Ch. 3 -Meetings and Mishaps

Crisis' laughter was beginning to become unbearable. Nadiel had gotten so close to wits end that he was now grinding his teeth together to drown out the noise. "Oh, look at the little porcupine" she would go on, "Did the other little humans hurt you bad?" This had crossed the line, and he now spun around to explain that he "had done his part, only with a minor complications". Seeing such a diminutive figure, and one with such obvious humiliating wounds speak with such a tone of voice caused her to laugh even harder. "What's so damn funny? For your information this hurts like holy hell." It turned out that during his investigation of the Deluran base, Nadiel had been found out and became the impromptu test subject for their new 'impaler' fragmentation grenades. Instead of metal shards, these scattered a liquid that solidified into a durable compound when in contact with the air. Because of the speed that this liquid was hurled in every direction, it would form into needle-like bolts that often exceeded a foot in length. Nadiel did manage to escape, but was bristling with these projectiles, which more than justified his new nickname of 'porcupine'. One had cut the achilles tendon in his left leg, severely hampering his movement and a second had punctured his lung. Even the act of breathing caused him great pain, and because the wound had also given him a coughing fit he was doomed to a night of pure misery. Removing the needles was no more of a gratifying experience, and for hours as the sun began to set he would go through the cycle of pulling out a needle, then working up the nerve to start on the next one.

All the while Crisis enjoyed the spectator sport of watching him pay for his overconfidence. Its not as though she could offer any help, her fingers were too large to take hold of the barbs, and she couldn't exactly be trusted to call for help from any being who wasn't interested in a human body as a service charge for their assistance. She was no sadist, but what had transpired was about as close to divine justice as anything else that happened in Felarya. On top of that Nadiel did make a fine porcupine, and if anything his new appearance suited him even if he didn't appreciate it. But in reality he was vulnerable and scared. He knew his odds of surviving the night weren't exactly favorable, especially if Crisis decided not to be as helpful as she could be. His only hope was to push aside some soil and bury himself in it, hopefully concealing his position and hastening the rate at which his wounds would heal. He chose the base of a tree to do this and hid himself well in the space where two of the tree's roots split off. He wasn't at all comfortable there, but it wouldn't be long before he passed out from exhaustion. The day had been rough, and he had paid a hefty price for the information that he had stolen. For Crisis the day had gone much more smoothly. Not only did she gain another substantial meal from her participation in the day's festivities, but her role as the distraction (or rather, her failure to completely distract the Delurans) allowed her to come out of the commotion unscathed.

While Nadiel slept, Crisis began a conversation with an unknown figure. In the darkness of night it was impossible to make out exactly who it was, but some features were discernible. It was a naga female, a young adult. One with interest in Crisis' new traveling companion. She asked if this human met a certain description. Apparently he did. She made only one request to Crisis: to let him live, but to keep him from finding whatever it was that he was looking for.

In the meantime, Nadiel's kinsfolk were starting to suspect that he had been gone for too long to have dealt with a problem as trivial as the one he was assigned to when he last departed. His village's leaders convened to discuss what might be happening. Could he have been killed in action? Did he simply decide to leave? Or could he have perhaps endeavored to make new allies with whom to destroy all that he had once sworn to protect? All of these possibilities were profoundly unlikely, but preparations would need to be made just in case any of them happened to become a reality. Fate would have to intervene in their decisions, for just then did a messenger arrive with a request from the Deluran base, asking for permission to terminate a particular threat posed by one Ellisian who seemed to be collaborating with jungle carnivores. The response was short and forthright. It stated: "Permission to eliminate said treat is denied. A team has already been summoned to silence this threat." There was great reluctance to order Nadiel's assassination, and finding a team to carry it out would be difficult as well, but for the sake of humanity it would have to be an option that remained on the table should the need for it arise.

Interesting, the plot thickens and this idea of "liquid grenades" was neat ^_^

Only little remark is that the Delurans are too isolationist and independent to ask persmission to kill Nadiel I think..

Good point, really whether or not that message was sent doesn't make a huge difference. At any rate it seems obvious that the Delurans would just go about their business, just with a bit more suspicion towards anyone wearing an Ellisian commander's long black cloak. Now that you think about it, I'll bet even from the beginning they (and probably all humans for that matter) were always at least a little suspicious of people from a village that survived by making pacts with the voracious locals.