Chit stirred wildly about as the girl neared him and his antenna flayed about in fear and repulsion. The boy's face changed to a combination of fear and decisiveness as he raised his sword again, "Wait, our battle is not yet over. Let's finish of all the insects…even this one before he decides to murder us!" The boy saunters over to Chit's prone form while the girl puts her hand in her pouches and she starts stirring the earth's energy once again.

Elric moves to stand between Chit and the two elves. "Hold your actions. We have just fought side by side against a common foe. Chit here is a kreen not a scrab, not your enemy. He is an honorable companion and has many times over shown the way to goodness. You should not seek to destroy him in retribution for evil done by another. When I was but a lad, a group of elves came to our caravan and raided us. They stole our goods and a few of the children; killing those who would fight for the rights of their loved ones. Should I then hunt down all elves for the evil done by this small group? Should also hunt any of elven blood? If so wouldn't I need to slay myself, as I carry the elven blood in mine own veins?"

The elven boy looks confused for a minute, "But we have been told by our elders that kreens eat elves. We, elves, are blood enemies with the kreen and you have no doubt been lucky this far. The kreen is waiting for a chance to kill you and feast upon you." The young warrior does not put up his sword and it shines deadly with the scrab's gore on it. "I know this because I was told by my elders over a night's fire." He nods towards the kreen and the scrabs and continues, "We are elves, the best of the creatures under the crimson sun but for that we have been cursed. Our meat is sweet tasting to all insects and they can't help themselves. Sooner or later, it will slaver its jaws over you if he hasn't already."

The elven girl jumps in, "Aye, Lirón speak the truth. They be the stuff elven nightmares are made from. ´tis the first time I seen 'em but they is uglier than they was described to us. Stand back, ye will thank us in the long run. If the lizerd be one of the savage man-eaters we was told ´bout as well, then both shall die." The girl had completed drawing energy from the surrounding and her face was flushed and more beautiful than before. Her dark countenance and serious bearing left no doubt that she meant business.

Chit only moved his antennas even more wildly and the pterran could only issue a deep rumbling sound
from his throat as the young elves did not give way to Elric's logic.

The windmage had barely recovered from the outburst of violence when the new danger came from unexpected quarters; the two elves who had helped them defeat the scrabs. Aryus looked at the two elves and then at Elric with some horror in his eyes... how could sensitive people behave in so inept a way? How could people who had just fought a common enemy be ready to gut each other?

Watching the two elves for sudden movements, Elric slowly reverses his grip on his bone sword and sheaths it. The warlock bows his head slightly in respect to the two elves. "You do great honor to your tribal elders that you remember their words. You have shown the honor and strength of your tribe in your battle prowess. Now I ask that you give honor to the wisdom of your people and see with open eyes. Do not judge the soul for the body it is incased in."

Bending slightly, Elric reaches into his boot and draws a bone dagger. The dagger is bleached white and shows large black Runes down its blade. "Know this, If you seek to harm my companions, I will stop you by any means necessary." With a slight tip of the dagger’s position, Elric singles out the Sorceress, "I hold for you the dagger SpellBinder. At the first motion towards a spell and I shall strike you with it. Once it has tasted your blood the power of your spell will fade to nothing." With a slight tip of the sword’s position, Elric singles out the young Lirón, "I hold for you the blade Tempest. If you move to strike my friends and companions I shall show you how keen its blade is."

"I seek not to threaten or scare you into doing as I wish. I seek only to inform you of the consequences of your actions. In this way you can make the most informed decision."

"Bah! brave words indeed from someone who has us outnumbered more than three to one." The elf warrior lowers his bone blade but doesn't quite sheath it yet. "Listen to me, half-elf! Have you ever been biten by one of the insect folks? It is said that their bite poisons elves and corrodes their soul like acid. An elf eaten by an insect will forever haunt the desert never quite dying but not yet living. Their claws were made to drink elven blood. This we know; we have been told by our elders, specially by Tisha as she is an expert killer of the insectmen. Too bad there aren't any on this side of the mountains but I, Lirón, shall be the tribe's scrab slayer!" The elf boy relaxes a bit and goes about looking at the rest of the band.

