Slave Pits of Targa, Part 4

This is the fourth part of the 6-part event on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2010's TV series).

Plot
The Sorceress struggles to reach He-Man telepathically, but her calls cannot reach him. She senses a hand surrounding He-Man, and a malevolent mind laughing at the folly of her attempts. Suddenly she recognizes the aura of the Cosmic Enforcers and she calls out to Zodak for help, but his answer is cold. “I cannot interfere, Sorceress. He-Man is facing a test of great import. He must face these trials without our help, or he will not be ready for the greater battle that lies ahead.” With that, Zodak blocks the Sorceress from his mind, ending their telepathic bond. Determined to help He-Man, the Sorceress reaches out again, this time searching for the Masters. But the same dark force obscuring He-Man’s thoughts from her has also engulfed the realm around him. Only one mind is close enough to the Sorceress for her to reach, a mind that shares the Sorceress's very blood. “Teela,” the Sorceress calls, “you must hear me!” Meanwhile, in Targa’s main arena, the Champions of Eternia are training for the Circos Eternia, unaware that mere hours earlier the arena had been the site of a battle where brave warriors almost lost their lives. Man-At-Arms arrives to see his protégé, Eternos’s champion in the Circos Eternia (and newest Master) the Clamp Champ. The Champ is aware of the mysterious circumstances that preceded their arrival in Targa, and he knows that Prince Adam and Teela are missing. “The Targans assure me that everything that can be done is being done,” Man-At-Arms tells him, “but I’m not convinced.” “Do you think the Targans are behind their disappearance, Duncan?” “Maybe. Queen Marlena trusts Torgul, but he’s not in the picture so far. For all we know, Geldor and Balina are plotting behind his back.” He holds up a tracking monitor, indicating a target inside Targa. “I placed a homing device on Lizard Man before he left with the others. According to it, Lizard Man is still in Targa. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the device is malfunctioning, but I’m unable to investigate with the Targans watching us so closely. And I can’t summon more Defenders without tipping them off to my suspicions.” “Then perhaps,” the Champ says, “I should be the one to investigate. As a champion in the games, I won’t stir up as much attention touring the city as you and the Defenders.” “My thoughts exactly,” says Man-At-Arms with a smile. “Let me know the instant you find out about Teela. The Targans insist the city is secure but it's what is inside the walls that troubles me.” The Champ places a hand on Man-At-Arms’s shoulder. “Teela’s a smart girl, Duncan, and stubborn like her old man. I’m sure she is safe even as we speak."

