So, going over to sound out Capt. Charpe at the Watch was a bust. He's up to his eyeballs in murders. Don't suppose my sudden rash of kleptomania and the missing chocolate could be related? Nah. I can't imagine what sort of plot would tangle all that up together, even if Mayor Aeshma were still about and up to his old tricks.

From my vantagepoint on the top floor of city hall, I look over the city in bitter disappointment.

"I am bitterly disappointed Diemos".

My longtime assistant looks past me to see the city.

"The city looks normal to me. What is wrong? Your loyal servent is prepared to fix any..." He starts

I stop him with a gesture. "That is exactly the problem idiot. It has been a month since my portal to the demonic realm of Candithiland has been opened and... nothing. Where is the death and destruction?"

My minion creeps closer to the window. "May I ask a question sir?"

"Very well." I say, as I continue to look for signs of something. There must be some destruction, it will take time for demons to find the portal on the other side, but it shouldn't take this much time.

"Why do you want to destroy the city now?" He asks.

"I thought it would be obvious, I have decided to not run for reelection. I feel my talents would be best served on a larger stage." I continue to look out at the peaceful looking city. "Diemos, is the portal still open? Did some foolish hero enter the portal and claim the sigil stone keeping it open?"

"The portal to Candyland sir?" He asks.

"Yes that port...Wait. No, the portal to Candithiland. Tell me you misspoke."

Diemos consults some electronic gadget. "Um.... sir. The conjuration department is saying they got a request for Candyland, there must have been a typo somewhere."

"Why. Am. I. Surrounded. By. Idiots!!" I pound my fist into the glass adding a dose of magic for good measure. The glass explodes, showering the empty street below in shards.

Diemos shuffles his feet and says in a small voice. "Um... sir, if it helps any, chocolate gnomes have stolen all of the city's chocolate, and sugar imps have broken into many houses. They have stolen loads of candy and sugar."

"Just leave me!" I yell at my worthless servant. God, I need a vacation.

Whoa.

That was an unpleasant shopping experience.

Apparently some forms of chocolate, mainly Brach's, have begun to filter into the city again. Talk about your mean streets. I don't know what was worse - the mobbing to get the choccies, or the rioting when it became obvious that only the cheap crap was available. That's a mess I don't envy Captain Charpe and the Watch for having to clean up.

This really smacks of the Mayor's work, but it really isn't up to snuff, is it? The old boy is off his game. I get an idea, but I'm going to have to clear it with the home office.

"Computer, bring up surveillance video for the 3rd floor pantry, midnight to five a.m. Set playback 60x normal speed." I command the computer. Then I sit back and watch on the OLED screen.

There! At 2:38 a.m. the pantry door opens. Only thing is, there's nobody there opening it. Hmmm.

"Shift to thermal, 2:37 a.m to 2:38 a.m. playback one tenth normal speed." I tell the computer. No distinct image is resolved, but there is a small increase in heat in a localized area. Whatever it is, it approaches the pantry right before the door opens. Bingo.

"Now inspect each frame from 2:37 a.m. to 2:38 a.m. in the visual spectrum. Isolate the frames that show significant variance from baseline." The camera records at 2400 frames per second giving the computer 144,000 frames to find something. It takes about a second for the computer to finish its search. Sure enough, something is fading in and out of detection faster than the human eye can discern. Nothing is ever completely invisible.

"Playback frames with variance only, synchronize to half normal speed." There it is, some sort of chubby figure almost three feet in height. That's the bastard that stole my stash of Hersey's special dark. He's dressed in knickerbockers, buckled boots, shirt, suspenders, and a little pointed hat.

"Cross reference the image with all databases, find out what that thing is." I instruct. The computer makes the identification in moments. Chocolate Gnome, and according to the database where there's one, there are bound to be a lot more. Something is going to have to be done, I want my chocolate back dammit.

"Hans, I've got movement." I relay to Hans as the red marker on my map of the city started to move. It was mere minutes after Hans had secretly implanted a microtransmitter into one of the few new Brach's chocolate bars just stocked at Snackymart.

"I see him. I'm following." replied Hans though his transmitter. Hans had been stationed outside Snackymart on his motorcycle. The visor on his helmet includes a newly programmed filter to let him see the otherwise invisible chocolate gnome now making off with the stolen chocolate.

"We're heading west, toward Blackwood Parish. He isn't checking to see if he's being followed." Hans informs me. No surprise there, being invisible makes you overconfident. Overconfident enough to not notice a tall man with a visored helmet tracking your every step. Hans isn't telling me anything I can't already see on my screen, but I'm glad to know he's still tracking the target. Transmitters can be blocked.

"He's heading into the woods in Parish Park. I going in after him." Transmits Hans.

"Careful in there." I reply.

I continue to watch, suddenly the red mark disappears off my screen right in the middle of the woods. "What's happening out there Hans? The trace stopped transmitting."

"Woah. It looks like some sort of... portal." Replies Hans.

"To where?" I ask.

"I don't know for sure. It looks like....well, it looks like a forest of candy canes." He informs me.

"Don't go through. Take some pictures and return to the castle." I tell him.

"Already on it." Says Hans. Sure enough, my secondary monitor starts displaying images of the portal from Hans. Interesting.

It takes Hans a little over a half hour to get back to his motorcycle and navigate back to the castle. More than enough time to have gathered all the information I need to know we have a big problem.

"So boss, what's the story about that portal?" Asks Hans when he get's into the study where I've been monitoring the situation.

