So, you see they had a rather big problem, eh?

What to do? Well, after a bit it was decided that they'd better get clever! In this case, they decided to use Belboz's ignorance about what his draconic nature against him! See, Checkers was now a creature that could be changed into anything. Had to be careful because do that too much to her and she'd forget ever having been a Glider and instead come to believe (with each new transformation) that she was the creature/person she'd been changed into here. The magic number for that is FOUR. Meaning that at the fourth transformation, she'd lose her identity. That said there wasn't anything preventing the others from changing her into a dragoness and having Checkers (after the Champions taught her) perform a ceremony that would attempt to grab possession of Belboz/Minestus' Hoard for herself, severing his connnection to it (and to the Glider Nation in the process)!

That was the plan, anyway. It went basically that way, but a curveball got thrown into the mix when the tengus decided that it wouldn't do to stand by and let the Champions tackle this alone. Honor and duty demanded that they help (which they couldn't do in their present half bird hald human forms). They activated their innate transformation powers and thus pretty much put to paid any chances of them being able to return to human! They regained their ability to use hand weapons and such, but were transformed in more ways than one. Now they were back in forms more or less what they'd looked like before, but now had bird beaks and such. That and they were tengu in mind and soul! They were, in fact, the first of an entirely new race. A race of mortal tengu, but that's a different story.... It's strange, let me tell you, being that being only mortal tengu, in their new race/culture they no longer merited a name . . .

Took some talking into for Checkers to allow this, but in the end she agreed. Good thing, since Artizza was nearly besides herself, wanting to get her husband back and all that. . . . So, the Glider girl was transformed again, this time into an Oriental dragonness (for reasons we'll go into here in a bit) and Belboz found himself in the struggle for his life!

Thus distracted, the Champions were able to find Belboz and were able to land what should have been a fatal blow. But here is where Flagg had left a booby trap for any do gooders. Belboz didn't die, but instead transformed into a mass of tenacles and eyes. The monster was defeated, but in the end the only person not walking wounded or entirely drained from the fight was Annafrid and Fertal. Fertal was too busy tending to his wife's wounds to handle the one task remaining so it fell to Annafrid to attempt to use the Crystallic to try to transform Checkers back into a Glider (as promised).

But in the end it was too late. AT this point, there was an almost certainty that if normal procedures were used that her mind would shatter and she'd become permanently phsycotic, and that was with a normal mage using the Crystallic. That and the Crystallic (much to it's chargrin) said it could not safely severe the Link between the Changling and the Glider Nation. So, while Annafrid might be able to transform Checkers back into a Glider, she would still be something of a dagger at her nation's throat. So, in dream, Annafrid explained all this to the sleeping Checkers (who'd been knocked out from the sudden release of the Hoard upon Belboz's transformation) and the Changling (already 9/10ths the way seduced by her new form) begged Annafrid to complete the process and transform her all the way into a dragoness, permanently. This way, while the fate of the Glider Nation still rested on Checker's shoulders, they were the shoulders of a rather tough (if beautiful) dragon instead of a skinny winged girl!

So, that done, the dragoness found herself (because of becoming a full dragoness) in the borders of the Glider Nation, as it's protector and guardian. The Champions were, through contact with the gaurdian of the Crystallic (the Tengu king), able to arrange for the Oriental dragons to send somebody to soon help Checkers fully realize the powers and abilities of her new race. See, while Checkers was a full dragoness (and an Oriental dragoness, which didn't automatically carry the stigma that the Occidental dragons had garnered over the years), she needed some training.

Tengu Fred and Tengu Astra (not their names but we'll call them that for convenience) met their King, and it remains to be seen what comes of that, but that's a different story.

So, that done the Champions found themselves back again on Terra Prime! Right in the middle of yet ANOTHER mission needing them for escort.

See, it appears that there had been something strange going on with another elfin couple they just met here . . .

They'd thought that after the Doctor's Quest business was done that they'd be escorted by the Doctor's group but instead it was Jarlath's group to be helping them find yet another set of analogs . . .

But to make matters WORSE and more difficult, due to some kind of Celestrial screwup, yet another set of proto Dark Elves is unleashed into things here. See, a well meaning (but apparently hasty) Angel had set up a Challenge on not only the same world a Validation Quest was going on, but in CLOSE proximity to said Validation Quest. Worse, the members making up this Challenge were analogs of Artizza and Fertal!! It made for grounds, if something wasn't done and done quickly, for the Demons to declare the Challenge ruined and bollox not only the Challenge in their favor (winning possession of Artizza 4 and Fertal 4), but also ruining the Validation Quest (which wasn't good for Fertal 3 and Arizza 3). . . So instead the Agents had to go about their art and make things . . . difficult for the Champions to prevent this . . . Fertal 4 and Artizza 4 had been tasked to track down and kill an evil mage named Angar (who'd already sold his soul to the Demons for power before a hoard of demonic creatures could be unleashed onto this world they found themselves upon. If they succeeded all demonic claims on their meat would be null and voice. That and the proto Dark Elves would get a choice of either becoming Champions for the Angels or the Rules (and Agents). They came upon Fertal 3 and Artizza 3, who were locked into playing out a scene from "Rapunzel" again and again and freed their elfin analogs. Thinking that perhaps these others were their means for salvation, Fertal 3 and ARtizza 3. But in reality the key to their salvation was being found by Fertal 2 and ARtizza 2. When that happened, Fertal 3 and Artizza 3 would become Champions themselves and all Demonic claims on their meat would be null and void.

And with that, we have the stage set for this newest adventure. . . Confusing, isn't it!