"Well, Treibonus?" he asked. Hucipites, Commander of the Marble Phalanx had walked over looking like something nasty had just been deposited in his nice armour. He looked the Uroxi up and down and didn't seem any more pleased by that sight. The Uroxi, with the natural ability of the truly competent ignored this inspection. I unconsciously clenched both my hands due to the tension and was immediately rendered unconscious by the pain. Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Feigning unconsciousness is a wonderful skill.
Jorjar swore a blue streak, mostly at my lack of consideration and selfishness while Hucipites bellowed for a medic. Watching through my long eyelashes I saw an army medic rush over. She squatted next to me and tutted as she turned my hand over examining the wound on my palm. "Ichor burn?, she asked. The Uroxi allowed his mingled pleasure and surprise at her competence to show on his face and nodded. "Cacodaemon blood," he replied. She looked even closer and sniffed the wound. She must have used other senses as well because she said, "I don't detect any chaos remaining." The Uroxi shook his head, "No, I called upon the God to cleanse the wound." She flinched in sympathy, "Ouch, that must have hurt." The Uroxi's massive shoulders shrugged and he said, "The God expects us to be strong." The medic shook her head, half in admiration, half in amusement. She quickly treated the wound, called upon the Goddess to speed the healing, smeared some goop on it, and then bound it.
She stood up, saluted, first to Hucipites, then to the Uroxi, ignored Jorjar and turned to go back to her work. The Uroxi watched her walk away admiration in his eyes. She turned before she got too far, smiled at the Uroxi when she saw him looking and said, "He's faking it by the way." She turned to walk away and I swear she swung her hips at the Uroxi. Jorjar swore again and Hucipites just managed to stop him from kicking me in the ribs. "Save that", he ordered, "we may need that later if he won't talk."
I experienced a speedy recovery and got to my feet. I shouted my thanks to the medic, while cursing her inside my head, and she waved back cheerfully. I turned to Hucipites and Jorjar, spread my hands wide and said, "All right, all right, I'll tell you what happened." I sat down in some shade and started from the beginning. I decided to omit nothing since I didn't really have much. When I mentioned that Petro must be still buried in the rubble Hucipites got one of his men to go fetch the army priest controlling the elemental. The priest came over elemental in tow and saluted. He asked him whether he'd found any buried people of a more usual stature (not his words) and the priest shook his head no.
So Petro managed to escape, eh? Jorjar ordered his constables to start looking for a person of Petro's description. I provided the description of course and made sure that it was generic enough to be useless. I then recommenced my story and shortly thereafter finished it with my rescue by the Uroxi. I turned to him and said, "I haven't given you my thanks yet." I bowed deeply to him, thanking him and offering to include him in my prayers. I said all this in New Pelorian and was surprised to hear him reply in the same language. He said that he had only been doing what his god expected from him but that he would appreciate the prayers!
Jorjar spoiled this touching moment by reminding the Uroxi that he followed a proscribed god and that he would have to arrest him. The Uroxi smiled and walked over to his steed. Jorjar yelled at his constables to stop him and the Uroxi turned and froze them with a look. "I'm only retrieving my papers constable. I'm not going anywhere." He then turned back to his mount which had been sniffing one of the corpses while Marble Phalanx boys watched it nervously. The Uroxi took a leather pouch out of his saddle bags. He then snapped a curt order at his steed, "Leave those bodies alone you greedy thing, you just ate." Even Hucipites flinched at this and the Phalanx goons edged farther away from the mount. Then the Uroxi came back.
He handed the papers to Jorjar who looked them over. They must have been in New Pelorian because he could read them without any trouble. His face got redder and redder as he read and when he was finished he refolded them somewhat violently and stuffed them back into the pouch. He handed it back and said through gritted teeth, "Well Sax Bolderson, your papers seem to be in order. For reasons unknown to me Count Sor-Eel has seen fit to allow you free rein to operate in Pavis. And not just Pavis but the Rubble. You're free to go."
To be continued
Oliver
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