Doctor Strange #2

"The illusion of power part II"

Doctor Strange sat thinking in his cell, he knew he could easily escape from his confines however he wanted to think up a way to convince John to come back with him. He knew that Ashtor was only using him and that somehow he'd convinced John that he was some kind of savior.

"I must show him that Ashtor's power is false" thought Strange to himself.

"But how am I to convince someone that the person they find divine is in fact a faust? That what they thought was a miracle is indeed a trick in order to usher them into their service?" Strange pondered this as he also was thinking of a way out.

Strange however did not have to think long as he saw John coming down the stone steps towards Strange's dungeon. "Ashtor has decreed that you are allowed to leave, however he asks that you do not stay long and are gone before morning" said Syrel who was once known as John.

"John please let me speak with you for I do not think you comprehend the full meaning of what you are taking on" said Strange very urgently.

"I understand perfectly Doctor and it's Syrel now, I have been given a task that is greater then myself and can make a difference, I want you to see and understand that" said Syrel as he started to lead Doctor Strange out of the dungeon.

"That's where you have it wrong, you know as well as I do that no one gets anything for free, there is always some kind of price to pay, I'm telling you that you have been duped into a faust deal and that Ashtor wants you for something far less noble then you think" said Strange looking to Syrel.

Syrel lead Strange to the gates of the castle "No Doctor, you have pegged Ashtor all wrong and I would show you how he's going to make the world a better place, look around you, is not this place a paradise? is it not the very essence of law and order? if you would but open your eyes you would see what I see".

Doctor Strange shook his head "that's the problem for you see I have looked around this place and what I see are people oppressed, a ruler who snuffs out all opposition and power going to the heads of people who are usually reasonable, no I see the exact opposite of what you see".

Syrel looked to Strange "then I guess it's for the best that we part ways now, farewell Doctor for I fear if we see each other again we will be enemies". Strange then grabbed Syrel's arm "please reconsider for I'm telling you that this will all end in tears". Syrel then knocked Strange onto his back, Strange could tell his armor was mystically enchanted by the sheer power it gave off.

"I mean it Doctor, if I ever see you again I will treat you as an enemy, you are a fool and I hope your eyes will be opened one day and you will see the good we are doing here and will be done on earth" said Syrel as he walked away and back into the castle.

Strange dusted himself off and then walked into the village "he's got to be crazy if he thinks I'm just going to walk away at this point" he thought to himself. Strange could see that his suspicions were accurate, many of the villagers hid in fear and would not come out of their houses, the only people evident were merchants selling food or wares more then likely who's profits were going to the king.

Doctor Strange then took this opportunity to talk to the merchant and confirm his suspicions about this place. "Hello good sir, may I ask you to recomend me something?" said Strange to the merchant.

The Merchant looked him over "you are not from around here are you stranger?" asked the merchant. Doctor Strange nodded "that's correct, does that mean I can not buy anything from you?".

"I would be happy to sell you something sir and also give you a bit of helpful advice" the merchant said to Strange. "And what would that be?" asked Strange. "Get out of here as soon as you can, the king has us constantly watched and we are not free to do as we'd like, any sign of thinking for ourselves and we are either killed or thrown into his dungeons" said the merchant.

"I was under the impression that Ashtor was the savior of this kingdom" said Strange to to the merchant. The merchant shook his head "That's what he wants others to believe, I can only say this quickly because his people are everywhere but you see he taxes the heart and soul out of us. He dares to do this under the guise of the fact that he's protecting us and that these are merely the fee's for such a duty however the truth is the he wants to fill his pockets full of more money. We are treated as less then human and beneath his contempt. I am the only one willing to speak out against his tyranny and would like to rally others like myself to the cause of dethroning that tyrant".

Strange smiled at the merchant "it just so happens that the king has taken in a friend of mine, apparently my friend believes the king to be a savior" said Strange half sarcastically. "Then there is no time to lose, unless you want your friend to have the life slowly sucked out of him I would suggest you join up with my movement and we make a plan to free him" said the merchant.