Aryus nodded, as the young elf looked capable of reason. He hoped for a swift end for this incomprehensible burst of anger, but the elven sorceress soon broke that dream.

The elven sorceress, however, needed a little more convincing. "Nay, Lirón. 'tis not our way to trust strangers and fer sure no strangers that have killer kreens and savage lizardmen as their friends. If those two are to be freed, who shall watch over 'em?" The young girl looks towards the only full elf (Mendi) within the group and sees his reticent towards the kreen, "How 'bout yee? Ye seem as full blood as we but I'm not sure what tribe ye'r from. Do ye trust the kreen and the lizardman? Do ye sleep with the vicious hunters hungry on the prowl?"

The heat of the fight fell, and Mendi soon realized that his mind was open. A short moment of panic passed on the elf who was quickly and mercifully soothed by Rayne's kind words. Reassured by the massive mul's presence, the peddler recovered his wits enough to try to close his mind. "This was horrible... " he said to the mul. "Those things are... evil..." Weak from his wounds and his ordeal, Mendi couldn't help but rely on Rayne's powerful body to keep him erect. The mul would have been amused if the wounds on the elf's chest weren't there very true despite the fact that no scrab had touched the elf. Mendi, who was usually avoiding any physical contact, clutched at the mul like a frightened child. At first he didn't pay attention to what happened around him, eyes half-closed as he slowly closed his mind. He didn't catch the beginning of the hot discussion between his companions and the two elves about the thri kreen, and was taken off-balance by the elf's direct question.

Mendi painfully left Rayne's embrace and made an effort to bow in front of the elven sorceress, and then in front of the younger male. Mendi then spoke in elven, but his voice was hard to come, as he obviously suffered from his wounds: "My thanks to both of you for your help in this fight. I am Mendi from the late House Ber, a former proud elven merchant House of the city of Tyr, but I am the last of my kin. I trust Ptellac the "lizard", and I vouch for the kreen..." Mendi took a breath. "We should stick to the trader's cant, so that my companion understand what is said. Ptellac is an honest trader, and we are all on a trading mission with him. As for the kreen, Gaigin elf-friend trusts him, and he is part of our band. As you see, he jumped in defense of the pack, and in this I trust him, regardless of my personal feelings. Leave him alone and he will leave both of you alone, as far as I know."

Gaigin kicks the scrab corpse before him and spits for good measure. Not a bad fight, though it could have been better organized. Checking himself, Gaigin winces as several more scrapes and gashes cover his body. He would have to get a healer now; he was running out of bandages. Seeing the elves threaten to kill the 'kreen, Gaigin wrenches his spear from the scrab's corpse, slips his club back into his wide belt, and wanders over to help free the bound ones.

Gaigin slides his mask up over his head and pulls out his knife, eyeing the sticky web warily.

"Elric, ye know of these things. Will this web dissipate or do we have to cut it?" Gaigin says, turning around. Noticing that the elves were still preparing to fight, Gaigin sighed. Turning around to face the two,
Gaigin leans his spear against his shoulder and eyes the two nomad elves. Shaking his head, Gaigin curses in elven.

"Gith's Blood! If you two young fools are done threatening our 'Kreen here, who, by the way, has yet to eat a single elf since I've known him, and has saved the life of this party, elves and all, more then once,
then lower yer weapons and spells. If not, quit stallin' and attack so we can kill ye and be on our way. We've faced far worse then a pair o' ignorant elves who see everything with more than four legs as an enemy, and we've business to be about." Gaigin turned to Elric, "We've little time to explain the ways o' the real world to these two. We've got to be on our way as soon as we can."

So saying, Gaigin turns back to the bound pack members and begins gingerly sawing spider web in an effort to free them.

Elric glances down to the sticky web, "It will dissipate but normally not for a good length of time, which we don't have. Cover the web with sand; that should make it easier to deal with. Then you should be able to cut it or tear it."