Meanwhile, far away, the voice of the Sorceress carries into Teela's dreams, calling her name. “Teela! A terrible evil has taken hold of He-Man. I am unable to reach him, or any of our allies in Targa. Evil magic is all around you! You must beware the wizard--” Teela opens her eyes in a luxurious bedroom suite. She recognizes the city of Oberon’s totemic architecture outside her window. She had been exhausted on the flight to Oberon and had slept through their arrival. A woman enters to check on her. “My father will be relieved to find you well,” says the woman. “I am Rana, Princess of Oberon. You saved my brother Dakkon’s life.”  Teela asks about the others, if He-Man has been found, but Rana has few answers. “The big cat is feeding in our stables. He’s consumed very little for such a large animal, as if his strength has no end.” When Teela inquires about Sala-Man-Dor, Rana tells her, “He converses with my father. Come, you’d best wear Oberon garments since your own were damaged in battle.” Rana takes Teela to see Dakkon, but he does not remember her or even his own name. “He’s the same as Lizard Man,” Teela says, bewildered. “Yes,” says Rana. “My father believes that this is the way of these hunters your friend described. They use magic to rob their victims of their memories to weaken their wills.” Rana goes on to explain that the Oberon Healers are unable to reverse the amnesia effects. Teela remembers the Sorceress’s words in her dream, and suspects that He-Man also has the same amnesia. In the main hall of Oberon, Teela finds Sala-Man-Dor in conference with King Thales. The Oberon King seems interested in the Reptons’ plight, but his advisor, Tarrak, is suspicious and defensive. He accuses Sal and Teela of fabricating their story, and harming Dakkon themselves. “Does anyone in this valley have advisors who aren’t hostile,” asks Teela hotly. But Thales is interested in Sal’s account of the Gargons. “Such demons were described in our ancient lore. The purple skin and eyes of fire were the offspring of the Enemy. Do you know the story?” Teela and Sal shake their heads, and Thales relates to them the origin of Targa and Oberon. “Long ago, a warrior fell from the stars. He was an enforcer of order in the cosmos, summoned to Eternia to track down a vile Enemy of his people. The enemy had once been another of the Enforcer’s own kind, but a malevolent force had corrupted him and made him powerful. Here on Eternia, the Enemy became stronger and revealed his true beastly form. The Enforcer’s cosmic craft crashed in our valley, where he was saved by two brothers who had come here to hunt. They tended his injuries, and though they did not understand his weapons, they defended him until he was strong enough to engage the Enemy himself. "But the Enforcer was still not at his full strength, and though he felled the Enemy and smote his noxious form upon the land, the he received a wound even he could not overcome. In return for their help, the Enforcer healed the brothers’ wounds with the Liquid of Life, an elixir that merely replenished the Enforcers, but granted near immortality to those born on Eternia. Since the Enforcer was too badly injured for the Liquid to save him, he asked that the brothers bury him in the valley and place his belongings on the mountaintop. His name was Zodac of the Cosmos." "The brothers then founded two houses, here in this valley where the battle was fought. Years later, the brothers would don the armor of the fallen warrior to fly to the aide of the other Enforcers, and would themselves become members of their galactic order. Yet with the brothers gone, their families turned on one another as their sons became greedy and desired the secret of the Liquid of Life. Countless wars were fought, until finally the brothers returned and told the cities that they were ashamed of their descendants’ pettiness--for the Secret of the Liquid of Life is in the land itself, and all creatures that dwell upon it and within. It would remain unknown to both houses until peace came to our valley. While the people of Oberon accepted this judgment and sought forgiveness, the people of Targa spat at the brothers and cursed their reproach. So it was that Oberon has long sought peace while the Targans scavenge the world greedily, forever seeking the secret that has eluded them.” “We are not so noble as you make us seem, father,” says Rana slowly. “We, like Targa, have never reached out to our neighbors in this valley—the Reptons. My husband, Garn, wished to offer friendship to Pythos, but your advisors,” she flashes an unkind look at Tarrak, “spoke against it and you refused to help. When he tried to do it alone, he disappeared like the Reptons in Sala-Man-Dor’s story.” “But how do the Gargons fit in,” asks Teela.Thales explains, “It is said that the enemy was not truly destroyed when he was cast down into the land. Just as the Liquid of Life is a part of the valley, so is the Enemy. And traces of his poisonous being have polluted some springs and wells, and created sad mutations among us. The poor wretches were called the Kobolds, the children of the Enemy. Now a more terrible creation has come, the Gargons. Perhaps the time has come at last for us to consult the Cosmic Enforcers themselves.”Teela is shocked. “You can do that?” Thales nods. “The Enforcers made an outpost from the shrine in the mountains where the brothers took Zodac’s belongings. It is a holy place to us, and should only be visited in times of greatest need. I believe now is such a time. Teela, you and Rana will take Dakkon there. If anyone can restore his memory, it will be the Enforcers. Come, and I will show you the path to find the Eternian Outpost of the Cosmic Enforcers: Point Dread.” Tarrak listens to all that is said and quietly retreats to his inner sanctum. He accesses a magic mirror and calls on Geldor. “Master, there is trouble. King Thales means to summon the Cosmic Enforcers! If they learn of our plan to find the Liquid of Life beneath Targa, we are all doomed!” “I see. Never fear; we anticipated Thales’s eventual meddling. Why else would we have placed you in his court, Tarrak? Are the others with you?” From the shadows of Tarrak’s chambers, Kobra Kahn emerges with a group of Kobolds. “Excellent! Take the Kobolds at your disposal and remind our Oberon friends why it is called Point DREAD!”