<<<10 Apr 2057, 16:02—Shadows of the Underworld >>>

The previous week has been one of the best and one of the worst in my life, without a doubt.

I begin this entry with our team still trapped within the Empire State Building. We'd just been charged (by Dunkelzahn, no less, through our fellow captive, his campaign manager) to somehow manage to thwart the horde of fanatics who had taken over the building and in the process render inoperable the explosive devices said nutters had apparently planted somewhere fifteen floors down.

Well, we managed, but it was a close thing. Possessing very few weapons and magical items, we were forced to rely on our wits and our skills to carry the day. Fortunately we were up to the task, but not without cost. At various points in our exploits, all three of my teammates sustained major injuries--I was lucky in that I spent a great deal of my time invisible, picking off opponents unseen. And, I must admit, when I wasn't invisible I was hiding. My courage tends to desert me somewhat when I'm lacking in armour, but I like to think that I made up for that with my offensive capabilities. Using the few weapons at our disposal, we were able to disarm the plastique that the terrorists were in the process of planting (at least they weren't terribly adept at planting explosives, which was probably the only thing that saved us). However, the terrorists discovered us shortly thereafter, necessitating a protracted fight that left the terrorists dead and us in bad shape.

I did what I could to heal the team, although, since time was of the essence (Dunkelzahn's campaign manager informed us via our headware radio that the remaining terrorists were attempting to leave via the roof) we were forced to go into the final confrontation with Joe still wounded. After a tough fight we managed to subdue (all right--terminate) the remainder of the terrorists before they were able to escape. Their choice of an escape vehicle bears mentioning: a blimp with Dunkelzahn's face emblazoned on the side, larger than life.

It was after we got out of the Empire State Building, though, that things started to get interesting. Dunkelzahn, after all, had promised to pay us in person should we be successful in our efforts. As we were without doubt successful (we even managed to do the job without any casualties among the civilians), the dragon was as good as his word.

The following day, we were picked up at our hotel and whisked off to an estate in upstate New York, where we were ushered into Dunkelzahn's presence.

He is impressive. I have seen dragons before, but never one so large, nor one whose sheer presence so utterly dominates a room. He spoke to us first through his interpreter, Nadja Daviar, but as the discussion went on, he dismissed her and spoke to us himself, his voice touching our minds directly. It was a rare and fascinating experience--I will freely admit that I was in awe, and I am not an easy man to awe. The five of us discussed life, Harlequin, Thayla, the Enemy, the paths of Joe's and 'Wraith's lives, and many other things. I think we amused him; at any rate, he seemed to be enjoying the conversation, or at least taking us seriously. When he finally took his leave of us, I think we were all left feeling as if something truly memorable had taken place. I am certain that I was.

So, despite the danger we had to go through to get to this point, I have gotten my wish. I will watch the UCAS polls with great interest--although I am not permitted to vote in the election, I agree with my companions that we may have, over the course of the past few months, been an extremely influential force with regard to its outcome. I think that if the electorate of the UCAS can overcome its prejudice and elect Dunkelzahn to be their leader, then we will all be in for a very interesting ride.