“You know Miss Walsh,” Ian Balfour said from a table corner in his restaurant. It was one of the few times the man actually showed up on his own floor and it spoke volumes as to what a special occasion it was. He was talking to a reporter from the other side and, that being the case, there was no way in hell he was going to talk with her anywhere that was private. “I only agreed to talk with you because of the sheer novelty of it all.”

Patty looked around the floor and saw quite a few different species mingling together. It did not quite look like the cantina seen from that old science fiction movie and, in fact, it kind of resembled a tropical cabana, maybe? The ‘aliens’ were not as alien or varied in the movie but, this had the novelty of being real. Patty had a hard time not looking. She wondered if that’s why he chose this table at this time.

She also had to ask about what the novelty was and he laughed, “you’re the first person to come see me in some time that isn’t asking for free hand outs. That’s a novelty too me right now. Course I was still going to turn you down.”

“Oh?” Patty raised a brow, “and why didn’t you?”

“Curiosity actually,” Ian said as he swirled the wine in his glass and watched it settle, “I know you went to see Curwin. I’m just wondering what the cock sucker is claiming I did this time.”

“Oh really,” Patty almost wanted to laugh at this guy, “Mister Balfour, it’s no secret that you move drugs…”

Ian raised his finger, “which I might point out are not illegal in the Feyland Empire. In fact, it’s a community service Miss Walsh, I’m helping out all the religiously inclined practice their faith.”

Patty didn’t take that, “you’re a smuggler Mister Balfour, plain and simple.”

Ian did not take it either, “one of my many enterprises is the transportation business. I move things for a living. I don’t have time to stop and read all the zoning ordinances while I’m doing it. If some people want to get pissed off because I own more trucks than anybody else, I can’t help that.”

“Oh I see,” Patty replied in a jovial tone, “and does one of those somebody’s include Mister Losmun?”

“It might,” Ian took the jovial tone, “he and I have, on occasion, not seen eye to eye on everything.” Then Ian snickered and said, “course don’t get me wrong Miss Walsh, it’s not that I wouldn’t love talking business all day, with a handsome woman, such as yourself but, I get the feeling that’s not why you’re here. There’s a lot going on in the world right now, both of them in fact, and people like you, don’t come see people like me, unless you’re wanting something.”

Patty smiled and said, “wow, you can be really charming when you want to be. Is that your Camelonian friends rubbing off on you?”

Now Ian really laughed, “friends, not even a chance. More to the point, I’m one of them. If that’s what you’re trying to beat around the bush about. Course, feel free to do so Miss Walsh, after all, you are paying me and we’re on the clock here.”

“You’re so open about it,” Patty was actually intrigued, “all the rest of them are so, subtle?”

Without even a hint of humor, Ian replied, “that comes from being pretentious pricks.”

Patty wrinkled her nose and asked, “and cock suckers too?”

Ian finished his glass of wine and replied, “exactly.” After Ian refilled his glass, he tried to double up on Patty’s. She put her hand over the glass and Ian shrugged it off, “can’t blame a guy for trying, now can you? I guess that leads us to why you’re here.”

“You talked with Doctor Green?”

Ian snorted a laugh, “the big biker dude. Yeah we had a conversation. He was interested in my two associates. I granted him an audience because he too, was willing to pay. Only I really don’t like baby stealers and I know what he’s really here about. He was also asking a lot of other unrelated questions and, I’m willing to bet, that’s why you’re here too.”

Patty sat back comfortably and said, “please, if you know, don’t let me stop you.”

Ian then leaned forward and pointed at her, “you know you’re only getting away with this shit cause you’re a good looking woman, right?” Patty said nothing so Ian grumbled to himself and went on, “I figure you’re here about one of those two girls, maybe both. I also figure that Curwin, that miserable jack ass, is saying I had something to do with it.”

Patty shrugged and put her palms up, “did you?”

Ian snorted out a laugh, “you don’t have enough money for that Miss Walsh. That’s going to take a lot more than you’re paying me right now.”

“How much?”

