Dark Lord Rob's DarkForce

A Roll of the Dice

"How did you know our names?" I asked, and I just know my eyes were wide as frisbees. Nathan calls me the "Credulous Hulk" sometimes. I won't tell you what I call him.
     "I could answer that," the Dark Lord responded, "But in doing such I would strip another veil off of Mystery."
     "I suspect he saw us on TV," Maggie interjected.
     Dark Lord Rob flashed her a snarling glance, then smiled. "And now Mystery is one veil nakeder, and the world one drip drabber. Happy?"
     "Well, as you've 'guessed'," Nathan put a special emphasis on 'guessed', sarcastically, "We have come to expose you as a fraud, assuming you are one. And I would have to say that the TV, mysterious as it well may be at times, is not a 'Portal to the Other World', even if you do get your 'psychic flashes' off of it."
     "I might debate you on the 'TV as Portal' issue," the Dark Lord responded, "But for now, let me say this: you are assuming that the fact that I know your names because I saw you on TV means that the forces surrounding this encounter are mundane, prosaic; you don't stop to consider that the very fact that I happened to see the news when you were on it, and felt so strongly that we might encounter each other that I made a point of learning your names, might indicate a very real Mystery in motion."
     "Or," Nathan countered, "It could indicate that you're tagged, and are trying to talk your way out of it."
     The Dark Lord smiled again. "It could. It certainly could."
     He snapped his fingers, and the mastiff stood up, waiting for orders. It looked like a statue at a librbay. "Get the Magic Box, Keeper," he said to it. The dog nodded, and trotted off into the next room.
     "I control him by the power of my will," the Dark lord said. Even then it was hard to tell whether he meant us to take hime seriously or not.
     "I'm sure you do," Shana responded, and the sarcastic ice in her tone was titanically unmistakable.
     The dog returned momentarily, his heavy pawsteps preceding him like someone dribbling a softball. In his mouth he held a TV remote. "Magic Box"?
     The Dark Lord took the remote from the dog's jaws, brushed off a trailing rope of drool, and held it up in his hand. "This 'Magic Box', ladies and gentlemen, will change your lives. One click from this, and you will realize the true purpose of your visit here... not to 'expose' this humble magician before you, but to step in time with your destiny. Ahh! I see you are skeptical!"
     "Not really skeptical," Maggie said, "We just plain flat out don't believe you."
     "Hahaha! The universe doesn't care if you believe it does or not, it simply keeps rolling along." He held out the remote. "Who wants to take it? Who wants to roll the dice?"

Next: The Dark Lord's Challenge