The guard asked, “Who are you?”

Somehow Joey could not remember his own last name. It would have been awkward to search his own pockets for identification, and more awkward still if he didn’t find any. Some part of him knew that it wasn’t his human identification that was wanted. Yet the guard was human. What could he know?

To his own astonishment, Joey said, “I’m Green Sword Honor.”

What did that even mean?

The guard replied, “Green Sword Honor is already here.”

Was that some kind of passcode or countersign? Somehow he didn’t think so. He said, “Let me inside and I’ll talk it over with the others.”

He made as if to walk past the guard, but the man held up a palm facing outward. He didn’t resist, but waited obediently while the guard made a call on his cell phone.

Then the man led him to the door and knocked.

A beautiful woman in a blue dress answered the door. Her dress was almost an evening gown, showing off her cleavage to best advantage. She did an excellent job of filling it. When she inhaled it almost seemed like things might get out of control, but her nipples stayed hidden.

Her beauty was only marred by the expression of distaste that crossed her face when she saw Joey.

Her voice dripped disdain as she said, “We already have a representative of Green Sword Honor, Emerald. You should interact with humans as little as possible. I hope you haven’t promised your poor ugly ‘Champion’ too much, and that it’s not too confused and keeps our secret when you leave. Otherwise, steps need to be taken.”

Joey was astonished by how much of this he understood. During the second stage of contacting a new world, there were sharp limits on how many Eightfold Elders could be involved, and how fast they could influence the new civilization. There could be only one representative of Green Sword Honor, one of the eight great factions the Eightfold was divided into. She was primarily addressing him as an Elder, unaware that based on his memories he was a human being with a few scattered additions. She pronounced the name he had chosen for himself, Emerald, with great sarcasm, implying his choice of such a rare and precious gem (here on Earth anyway) resulted from an outsized ego. And she had called Joey ugly without even bothering to speak to him.

For a fraction of an instant an image of her naked flashed before him. Was it fantasy or real memory? Memory loss or not, he was pretty sure his human half had never visited this house before. Would an Eightfold Elder even be interested enough in naked women to remember one?

She had already begun to slam the door shut, but his fast reactions allowed him to block it with his foot. “I want to come in and discuss with the others who is the legitimate representative of Green Sword Honor on Earth, and who is their true Champion.”

For a moment she renewed her efforts to dislodge his foot and slam the door. Her face furrowed with frustration, ruining the pretty lines.

Suddenly she smiled, but it wasn’t a nice smile. She said, “Perhaps that would be a good idea. Do come in.”

He was so surprised he stood gaping for several seconds before walking through the doorway. She led him silently through the foyer, a couple of rooms, and a hallway. Then he blinked when he realized they were in a dining room. Seven people were sitting around a table with one empty chair. Had Brandy been sitting there?

So he knew the woman’s name from somewhere. Brandy. And she was Serpentine’s Champion. He could almost remember why she hated him, but it didn’t come to him.

Brandy said, “Don’t apologize for interrupting dinner. We know how important you are.”

Joey had so many objections to the unfairness of this remark that his mouth ended up moving soundlessly. Then he saw the city Mayor sitting at the head of the table.