Rose Thorn kicked over the last body that held her down. It had been an Earth Pony mare with a pink coat and a light golden mane and tail. Rose stood straight and looked around. Mike was knelt over Andrew's crumpled form while R.J. was using a bloodstained ring of keys to unlock every cell door in the hallway. The occupants of the cells were still unconscious. All but one. The sound of Merlin crying echoed through the cavern as Full Spectrum held and rocked him, trying to calm him down after the ordeal.

Rose was sore and bruised all over, but she had done her job and survived. She trotted away from the pile of bodies and sat down on her haunches. She reared back and brought her forehooves up, preparing to change the magazine in her leg mounted gun. As she brought her hooves up though, she couldn't help but to notice the bits of bloody skin, muscle, and tissue clinging to her hooves. She grimaced and spread the tiny hairs which made up her hooves and shook her legs out, trying to dislodge the gore. She managed to rid herself of the larger portions, but the blood seemed to have stained the bottoms of her hooves.

She groaned and ejected the empty magazine from her gun. Slipping the spent magazine into one of the pouches on her armor, she removed a new one and slapped it in then slid the bolt back against the internal spring then let go of it. The spring slid the bolt forward, chambering the next round. Rose then decided to help R.J. retrieve the unconscious victims from their cells.

A sudden thought occurred to her and she looked around worriedly, "Where is Chris?"

Just as she spoke, a portal opened up in the middle of the hallway and out stepped Chris carrying a bundle of mangled feathers and blood. He cradled the body in his arms and looked around, "Let's get our people out of here."

Rose had to force her eyes away from the mangled body. It was a difficult thing to do.

* * *

Bobby Jewel assumed that the first night was probably not going to end in rescuing their people, but he had given his word to have half his staff and twenty C.W.G. officers waiting around the teleport pad atop City Hall. He wanted to ensure the safety of the prisoners when they were rescued and so he had asked for the officers to come outfitted with guns that were usable for both Humans and Kavim. He had his medical personnel come bearing stretchers and first aid totes. He was sitting down on the roof resting his eyes after a hard day when a portal suddenly opened up in the middle of the roof.

Bobby leaped to his feet but spoke calmly and began issuing orders, "All officers proceed through the portal and secure the area. Form a defensive perimeter around the portal while the medical staff evacuate the prisoners. Our top priorities are anybody who looks to be in critical condition and any and all babies, namely Merlin."

The officers, both Kavim and Human, filed through the portal with quick efficiency. They took five steps out of the portal, drew their weapons, and took a knee, or sat back onto their haunches, and took aim at everything possibly hostile that they could see. As soon as the last officer was through, Bobby led the medical staff in stepping through the portal. He surveyed the limp figures strewn around the hallway, "Get the prisoners and the wounded back through the portal."

The cry of a baby made Bobby snap his head in the direction of Full Spectrum, who was still holding Merlin and looking down at Andrew. The doctor strode over to the Sorcerer and looked over Andrew. The left side of his body was bruised and swollen in many places, but as Bobby began checking, he found no broken bones. Bobby let out a shrill whistle and two Human nurse volunteers trotted over with a stretcher, "Take him to the Unicorn doctors from Canterlot. They should know enough about Humans to deal with this without worry." He then looked at the Sorcerer and held out his arms smiling warmly, "I'll take care of this little guy. Great work everybody."

Chris stepped up to Bobby. He was holding the tattered form of Midnight Haze in his arms, "This is the Bloodmage leader who baited us out into the field. She's been... subdued."

Bobby looked, blinked, shook his head, then blinked again at the mess of a Pegasus Chris was holding, "You bringing her to me for treatment or burial? She looks like somebody stuffed her face first through a wood chipper."

Chris' grip on the mare tightened. He looked into Bobby's eyes and the emotion behind them was enough to communicate what his words could not, "Trust me Bobby... this one isn't too far gone."

* * *

While the medical personnel were busy carrying the prisoners and the wounded back to New Humansville, R.J. decided to go check up on Darryl and Kaneesha, 'Maybe they know the direction all those panicked Ponies ran?'

