.  It was nearly dusk by the time Klaus exited the bank; he had built up a small sum of money, no thanks to his brother, Lukas.  Klaus bought some groceries from the last straggling merchants, then headed to the nearby chapel as the fat disc os light disappaered behind the horizon.  He shook his boots of, then walked down the aisle of pews; he sat down in one and prayed inwardly that God might forgive him.  He had never been one for confession.  The paster, Wilhelm, came out and was sweeping the floor, when he noticed Klaus.
"It has been a long time since you were in church, Klaus."  Fr. Wilhelm said, sweeping up dust.  Klaus grunted.
"Well, I'm not the most pious man."
"Then confession and penance are in order."
A thunderclap boomed outside.
"No.  I think I should just go."  Klaus put his hat on and quickly left the church.
Klaus walked past a gambling den, he saw his brother, Lukas, willing their families money away on drink and game.  Klaus adjusted his beret and continued on his way to the pharmacy.  He broke open a window, evaded pharmacy employees, and filled his sack with the needed drugs.  Klaus accidently ran into an old pharmacist, Klaus had no choice but to kill the elderly man.  He grabbed his knife and slipped it in between the pharmacist's ribs, right into the heart.  The man fell over dead, his blood soaking into the wooden planks.  Klaus ran away as some other workers came around the corner, but they didn't see him fortunately.  He was able to slip back to their apartment, and give his mother some medicines.
"Oh, Klaus, how did you get these drugs?"  Hanna asked, sitting up somewhat to take the medicines.
"Well, I have been saving up money for sometime.  Now just rest and get better."  Klaus smiled at her, giving his mother a dose of drugs.

Tears tumbled from Klaus's eyes as he watched his mother's coffin disappear beneath a layer of earth.  He looked up at the scrubbed clean blue sky and the beautiful spring day.  Why must the day be so beautiful when his mother is not here to see it?  Wilhelm finished the funeral prayers and said a final farewell
"Rest well, Hanna; daughter of Jonas and Lena, now past, wife of Otto, who fell to the Turks, mother of Marie, may she rest in peace, Lukas, and Klaus.  May God be merciful to you."  Wilhelm wiped a tear from his eye and closed his book.  Klaus put a little bunch of flowers at his mothers headstone.  He stood by his mother's grave as all the other attendants left.  It was a while until he heard the stumbling steps of his drunk brother.  Lukas came up, he wiped his nose on his filthy shirt, he looked at his mother's grave with uncaring eyes.  Klaus gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as his older brother stumbled up next to him.
"Why so down, Klaus?  Hmm?  So what that Mam is dead?  She didn't do anything, just cost money to take care of."  Lukas mumbled.  That just about did it for Klaus.  He slugged his brother in the face with all his might.  Lukas flailed backwards falling on the ground.
"You're one to talk about wasting money, you gutless pig!  It is because of your filthy habits that we couldn't afford a real physician!  It's because of you that Marie and now Mother are dead!"  Klaus roared, beating his brother while he spoke.  Covered in blood, Lukas jumped to his feat and smashed his fist into Klaus's temple, who fell over, dazed.  He sprang back up and snatched Lukas's half empty rum bottle and brought it smashing down on Lukas's head.  His brother fell to the ground, cold.  Klaus knelt beside him.
"I think this is the best path for you, Brother.  May you rot in the Ninth Circle."  Klaus left Lukas's corpse in the graveyard, he went to their empty apartment, gathered his things, and left Aachen; the city where he had lived all his life.

Klaus studied the gilded crown.
"Hmm, solid gold crown, yet it doesn't look like any craftsmanship I've seen."  He tossed the crown in his sack.  He had been robbing houses and estates in and around Vienna for months now, he had left Germany far behind.  He was about to leave the little ransacked room, when a figure came through the door, letting moonlight stream into the apartment.  Klaus and the stranger froze, Klaus thought this mysterious owner of the room would be home later.  The owner came over to Klaus; he wore a cloak, tunic, trousers, and leather boots.  He also wore a bulging knapsack on his back and had a sword on his hip.
"Now what would you be doing in my room?  And I'm guessing that sack is full of my possessions?"  The stranger spoke fluent German, though with a Hungarian accent.  Klaus saw a glimpse of the stranger's skin; chalk white.  And the man's eyes looked red, and slits for pupils.  Klaus started to freak out, the tales of vampires coming to his head.
"W-who are you?"  He stammered keeping his eyes on the stranger.
"You can call me Rolf.  Now please give back my treasures."  Rolf took another step forward.  Klaus threw the bag of goods, drew his knife, and leaped for the nearest window.  But a hand like iron and twice as cold, grabbed him around the waist and threw him against a wall.  Rolf held him their with a single hand.
"Do you know the importance of this crown, Thief?"  Rolf asked, holding the crown in his other hand.  Klaus didn't move or make a sound.
"I didn't think so."  Rolf smiled, "This is the Crown of Horus, made by the Hyperboreans.  Now I'm not sure what it does, but Lord Dracul will find out once I return to Noctheim."
Klaus was lost and bewildered; it was a simple break in, until this pale freak came in and started blabbing about weird places and things.  Rolf looked at Klaus.
"I think you would make a good vampire; you hate everyone around you, you don't fit in, your sad and weighed down by human emotions, at least, that's what I guess.  If you'd rather just die, then I can do that too.  Your choice."
Klaus mumbled something, so Rolf moved his hand, Klaus coughed.
"W-what are y-you?"  He gasped.  Rolf smiled again.
"Why, I'm a vampire."
A flash of fangs, and then, blackness.                                

New Earth.

Three hundred years of war between the planets Earth and Mars caused much devastation, finally the UNOE Congress and the Martian king made an uneasy truce.  But then a UE spay detonated a bomb in the martian palace, killing the king and hundreds of others.  Mars fired it's fusion bombs on Earth, killing thousands.  As the new war raged on, a group of desperate Telluric and Martian humans gathered on Mars and built a vast ship, dubbed it the Ark, boarded it and flew off, to the binary Alpha Centuri system.  It took years to get to Alpha Centuri, all the passengers were put into cryostasis.  When they reached the Centuri system they found five giant gas giant; Rhea, Cronus, Oceanus, Hyperion, and Prometheus. Hyperion was surrounded by four moons; Eos, Amphitrite, Apollo, and Persephone.  The two suns were dubbed Helios and Hephastus.  The refugees landed on Persephone, a lush, spring-time moon.  But it was already inhabited by a humanoid alien species: the xali.  Eos was inhabited by none, Amphitrite was inhabited by the ieu, and Apollo was inhabited by the ner'i.  War was coming to the Alpha Centuri system.