Tak’ squinted at the elves. One minute they were fighting a common enemy, and then they were speaking off killing a packmate. Ignoring the pain that flashed through his body, Tak’ let his psionic strength drop,
instantly feeling more drained than he suspected. That fighting had taken a lot out of him.

Pulling his spear from a fallen scrab, and gathering his dropped Sloth-tooth dagger. Tak’ gave out a low growl in the direction of the two elves as he pulled his life-dagger out and slowly started helping Gaigin to cut through the thick webbing that trapped his two companions - starting first with Chit-Zik.

"You speak of vicious hunters all around, elves." Tak' saws, between grunts as he struggles to cut the web, "But are not the elves the bane of all who walk the desert wastes? I have reason to fear you."

"My kin are feared and savage hunters of the forest," Tak’ grins while his dagger cuts through sticky cord, "You have reason to fear me. Know your enemies elves - but know all of them, as well as those who are not. Common courtesy among travelers is not to slay each other on the spot."

"Ahem... Tak, if you don't mind, I'd prefer to try to smooth things here, with Gaigin's help... I trust you on many topics, but I am afraid your lack of contact with other people is making your tongue a little too raspy here, and I'm sure this is but a misunderstanding, I'm sure," interjected Mendi. Then, turning towards the elves: "In the city of Tyr, most people are used to see some halflings, but in most of the cities I know, the halflings are feared, for some fallen renegades oft their race have stooped to fell habits indeed, like eating people. Tak, here, on the other hand, is a faithful companion, and I'm proud to travel with him, even though his words were perhaps somewhat rude-looking!"

The female elf addresses her tribesmate as he surveys his handiwork with more than a little pride, "Lirón, how quickly ye fergets the suffering of yer kin! Like ye said, we have paid half our debt in full!" She lowers her hands and smiles, "Perhaps we can strike a deal with the group and in return we shall let the kreen and lizerdman live..."

Elric's hard eyes focus on the elven sorceress, "We would gladly speak of a deal with you. In fact we had thought to seek out the Elven Tribe of the region to seek and alliance to destroy these scrabs. However, you must understand that the lives of Chit and Ptellac are not your to bargain with. They are free to walk the sands. If you do not acknowledge this we will come to odds."

Aryus listened without understanding the short elven dialog. When Mendi switched back to the trader's cant, Aryus was satisfied to hear the elf's placating words, and hoped for a peaceful solution. He was soon washed cold by Koreth's angry response:

Koreth let his mind calm, as his battle lust fled from him. <Once again I have escaped a terrible battle unharmed!> He thinks, as the two elves approach. Wiping the scrab gore from his blade, Koreth's brow furls at the words of the two flippant young elves. <Bloody ashes, I know these two are up to something!> He walks up to where his two companions are encased in magical webs, his now clean sword still in his hand. It glints in his hand, as does his teeth, which are bared in a sneer.

"I'll not take threats from a couple of undergrown, lanky, light fingered kank droppings such as yourselves."Koreth says coldly, his eyes slowly changing from their normal blue into a cold gray "Kill my two companions! Pah, you'll both die before you touch them! Bloody fools, go back to your tribe before I grow tired of your worm tongues and cut them out!" Koreth's eyes flicker with anger as he waits for the two elves to leave. Somewhere inside he knew that he might push them too far, somewhere inside he desperately wanted to.

The windmage quickly went to Koreth's side, and whispered in the noble warrior's ear: "Koreth, don't let prejudice blind you. Perhaps these elves can help us, as Elric noted. Do you think that you will convince them not to harm Chit and Ptellac if you behave the way they do, by judging a whole race by the reaction of a few? Do you think I will react violently to all Urikite because some of them killed my precious Alana? Please, Koreth, don't start a useless bloodshed!"

Koreth's rage grew as Ayrus lectured him. His eyes never left the two young elves, his hands never unclenched as the windmage's words battered his ears. <You talk too much Ayrus> he thought, wishing the naive half-elf would just shut up.