As R.J. hoovered into the main cavern, he had to cover his nose. In the heat of battle, none of his senses really seemed to register fully. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, R.J. realized that the smell in the main cavern was horrendous. Charred remains, splatters of blood, gore and organs lying well away from their intended places made up the majority of the floor and even splattered onto some of the columns. Some of the bodies had relaxed all their muscles upon death and there were puddles of urine and small mounds of feces on the floor.

Not all of the Bloodmages on the floor were dead either. The occasional groan of pain, or whimpering sound of pained movement pierced the after-battle pseudo silence of the cavern. Worse yet, R.J. could clearly hear the cries of little foals from the covered homes. A wail of misery off to the side of the cavern caught his attention. In front of the canvas covering of one of the homes sat a bawling little greenish gray filly. She was continuously nudging the form of an Earth Pony mare who had a coat of the same greenish gray. The mare had a loaded crossbow halfway buried under her body. R.J. felt ill looking at the filly trying to rouse the mare that could have only been her mother. He couldn't help but wonder, 'Are we really the 'good guys' here?' It was impossible to tell.

Still other things caught his attention as well. Lying on the ground was a burned out torch. It was strangely out of place. Not far from the torch was a Pegasus with a wing stump that had been cauterized shut. Next to the Pegasus was an Earth Pony mare missing both eyes. The mare's head had been wrapped tightly in bandages. Both Ponies were alive and it was obvious that somebody had taken the time to provide some manner of first aid. Other bodies strewn around the cavern showed similar signs of such care. It was not much compared to the numbers of dead, but it did lift the ache from R.J.'s heart somewhat.

Not feeling it was right to waste time, R.J. floated smoothly toward where Darryl and Kaneesha had been stationed. He came around the corner of the hallway and ended up looking down the barrel of a gyrojet rifle. Kaneesha lifted the muzzle of the gun toward the ceiling and sighed in relief, "Thank God it's you." she shook her head, "We got a problem with these civilians. Rifin decided to plant his head in the entrance and the Ponies have no place to go. We thought there were Diamond Dogs with them but we can't seem to find any. We figure they probably burrowed away through the rock. There are some piles of rocky rubble in the walls, but Darryl sealed them off with fire he pulled from the torch on the ground over there. I didn't think he could pull enough heat to melt stone, but then again... Marines." Kaneesha rubbed her forehead, "The Ponies are all scared of us. They've backed themselves into a corner just around the bend. The adults are on the outside in a half circle while the foals are on the inside up against the wall. After we finished stabilizing the injured Bloodmages, Darryl tried talking to the civilians, but all he got were threats and angry shouting."

Hearing footsteps, R.J. shifted his eyes beyond Kaneesha. Darryl strode down the hallway toward R.J. and Kaneesha with his shotgun pointed toward the ground, "We're going to have a tough time getting the civilians to cooperate. I don't give a damn about the adults, they knew what they were doing but the foals are terrified and many of them saw their parents killed by us already. If we go and arrest and separate the remainder of the adults from the foals by force in front of them it will just add to the mental trauma they've already had to deal with." the Marine tapped on the side of his helmet, "Hord to Captain Joyner."

"Joyner here, go ahead Hord." came the response in Darryl's ear.

"We're going to need at least two hundred of our officers out here in the entryway, make them mixed species. The Bloodmage non-combatants have wedged themselves against a wall. I recommend we arrest family units to keep them together. There are a lot of foals here and lots of Ponies lost husbands and wives here tonight. They'll be more likely to cooperate if we keep the families together. Over." Darryl explained.

"Joyner here, I copy and agree. Sending reinforcements to your position. How bad is the main cavern? We didn't have much time to take it all in before we left." Mike asked.

Darryl reluctantly clicked on his comm again, "It looks like a prop dump from a SAW film sir. Kaneesha and I stabilized as many as we could when we were sure it was safe, but we couldn't get to them all. We also need nurses here as well. We have crying foals left in the homes, I'm guessing really little ones probably still in diapers. We need a team to sweep these caves and secure everything we can. These foals need to be cared for and we WERE the ones who orphaned them. Over."

"Ten-four Hord. Joyner out."

Darryl took a breath and exhaled through his mouth then whispered, "This reminds me too much of Afghanistan..." Darryl's reminiscing was interrupted as a loud scraping sound echoed back through the hallway from the direction of the civilians.

Without needing a single word to communicate what to do, Kaneesha, R.J., and Darryl all turned and sprinted toward the remaining Bloodmage families.