"Bad news Hans, it's a portal to Candyland." I tell him.

Hans looks confused. "How bad can it be, sure the chocolate gnomes are annoying but they aren't exactly dangerous."

"You're right about the gnomes, though a few chocolate riots might change our minds about how harmless they are. They are the least of our concerns though. Candyland is loaded with sentient candy and frankly they aren't too fond of candy eating humans." I tell him grimly.

Hans smiles and says. "Yeah, but it's candy. How bad can it be?"

I bring up some images of dead bodies humans and cattle in a village. "Cameroon, 1986. An entire village wiped out overnight. It was attributed to CO2 out gassing from a local lake, but there are secret reports that this was the last site of a Candyland portal. Reportedly, a hoard of Peeps crossed over and went on a rampage."

"Holy shit. Peeps? You've got to be kidding." Says Hans incredulously.

"I wish I was. Free range Peeps are much, much larger than the ones you buy in the candy store, not to mention very aggressive against anything and anyone they think presents a threat." I tell him. "At least one renegade Peep was left behind when the portal closed. In 1998 it was tracked down and tested by Emory University where scientists found it was extremely resistant to damage."

"So what do we do?" Asks Hans. "How was the portal in '86 shut down?"

"That portal was unstable. According to my information, chocolate has been mysteriously disappearing for days. Something is holding this portal open. We're just lucky the Peeps or anything else that dangerous hasn't crossed over." I inform him.

"I don't like where this is going. We've got to go in." Says Hans.

"That's right, we're going to Candyland."

Dressed up in a power suit, horn-rimmed glasses on my nose, I walk into the City Hall, waltzing right up to the Mayor's private secretary.

"I represent the Demonic Justice League and Lobbyists Union. I've got a 3:15 appointment with His Honor." Storm past, just like I belong, barge right into Aeshma's office.

I open my briefcase, pull out two little folders, slap them down on his desk. "Your honor, the DJL&LU wish to invite you to be the keynote speaker for the first day of the Conference for Demons in Modern Politics. We were hoping you might be able to present something of a motivational speech, to get the crowd excited about the opportunities opening up for all demonkind. We know it is short notice, but there are two first class itineraries for you and a guest. You'll have to get packing, but we have every confidence in your abilities to provide the utmost in witty and motivating diatribes."

"I understand why you came to me, as the greatest Warlock in the word, nay, the Universe, I know more about demons and their ambitions that anyone. Yes, I will give this speech of yours, I will motivate these creatures of darkness and despair to go forth in the world and seize power. I will teach them to know I am their master, that I alone have the power to rule them all. They will cower before my power and beg to join me. My demon army will come to dominate the politics of this world and destroy all who oppose me. All will succumb and the world will be mine to control. Mine! All Mine! Bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ahem. So, um, who are you again?"

"Sparrow. Wind Sparrow. I'm with the Demonic Justice League and Lobbyists Union. We tend not to think so much in terms of Demon Armies so much as hordes of demon lawyers, and policymakers. But your fiery attitude is just what we need to warm up the Conference. What a role model you are for all aspiring demon politicians. And there will be plenty of time for the old meet and greet, and networking opportunities galore. And the cruise liner selected for this glorious jaunt is first class luxury all the way - spa, games, tai chi, pool, whirl pool, fabulous entertainment extravaganzas. After your keynote speech you will be welcome to partake of any of the standard amenities, as well as any of the sessions that interest you. And don't forget the vendors' area - nothing but the highest quality technological and magical suppliers. But don't feel pressured to go to more than you like, because as our esteemed guest, you will be welcome to as much downtime as you like.

"Let me just say how excited we at DJL&LU are to know you will be there to take our conference to another level."

"If it's evil you want, I know a portal over to Terra Prime, we could get you Bush and Cheney."

"We aren't that evil," said Sparrow, "and we have a different view of justice."

I am bitterer than usual this morning, probably because my coffee is too. I get why the imps took all the sugar, but the Sang Saccharine too? Really?

I angrily smack down my 'Attorneys Bill You For It' mug, and scrounge for something else to give me my morning caffeine fix.

Marvin is sorting the mail, dumping junk scrolls into the recycling bin, and looks up worriedly. Though it's hard to tell when a troll is worried, their faces tend to be furrowed by default.

"Sir?"

"This is horrible. We need to figure out some way out of this Candyland mess."

"Sir, I'm sure the city officials are already working on the solution." His delivery is too perfect, and I burst out laughing. He rumbles along with me, shaking the room and causing one of my nouveau faux art deco pieces to hang askew.

"Marvin, you and I need to hang out more." I open the mini-fridge Marvin keeps under his desk. Water, holy water, O neg, ah, a can of Coke in the back. I grab it.

"Maybe this will take your mind off things, Sir." Marvin's holding up a plastic-looking scroll, which folds out into the shape of a boat. Classy.

"A cruise? I really cannot afford a vacation right now, Marvin."

Marvin mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like "or a raise, you cheap bastard".

"What was that?"

"I said, this could raise your worth faster in this town." Marvin's surprisingly quick for a troll. "It's a demon networking cruise. Could be good for you and for business." He raises a troll eyebrow, which is also hard to make out since their hairlines go down to their noses. His long-overdue raise. I am a cheap bastard.

It could be good for me too. I hadn't really done anything in this town for, hmm, something like three years now. Not that many folks had.

"Alright, sign me up." I take a sip of my Coke as I walk back to my office. Ugh. I spit it out. The glucose right out of our soda cans? Really?