"This is different," Koreth growls "if they want a fight, I'll give them one. Even if I have to face them alone!" He pushes Ayrus away roughly, his eyes locked on the two elves. His thoughts burned of his lost companions. Lying on the path, the earth soaked with their blood. The words of his companions echoed hollowly in his mind. He did not hear them. Koreth waited for some sign from the elves, wishing they would attack, wishing he could blur his pain and regret in the haze of battle.

Duego. Nodi. They had been the only real friends he had before he met his current companions. He had what he thought were friends in Tyr, but they only liked his money. He had thought he could buy friendship, and for a time it had seemed true. Koreth's mind was flooded with remembrances of his two friends. It hurt. The pain had dulled over time only to return each time he thought of them. Once again he was confronted with the burning desire for revenge, to destroy these two elves that threatened his companions. He had given in to that desire once, in the Drunken Baazrag tavern an elf had insulted him; an elf not much unlike the boy before him in age and appearance. His anger had overwhelmed him then; it had been much more raw and fresh than it was now. A young noble had tried to stop Koreth, to end the fight. He had died, along with the elf in the brawl that ensued. Koreth hadn't meant to kill him. It was a lucky punch. <He shouldn't have stood in my way> Koreth though angrily <he shouldn't have been there....>

Mendi looked at Koreth with sadness, then steadied himself once more, and took a breath. "Friends, he said to the two elves, you must understand Koreth, he has suffered from the ruthlessness of one savage raiding tribe, and tends to mistrust our kin as a whole because of the demeanor of those heartless raiders. So here you come, threatening two persons he trust and has fought many battles with, so his words were more a reflex of protection than anything else. If you trust the word of your own blood, know that I would defend Ptellac with my life, even now in my weakened state, and I would certainly not see the kreen's death with happiness." Though Mendi didn't exactly say anything, the difference was quite evident between what he thought of the two, but the stronger the contrast of what he said next. "But as a legitimate member of this expedition, I'll obey Gaigin here," said Mendi pointing at the human warrior who was still sawing the web which kept the kreen and pterran bound, "and I'll defend the kreen with my own blood if need be."

The elf peddler continued, "I'll not threaten you, but you must note, however, than we are more than you are, so your lives would be quickly lost, and without reason. But you will see that our leader, Gaigin, isn't exactly threatening you right now, he is much more occupied with the mundane task of freeing our companions. And as far as I know, this particular kreen is a gentle druid, and he never did anything that threatened me, even though there is no lost love between us." Mendi looked at the other group members, torn between his innate fear and mistrust of the thri-kreens, and his loyalty towards this group... besides it was true that Chit had never threatened him... "As for Ptellac," the elf continued, "though I do not entirely understand his philosophy, know that he has a high respect for life, and that he would never endanger the life of others willingly, so your tribe is safe from him. Your purses are not, however, for he is a shrewd trader, and his bartering skill challenges even the best elven trader's!"

The female elf was shaken to the core at Koreth's angry words. She saw the warrior's hate towards them and suddenly felt very small like the woman-child she was. She put her hands out slowly and took a couple of steps backwards almost tumbling over her long, black dress. "I…I am sorry but yee must under…understand that kreen eat elves; we have been told by Tisha…" The young elven warrior roughly shoved her behind his lithe body. "Don't be scared by the warrior. He is as brave as those around him. Mayhaps some other time the odds will be even and we shall see how swift his blade is." The elf sheathes his sword as Chit and Ptellac finally manage to get up. The elf's eyes never leave Koreth's but now he had two others to contend with. Chit, however, quickly jumped away from both elves cursing and retching; a sight not often seen in the wild. The kreen druid explained, "The elves, they reek. Can you not smell them? My stomach cannot handle and I can hardly breathe; specially the girl. That is ranike sap smoke; the bane of all insects"

Both elves smiled and the whole group now smelled the young tribemates. They did smell and the sweet smell was very perceptible but not offensive as it was to the kreen. Lirón, puffed up his chest, "So much the better, I don't want the kreen near me anyway." The boy whips his head about and his long blond mane trails behind him as he addresses the group, "You have all helped in disposing of the insects so you are entitled to the spoils as well. Come let's put this behind us and plunder the beasts."