“No deal,” Ian replied and then he sounded lighter when he continued with, “course I don’t want us getting off on the wrong foot here. I know you people are here to stay and I know how your news agencies work. You need people like me to pass information on to people like you. How did the saying go, you know, this could be the start of a beautiful relationship?”

“I think we can work together Mister Balfour,” Patty told him, “course my interest today is, not professional.”

Ian perked up, “does that mean?”

“Not a chance,” Patty replied quickly enough, “I know Angie Thompson’s alive. I know Major Cross abducted her. I know he works for you.”

“Cross?” Ian looked like he just got some bad food in his mouth, “that prick? I will admit this much,” Ian said serious, “in the spirit of future business relations, assuming any of us have a future, Cross has done jobs for me on the side, from time to time. Here’s the kicker though, so has everybody else. Cross has needs just like any other man, and another of my businesses, is the favor business.”

“So,” Patty laid it out for him, “you are telling me you didn’t have anything to do with her abduction?”

“What I am telling you is,” Ian replied, “you don’t have enough money to go down that road, and I got enough sense to stay off that path myself. Now if you want to talk about that other girl, what’s her name, the soldier…?”
“Nicole Sayers,” Patty replied.

“I’ll give you that one for free,” Ian looked amused, “everybody has the obvious staring them right in the face. The Orc’s took that girl and the Orcs are the ones that brought her back. It’s just that nobody really wants to admit it, cause, then, they’d have to look themselves in the mirrors in the morning and then admit that they’re the fucking monsters.”

“Interesting theory Mister Balfour,” Patty replied.

“Theory my ass,” Ian told her, “it’s the fucking truth and, do you know how you can always tell the truth? It’s the one thing that nobody will ever fucking say out loud.”

“Hmm,” Patty thought about that. Her profession was the act of telling everybody what was going on. That usually meant the truth. Was Balfour trying to insult her? She decided to remind him of this, “you mean reporters are all dirty despicable liars Mister Balfour?”

“As I recall young lady,” Balfour became almost like a professor, “I have complimented you this fine evening. I‘ve even tried to be a gentleman and pour you more wine. Now why would I do that?”

What was he getting at here? Patty shrugged and said, “so are you saying because you said them out loud, they were lies? I’m not all that stuff you told me?”

“Oh no,” Balfour acted almost insulted himself, “those were facts. People never have trouble saying facts. I said the truth and, in this case, that happens to be the reason why I’m pouring you more wine, complimenting your looks, your profession, even entertaining the idea of doing business with you, all of which we’ve said directly. For that matter, this has to be the longest conversation I’ve had in years without using the words cock and sucker between every other breath.” He leaned forward and his eyes narrowed, “now I ask you Miss Walsh, why on earth would I do a such thing? We both know of the truth of that and, we still ain‘t even said it yet, hallelujah!”

Patty’s back stiffened and she became uncomfortable, mainly because she knew exactly what he was saying. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was right and the silence was starting to get unbearable, “so does that mean we, human beings that is, just don’t like the truth?”

“Oh no,” Ian shook his head, “not at all. What we don’t’ like, is somebody else being right, just like you are now. Nobody wants to be that poor dumb son of a bitch so, the truth remains unspoken.” Ian raised his glass and nodded.

As Patty walked out and got in the crappy beat up car, that she had borrowed from Curwin’s people here in Kalean-Erc, she was still almost fuming at what Ian Balfour had just told her. She was not even sure why she was fuming about it. The man really had done nothing more than tell her the truth as he saw it, and in doing so, had struck a cord in her that even Patty did not know she had.

Was that his point? Was it, a distraction? If that were the case then that man had just played her, did so effortlessly, and that made her even more mad! She couldn’t remember someone doing that since she was just out of college! The worse part about it was, in being mad, that made him right, which only served to make Patty even more angry!

In fact, she was so angry that it was only after she left the guarded gates of Phvengs that it occurred to her. He had been telling her more truth tonight than just the fact that he wouldn’t mind getting in her pants. What was even more important was, he had done it for free. To a man like Balfour, that had to be some kind of an olive branch. The more Patty thought about it, the more she realized that it also might be some kind of test on his part. He might have been trying to see if she was smart enough to know just that.