Darryl yelled as they closed in on the civilians, "I sense Diamond Dogs, at least fifty. They're coming in from the right side of the hallway, burrowing through the rock. They're armed with maces and spears and wearing plate and scale armor. There's something else too, but I can't make it out. Form up around the civilians, facing outward." As they skidded to a stop Darryl double tapped his helmet, "Hord to all officers, I have a large number of Diamond Dogs, main entrance hallway. Need reinforcements NOW!"

Just as he finished speaking, a portion of the wall on the opposite side of the hallway crumbled away with a swipe of long, razor sharp claws. Darryl shouldered his shotgun but held the barrel pointed toward the ground and to the left, "They're dressed differently from the Bloodmages. They may or may not be hostile. Do not engage unless they attack first." Kaneesha shouldered her rifle and R.J. clenched his fists electrical sparks dancing along his whole body.

The first Diamond Dog came through the crumbling wall half a second later. It was dressed from head to toe in gem encrusted articulated plate armor. Its claws poked out through its gauntlets and boots. A morning star hung from a loop on the belt at its waist and a large oval shield was strapped to its left forearm. It stepped out of the crumbling wall and let out a rumbling growl as it spotted the Humans. Was reaching for its morning star when Darryl shouted, "WAIT!"

A feminine voice from behind the Diamond Dog shouted on the heels of Darryl's command, "Tuk nof Kuverum!" The Diamond Dog growled but lowered its paws and stepped aside and allowed another being step through the hole in the wall.

Kaneesha gasped and lowered her rifle, eyes wide. R.J. let his magic go and gazed on in confusion. Darryl didn't lower his shotgun, but his jaw hung open slightly as his brain registered who it was that stepped out from behind the lead Diamond Dog.

A middle aged Human woman emerged from the hole in the wall, a pair of dimly blue glowing kataras held in her hands. She was wearing a chain mail skirt and shirt while her arms were covered in plates of metal held together by pieces of string or sinew. What small bit of her skin that could be seen was a light brown. Her face held a questioning expression as she slid her kataras into holsters on her thighs. Her dark brown eyes were set underneath a pair of thin, petite eyebrows and a red dot was set in her forehead while her long hair was tied up in a long braid and hung over her left shoulder.

Darryl slowly reached up and tapped the side of his helmet again, "Hord to Captain Joyner. The Diamond Dogs are not attacking but they have... a woman with them. We need Razor Wit here right now."

* * *

Mike led Artex, Oriana, and Razor Wit to the entrance hallway while the rest of the C.W.G. and medical staff began making arrests and searching the main cavern. The rest of the, it turned out to be fifty-four, Diamond Dogs and an additional nineteen Humans emerged from the hole in the wall. The Captain noticed with a small smile, that the Diamond Dogs who were wearing armor were also dragging tied up Bloodmage Diamond Dogs behind them. After getting Rifin to remove his head from the entrance, and reassuring some very reluctant guests that Rifin was not in fact going to eat anybody, they exited the cave entrance and sat down in the low grass of the field in front of the mouth of the cave. They were quickly joined by Full Spectrum while Kaneesha and R.J. ran off to check up on Andrew.

They all sat in one large uneasy but curious circle as Razor Wit volunteered to translate for everybody while Darryl retrieved his pack and began to field strip and service his weapons. Rifin, remembering the packs and their prisoner, tromped away into the darkness and returned a few moments later with the packs hanging off the massive horn on forehead. Starburst hung from Rifin's mouth by his bindings. The colossal Changeling gently set the prisoner Pegasus on the ground then tipped his head and dumped the packs in the middle of the group. Mike and Full Spectrum moved the packs out of the center of the gathering. Each one opened their packs and broke out their rations. Mike had the idea first and began passing around the food to their guests, Full Spectrum followed suit.

The Diamond Dogs and the Humans with them politely accepted the food with words, that Razor translated into 'thank you'. It was easy to notice the nearly identical skin tones of the new Humans and the red dots on many foreheads plus the type of identifiable weaponry they carried all but screamed: India. Mike spotted various weapons from India: talwars, katars, khandas and even a few gadas as well, but it seemed that all their armor was the same type: zirah bagtar.