Mendi was relieved as the tense situation deflated, "It is better so, for there is no use in spilling the blood between gentle folks. But as I see from your reaction, it will be hard to enlist your elder's help with Chit among us... but perhaps you can come with us to Ptellac's village, and see for yourself. The kreen needs to rest and recover from his wounds, so we'll leave him there when we go to your village? <Or so I hope... how would he react in the middle of an elven camp, even supposing that those elves do not threaten him?>

Mendi then turned towards Gaigin and Ptellac, and waited for their and the two elves reaction to his proposal.

Both elves had started to kick the scrab's bodies around trying to find one suitable for their purpose. Lirón announced, "Us? Migdalia and I be elven envoys, I think not. Our scouts have been near their villages. We know they are down south but the tribe's ground are to the north. That is where we run free and only go south for business reasons not more. We give the lizardmen village a wide berth in our migration." The boy finally found the scrab he was looking for and smiled, "This is the better one of the lot. Let's take this along but the rest shall be saved. Don't any of you want any of the scrabs? Excellent armor and weapons from them and we shall share tonight's feast with you as well." The elves bury whatever the party leaves behind and mark the place as best they can to come back for the booty later on.

Elric visibly relaxes then turns to Gaigin, his grin once again coming to his lips. "Did you see that? I was thinking ahead and everything!" The warlock turns back to the elves and bows slightly. "It is good we shall not find need to raise arms towards one another."

Glancing around the area Elric mutters "Now where did my little one run to? Really wish you would do something to earn your name, 'Little One' just doesn't work" Reaching down, Elric scoops up the tagster cub and rubs under his chin, causing the cub to purr loudly.

The warlock walks over to where Chit and Ptellac are slowly being removed from the sticky web. The two elves stand by, their eyes going wide at the sight of another desert hunter. The two elves then look to Mendi indeed wondering how any sane elf could sleep at night in the company of such a high number of known killers.

The elves somehow realize that their bargaining has been cut short and decide not to ask anything of the group as was the original plan. They continue with their gory work and the boy manages to cut a fair chunk of the scrab's body; about 2 or 3 feet starting from the head up. The chitin there was not damaged and upon closer look, the beast's plates were extremely lightweight but very hard and resistant. Gaigin nodded "Maybe you aren't such kank-herding fools after all."

The boy sits down and offers his waterskin and his face lightens as does the elven sorceress. The group binds their wounds and converse with the young elves finding them the young teens full of courage but a hint of sadness as well. The elves are travelling south and ask permission to travel together for a while. "It be good to join forces for a short while. We know the territory and can even show you to a waterhole nearby. The water is muddy but will do until we get further south. There is an oasis about two day's run from here and Lirón's bow is good for a fat aprig if the scrab is no more."

The pterran kindly bows to them and answers, "Aye, if it's alright with Gaigin we shall travel together. As Elric said, it is a good idea that we get to know our neighbors specially since they have such concept of us. When next you travel to your tribe, tell your elders that they are invited to our village and that we are not the savage man-eaters you believe us to be."

The augmented group finally makes out of the stony barrens without any more problems. Koreth and the elven boy still eyed each other and the kreen still did not get near the elves. Gaigin kept his firm exterior trying to know the young ones a bit better but the others held no such remorse and amiably conversed with them exchanging outlooks and questions as to their backgrounds and current lives.

The rocky tract finally gave way to soft ground where grasses grew and even some spindly trees as well. The grasses ranged from reddish hues to soft browns but it was rare to see green lush grasses. Although vegetation was more abundant, it still clung to water with tenacity in order to survive. The elves led the group to the muddy waterhole which was enough to have their skins full again. Ptellac was enjoying himself the minute they set foot on these lands and his pace had picked up as if his home was nearer by the second.

CAMP AT NIGHT

Camp was set up as usual with the group already fallen into the routine with the additional help of three others who apparently knew the territory. The two elves and pterran were very comfortable with the surroundings and a large fire was started. The night still was chilly but the terrain looked and felt less dangerous. Lirón became an expert chef and showed everyone how to cook the scrabs; he had two dishes that he wanted to share with everyone.