This led Patty to yet another conclusion. That meant he would be watching her. It was quite obvious that Balfour had eyes everywhere but, would he stoop to something as petty as putting a tail on her. She realized he just might and, only then, did she realize that the big hairy gorilla, on the little moped, had been with her since she practically drove out the front gate of Phvengs. He was pretty obvious, and Patty had even laughed at him the first time she noticed him in the rear view mirror. The humor was now gone.

Of course, Patty also had to consider the fact that she was just being paranoid. Being around men like Balfour always made her that way. It was like feeling dirty because you had been sitting on a flea infested couch. It also didn’t come off with something as simple as a shower, unfortunately. Like now, how could you really tell if someone was following you? It wasn’t like Kalean-Erc had that many roads or places to go? It also didn’t have a great many cars or other motorized transport.

When Patty pulled on to the grounds of the main human temple here in Kalean-Erc, she watched the Gorilla drive right by her without so much as a nod. She was getting paranoid! That made her fume a little bit more, added to the fact that, once again, Ian was being even more right and, this started the vicious loop all over again! Patty was quite gruff when she found her way back to the rectory. She found the same monk guy, sitting at the same desk, doing the same thing he had when she first arrived. He had his feet propped up on the desk doing nothing at all but drinking whiskey.

“Thank you for the use of the car,” Patty said in a not so thankful tone. It had nothing to do with this man, he had been nothing but helpful.

The monk pulled his feet down off the desk and picked up the keys. He seemed very eager which made paranoid Patty wonder if he wanted sex too. He said, “let me drive you back now. I think it would be for the best.”

Patty almost walked out but, that sounded as if he knew something specific. Patty was just going to take the bus back to the military base, no matter what, but knowing specifics never hurt. “Is there something going on?”

This monk, she thought his name Memdhal, seemed rather jumpy. He had not when she first arrived. What he said might very well explain why, “well I’m not really sure my lady. It’s just that I’m starting to hear some disturbing things.”

Patty walked back up to the guys desk and became inquisitive, “no offense but, you weren’t so, um, concerned when I first got here. Whatever these ‘things,’ as you call them are then it has to be a little more specific than just you average rumors floating in.”

Memdhal backed down and acted almost like he didn’t want to say anything. Again, it made Patty think back to her conversation with Ian. This time it gave her the urge to not be so patient with silence. When her body language screamed at the guy he back pedaled further, “yes, you are quite right.”

Patty crossed her arms and her face must have turned another shade of red. Memdhal took the hint, “it’s not safe right now. Too many people have come in over the past few um, how do you say it in English? Hours? Days? Cycles? Something like that. At any rate, they are telling me that the egg layers are being very distant at the moment.”

That sounded serious to Patty, even if she did not know why, “is that unusual? How are they…?”

“One girl came in here,” Memdhal’s voice lowered like just the act of saying it was enough to bring down the wrath of his sacred hammer, “and she said that her friend, a Shpvissik, what do you call them?”

“Dragons,” Patty injected.

“Yes well,” Memdhal went on, “at any rate, he sneezed at her.”

Patty just stood there with her jaw open. She then rolled her eyes and said with a cute smile, “thanks for the warning. I took the bus up. I think I will be just fine getting back that way.”

“Uh,” Memdhal was even more alarmed as she went for the door, “maybe you should stay for a while, have a drink? I don’t think you realize…”

Patty stopped at the door but she left it open. She was in no mood for anymore guys, robes not width standing, who came offering in drinks. “What don’t I realize?”

“Well,” Memdhal looked as if he was going to have a problem saying it but, just as Patty was about to demand as much, he got out, “your military base. Something is going on there. They’ve closed it down, um, I mean they aren’t letting people come or go right now.”

That was a lot more disturbing than a sneeze. Patty thought about it then had to ask, “when did this happen?”

“As I understand it,” the monk replied, “very recent and, obviously since you left there. I’m hearing about a great deal of activity going on. The helicopters are flying in by the gross but, none of them are leaving. The guards at the gates are wearing armor now. I’m hearing a great many disturbing things. It makes me wonder if… well.”

