Chapter 1

Tony was chatting to Paul as they watched Tom walk towards them.

"Hi Tom, where have you been?" asked Tony.

"Just out with some mates from work, it's my fiftieth today." he replied.

"Happy birthday mate. See you next week at the club?" said Paul

"Oh yes, can't miss my chance as Robin Hood." he said laughing

They joined in with him. Soon they reached the door to Paul's flat.

"Well, goodnight, see you next week," said Tom as he walked on the bus station

"'Night mate, see you then" they replied.

As Tom turned the corner they heard him shout. Then they saw him break into a run. This was serious: Tom didn't run anywhere. They looked at each other, nodded and ran after him. They heard a girl scream and a man shout. As they turned the corner they saw Tom facing down a giant of a man. 6' 4'' if he was an inch and at least 15-16 stone of solid muscle: massive! Tom on the other hand was 5'9'' and 13 stone, mainly of flab.

"I'll do the pair of you" they heard the man scream, and then, to their horror, they saw him pull a knife and stab Tom in the stomach. The thug then ran to his car and drove off.

Paul, who was a paramedic, ran over to Tom whilst Tony went to comfort the girl. Tony looked at Paul who shook his head. "He's got no chance. He's still alive, but his only chance is Crossroads."

Tony nodded and helped Paul lift Tom up into a fireman's lift. Paul then ran to his flat and disappeared inside. The police and ambulance had been called and Tony comforted the girl while they waited

The police took ten minutes to arrive, the ambulance twelve. They saw the girl was in distress and shock and treated her. They then asked Tony what had happened and he told them what he saw, leaving out the part of the stabbing. They were just about to ask where Tom was when he re-emerged from Paul's front door, looking, it must be said, a lot better than when he went in. Soon all the questions were asked and answered to everyone's satisfaction and the police and ambulance departed.

After all the excitement Tony decided to have a little adventure of his own.

Walking towards Paul's flat he said "Won't be long, be back in about fifteen minutes. Okay?"

And with that he walked into the spare room, opened the wardrobe, and disappeared

Tony had been going to Chaos for many years. His father who was, incidentally, Paul's father's best friend, had introduced him to Chaos. Both their fathers had since retired from going to Crossroads, but when the boys both turned twenty one, each had taken his son with him as Hero Companion. They had enjoyed many adventures on Chaos together, father and son, and had made many friends. When the older men had decided to retire as Heroes, who better to pass the rings on to in order to carry on the tradition.

Tony stepped into the foyer area and Silvi ran towards him. He was 6'1'', dark haired, with deep brown eyes; at first glance you could say he looked like Aragorn from Lord of the Rings.

"Oh Tony, I didn't expect you yet, what's happened?" she asked.

Tony explained what had happened with Tom and that Paul had brought him to Crossroads.

"We've heard about Tom, he's caused quite a stir," she said smiling. "You remember Mistress Eve?" she asked.