The elf had cut long slivers of scrab meat from their torso which quite stringy and could be put on the spit easily. The meat smoked a sweet odor near the fire and the herbs that the elf lavishly applied to it foretold of something new and exquisite. The other dish, however, did not look as well. The elf had taken the scrab's head and turned it upside down. He then set it near on the ground and set ashes all around it. He stirred the insides with a makeshift spoon he fashioned from a stick. The white insides soon liquefied and turned brown. As the heat progressed, the brains turned clear and coagulated into some sort of jelly. The elf and Migdalia sipped the makeshift soup as if it was their last meal making loud slurping noises.

The group ate the dried erdlu meat and a couple even tried the elves' meal and the elven sorceress brought up the subject after some quiet arguing amongst themselves. "The warlock had mentioned meetin' our tribe to destroy the scrab threat fer who knows what fer. We really don't know why yer group would care but we, elves, need the scrabs stopped. We believe there is a large nest of the dreaded insectmen north o' here and it seems to be a large collection of the critters. Fortunately, they keep to themselves and have not bothered us. We don't know fer sure where their lair is and our hunters just patrol the area to make sure no problem arises and all has been good."

The elven boy's angled features stood out in the firelight as he now continued, "The problem is with another lair to the south of us." Ptellac's eyes go wide in shock as he listens. "Yes, they are near your village but do not dare threaten it…yet. You have seen them, they are intelligent and will even mess with your mind. I had heard and now have seen defilers amongst them as well." The boy smashed his fist into his palm and continued, "It is a new, young queen setting up her nest and they multiply fast at this stage. The hunting parties are out gathering food for her and the bloated kank is just putting out eggs…you know more scrabs…"

Migdalia started speaking again, the little girl in her was sobbing now. "Our party…we was three of us…but we was surprised and…we, Lirón and me, we just run away…we can't go back to our tribe…not like this. Aitaa was taken prisoner and is…probably suffering…if she is still alive…" The elven boy cuddled the sorceress in his arms much like an older brother. Lirón's face turned hard as Migdalia faltered, "We are going to their lair to try and rescue her…" the boy bit back his pride and continued, "…and we could use your help. I don't know where my tribe is at the moment but once I find them, it will be too late. Besides, we can't go back and tell them we run away. No! we must rescue her or what's left of her or die trying…"

Ptellac was the first to speak, "I sympathize with you but I am not a warrior to go rescuing nor do I have the adventurous spirit as some of these here do. A long trip is fine but not a rescuing attempt. Besides I must warn my village about this right away. I know the way but perhaps someone can accompany… if the group decides to go. I imagine the nest to be small much like the temple we were just through where Chit almost did not even fit. Maybe the kreen can come with me and wait for you at the village…"

Your actions…

OUT OF CHARACTER

HEALTH STATUS

Remember the scale:

Healthy (H) 100% hitpoints remaining

Slightly Wounded (SiW) 75% to 100% hitpoints remaining

Wounded (W) 50% to 75% hitpoints remaining

Seriously Wounded (SeW) 25% to 50% hitpoints remaining

Mortally Wounded (MW) 0% to 25% hitpoints remaining

Gaigin (SeW), (W) PSPs

Mendi (W), (MW) PSPs

Rayne (W), (SeW) PSPs

Ayrus (W), (MW) PSPs

Koreth (H), (SiW) PSPs

Tak (SeW), (SeW) PSPs

Chit (SiW)

Ptellac (H)

Elric (W)

Male elf (SiW)

Female elf (H)

GENERAL

Water is no longer a problem so I will stop keeping track of it for now.

When you post, let's get some conversation going and questions to the elves and I will try to answer quickly. Keep in mind that Chit and Ptellac will leave the party if it decides to help the elves and attempt a rescue.

I will pick up the action at midmorning so give me:

• conversation
• nightime activities
• morning activities

Questions, comments, and suggestions please.

L8r,

Fabian