Patty shrugged, “somebody sneezed?”

The guy mulled it over, “well, metaphorically speaking, I suppose.”

If that were true then Patty just might have a problem. If she were cut off then her only safe place to go would be the embassy in Cheau-Gan. That option came with it’s own problems, not the least of which, because the last time she stayed at the embassy she was hunted by elves, gassed by humans, and had guns pointed at her by US Marines. Patty could easily say she got the full treatment. The other problem was, getting into Cheau-Gan itself would be harder than scaling a fence that was guarded by the US military. The elves were never that happy about any other species going there and it practically took an act of congress to do it. Again, that was saying a lot since the elves didn’t actually have a congress!

Memdhal suggested, “why don’t you stay here? You will be perfectly safe. It is our job, after all, to protect human kind. ”

“Thanks, um, Brother? Father?” Patty shrugged it off. She also knew what to do. She was pretty certain she could talk her way back on to NIKA, no matter how many guards there were. That’s why she waved, smiled, nodded, and then on the way out the door she said, “I can take care of myself.”

As Patty walked down the corridors of this temple, she took the time to notice her surroundings. After her encounter with Ian and now, with a paranoid priest, she was picking up on every little detail. That’s why she noticed things that had slipped right past her before. The Hammer symbols were one of those details even if she was not greatly surprised since, after all, that was kind of like a cross to these guys. Still, Patty picked up on one little detail she had never noticed before. It was not so much the symbol itself but, how many. There was at least one carved over every door but, several of the doors had multiple hammers.

One particular room even had three of them at the top of it’s arch. That meant it must have been important and, fortunately for Patty, the door was open. She tried to peek in as she walked by and, it was something of a let down. The inside of the chamber looked almost like a locker room, medieval in flavor, but a locker room all the same. There were racks, hangars, pegs, cubby holes, little wooden and uncomfortable bench’s.

There were also robes that were very different from the ones the monks wore around the temple, that did not look all to different from what you would expect to see at a catholic monastery back home. These robes looked almost as if they were on fire! They were very bright and colorful, highly decorative, and had the sheen of silk. Patty realized that she had never seen them worn before and wondered when the monks did. As far as Patty knew, they didn’t have any kind of worship services so, what were they for?

She would wonder about that later because she noticed one other door between her and the exit, that had the three hammers. Patty casually slipped by it and tried to open it. It was locked and she knew this was not the time to try and get it opened. Patty had almost forgotten about it when she walked out the front door. She just strolled towards the gates and kept wondering about the whole sneezing thing.

Patty had heard that mentioned before and, had never bothered to ask anybody what it meant. She had noticed that some people acted like it was a joke while others, took it very seriously. What was that all about? This line of thought also made Patty think of something else or, in this case notice something else. It was the little dragon that was standing by the gate. Patty had always noticed that you never saw anything but humans in these temples. You rarely ever saw other species even walking by these places, let alone one of them loitering.

Now the little dragon had her full attention. It seemed to realize it too and, Patty suspected, because it was watching her. It was really hard to tell what those things were thinking or, even what emotional state they were in. Their body language was so different from humans that a casual look made it nearly impossible and, from what Patty had discovered, they seemed to take offense at anything but casual observation. There were times they seemed to even get pissy about that!

This one was a little bit easier to read though. When it realized that Patty had locked eyes on it, and she began walking directly at it, the thing hissed, it’s neck shot up, and then it began to flee. By the time Patty reached the gate it was almost two blocks down! How the hell did those scaly little bastards move that fast! They were basically bottom heavy with short little bent legs. Patty noticed that this one was moving like what you might get if you crossed a marathon runner with a kangaroo. It was a very disturbing sight and just looked plain wrong to her eyes. It was also, now, irrelevant because the dragon was long gone.

The incident also seemed logical to Patty. As she walked towards the bus depot, she realized that any non human that strayed near that temple would probably, even likely, get disturbed by drawing attention to itself. She had almost dismissed the incident when Patty realized that she had become too self absorbed and complacent. She knew this because she let two men walk right up behind her, grab her, and throw her in the alley she was passing by.