"Funny" said Strange "I was just thinking the exact same thing".

Strange was lead behind the man's stand and to a trap door behind it. "Don't they get suspicious about this trap door?" asked Strange. "No need to worry" said the merchant "I also use it as a way of storing my wares so in the end they suspect nothing".

"I take it that Ashtor is not who he claims to be" said Strange to the merchant.

"Not at all, he lies, he steals, he works us to death and he takes away our freedom for what he calls our assured safety. People are sick and dying and he could care less, all he wants is to use us up and then take the spoils for himself. He seeks to rule entirely every world he comes to" said the merchant as they went through the chamber.

It was just as Strange had thought, he could tell that the king was a tyrant by how he was treated upon his arrival, this whole ordeal was becoming far more then just a simple rescue mission. Strange felt badly for the people here and also for poor John, he had no idea that the savior he believed he was working for was just like every other tyrant with a Napoleon complex.

The merchant lead Strange down a long stone passage way until after much walking they reached what looked like a meeting hall. "I take it you don't sell jerky down here?" Strange said sarcastically. "This is where our keenest minds gather, we have been planning for months now and we think that we have found a solution, our only problem is that Ashtor's guards are magically enhanced and we have no defense for that" said the merchant.

"Oh but you do" said Strange as he conjured an orb into his hand "and seeing as how our paths are running parrellel I will help you to weaken their mystic defenses".

"How do we know we can trust this stranger?" asked one of the rebels "how do we know he wasn't bought off by Ashtor?".

"Why don't you test me?" asked Strange "I've got nothing to lose, well unless you count my life".

The merchant nodded "it sounds reasonable to me, we will send you on one of our missions to gather supplies, if you fail or betray us then we will lock you up. If you work out then we will accept your help with the plan we have".

"We need supplies, so our first target is the supply depot outside of the gate to this city, if you can manage to get us what we need then we will help you get your friend back" said the merchant.

"By the way we haven't introduced ourselves, I am Balor, what might your name be stanger?" said the merchant.

"Doctor Stephen Strange, it's good to meet you".

Doctor Strange then looked to the group "I will only need two others with me, no more then that or we will simply attract too much attention, this is a mission that requires a quick way in and out, if you can promise me that then I can promise you the supplies that you need".

One of the men looked over to Balor "I am not sure if I trust this Doctor Strange".

Balor looked back to him "I saw this man as he was told to leave the castle and not ever return, I say if he can help us then let us use him".

"Good" said Strange "then I say we leave tonight, we will have a better chance going in by the cover of darkness, I will need a scout and a warrior".

"Who are you to demand such things of us?" said one of the men.

"What I am is a man who has seen the ilk of men like Ashtor before, he's overconfident and therefore sloppy, he really does believe that the people fear him so much that they would never dare of attacking him, especially at night. However I can not prove this unless you give me the chance to do so, so yes in a way I am requiring you to go off of a little blind faith" said Strange.

"I still don't know if I trust you entirely however you are right, many things in this life require a little blind faith, welcome to the group, you may call me Allan" said the man.

All of them then got to work on planning the raid to get supplies, Strange looked at a map of the area. "I will need the scout to look out for sentries whilst the warrior and I sneak into the supply depot and transport out the necessary supplies".

"Alright I will send Johan and Tristan with you, two of my best scouts and fighters, if anyone can get you in and out quickly it will definitely be these two" said Allan.

Strange then nodded "good, we leave in five hours, it should be dark by then and let us hope that the guards are not afraid of the dark" he said with a smirk.

TO BE CONTINUED

Holy S*&t you keep getting better Jared. I love how you seem to be getting comfortable with Doctor Strange as a character. His dialogue just seems to flow more easily then it the first issue

I will admit I was struggling finding his personality as I know that I wanted to go away from what other writers had done yet at the same time I wanted it to remain Doctor Strange.