There were even more men in the alley and they had obviously been waiting for her because they were more than ready! They didn’t even have to wrestle her to the ground and, in fact, Patty didn’t think she ever touched it between the initial attack and the unicorn drawn cart they tossed her in the back of. This was not a good sign because they were so efficient at what they were doing, Patty found herself completely hog tied before she reached cart. Someone had also shoved a cloth in her mouth and sealed it up with a gag that was so tight it pulled back the corners of mouth. When she tried to kick it just pulled the damn thing tighter and hurt that much more.

As the bag went over her head she felt another strange sensation coming over her. She started not to care what was happening to her and did not even try to fight or scream as the tarp went over her and the cart started to move. She felt euphoric for the entire ride. She did not even care as she felt herself being picked up and then deposited on a cold hard surface. The wooshing sound that she heard did little more than send a tingling sensation up her spine, Patty knew she should care but, no matter how hard she tired, she just could not make herself.

Time did not seem to matter but, it had obviously passed. Patty had no clue how much of it. She imagined that it had been hours and, maybe even days. Then the world started to come back into focus. Her body felt as if it were settling back to the ground and, that sucked because the ground hurt! So did the ropes around her ankles, her knees, her arms, and Patty could barely feel her fingers because the ones on her wrists had been slowly cutting off the circulation.

Then the sounds around her started to become closer, clearer, and made more sense. Patty knew this was important because, as of now, it was the only sense she had to work with. She still heard that wooshing noise and, even now with her senses back in order, she had no idea what was making it. Patty did not like that. She now heard something else as well. She had not really noticed until now. It was a sound that had, at first, seemed to be the sounds of the city which were not that far away. The more Patty concentrated the more she realized, this was in the same place she was. When she thought about it, she realized it was, crying?

Patty felt like doing a little of her own right now. She fought it. She had always known something like this could happen. Her job always took her to dangerous places to piss off very dangerous people. She had certainly done her share of that here in Feyland and, quite a bit of it on this very day, of course, that was assuming it was even still the same day. It was hard enough to tell time in Feyland, without being drugged and Patty was pretty sure that is what had happened.

Ian Balfour! Patty realized that she had started to notice things after she left his place. He had to be the one who was doing this! It made Patty angry enough to jerk against the ropes. All that happened was her legs pulled her head back that much more and she grunted in both pain and anger. She had to think, she knew she had to keep from panicking. She was not going to get out of this by blind rage. That was really hard when she realized that this was why Balfour had tried to throw her off balance! What an ass hole!

Patty began trying to roll off her belly. When she flipped on her side she could now begin rubbing the side of her head against the floor. She finally managed to get the blindfold far enough up so that she could see something. The return of sight did not improve her mood. The room was dimly lit except for some glowing light source behind her that she could not get an angle on. As her eyes adjusted to the light she did see something else that was pretty depressing. She was not the only one here. There were two girls in this room with her. They were pretty much in the same shape she was in. That was also where the crying was coming from.

They were obviously not going to be of much help. They looked to be locals and, Patty was willing to bet, that even if she could talk to the girls, and she could not, it was unlikely that they even spoke English. She would have to find something else. Now she wanted to see where that light was coming from. She began fighting against the ropes again, despite the fact that it hurt, only this time it was not some fit of panic. She wanted to roll this time and, she finally managed. She also lost control and when Patty came to a stop, she found herself face to face with flames. She squeaked and tried to back up. The heat was intense and it made her skin itch.

The good news was that while this thing was intensely hot it was, also, not that big. She managed to squirm away from it until the heat was not so bad. Unfortunately, Patty’s heart sank when she realized that being able to see this thing, so completely, was of no comfort at all. It was a shallow metal dish and stand, a brazier as they used to call them. It had a fire going underneath it, hot coals in it’s pan. There were three metal rods shoved into the coals and, as Patty realized, there were three tied up women in this room. She could do the math and she squeaked against the gag, “oh shit!”