Even more interesting, especially to Full Spectrum, was the casual ease with which the Indian people interacted with the Diamond Dogs. After her difficulties accepting and getting along with the Kavim, she was nearly awestruck by the level of intimate familiarity the mixed group of bipedal canines and Humans displayed. There was no fear, no apprehension, not even careful caution. It was like watching a family. The two species conversed freely with each other as the food was passed around. Some shared laughs, others took out and oiled weapons, while still others whispered to each other in an almost uncomfortably comical conspiratorial manner.

Artex on the other hand was enthralled with meeting the new species. He had heard of Diamond Dogs before, but he had never before seen one. They were one of the ugliest creatures he had ever seen. Their ears were short, ragged, and tufted, but seemed to have the same level of articulation that Kavim ears did. Their faces were unmistakably canine, but the almost looked like they were part hyena. Their muzzles were short but broad, their eyes were beady, recessed behind their eyebrow ridges, their fur colors ranged from auburn to silver to black and each and every one of them had jowls which hung on either side of their mouths. Artex understood why they needed such jowls when one Diamond Dog threw its head back laughing. Its mouth opened to nearly a full hundred degrees. While standing upright they seemed to average roughly the same height as an average Human but their builds were quite different. Their arms hung from their shoulders almost to the ground while the full length of one of their legs wound have only come up to the bottom of Artex' knee. Every hand and foot was wide and sported thick webbing and long sharp claws. Artex chuckled as he realized how much the resembled the depiction of the Wargs from The Two Towers movie from Lord Of The Rings, 'Actually, aside from the placement of their eyes, the faces are nearly identical... kind of cute in a 'rabid, psychotic, demon possessed pug' kind of way.' He glanced at Razor Wit silently, 'She figured out their language and lived with them for a while?' He looked back to the Diamond Dogs, 'Wow, that must have taken some serious guts.'

Rifin tromped over and set down his tarp of food behind the Diamond Dogs. The Dogs and Humans stopped chatting then turned their heads and watched his every move. Rifin bit the end of the rope holding together his dinner and pulled, untying the bundle. It flopped open and he settled down, chomping away at the mounds of lettuce, cabbage, onions, and carrots. After taking his first bite and chewing loudly, he swallowed and let rip with a belch that practically shook the ground, "Mmmm," he rumbled, "I love carrots."

One of the Diamond Dogs looked to Razor Wit and spoke a series of words with the inflection of a question, while gesturing to Rifin. He spoke with a gruff, growling voice. It was the first time the people from New Humansville had ever heard the speech of the canine species. It was a harsh and curt language which reminded Darryl of Klingon.

Razor Wit replied smoothly, speaking for several minutes in what Artex guessed was the narrative of how Rifin came to be their friend. After the tan Unicorn mare finished speaking, the Diamond Dogs and Humans all turned their heads and stared back at the monstrous Changeling. Rifin finally noticed the attention. He stopped eating and looked up with bulging cheeks stuffed full of lettuce, cabbage, onions, and carrots, "Wuf? Camf Uh eaf muh sulud? Um hunvry." Nobody spoke a single word. Rifin rolled his eyes and just went back to eating, ignoring everybody else.

The Dogs apparently decided to leave Rifin to his dinner and turned back to the Humans and Ponies. The Diamond Dog who Darryl recognized as the one who stepped through the hole first, began to speak to Razor Wit in his gruff speech.

Razor listened to the Diamond Dog until he ceased speaking then turned to the Humans she knew, "He says he is surprised that there are more of his sister's kind here. He also apologizes for the misunderstanding. Apparently he is the head of a task force set to run a raid on this Bloodmage safe house. After the Hounds, their detectives, discovered that it was Bloodmages who set the disease, apparently they asked for volunteers from the Guard Dogs to find and attack these Bloodmages. They picked up a lucky break when they examined the vials used to house the virus. The vials had traces of some kind of rock that is commonly found in this area. It was mixed in with the sand which formed the glass. The Dogs used their Stone Noses, one of their magical gifts, to pick up the scent of the strongest deposits of it and followed it back here. They also feel partially responsible for the attack on New Humansville and the lives that were lost."

Mike nodded along, listening to Razor relating the lead Dog's words, "Tell him that we bear them no ill will. It was no fault of their that the attack happened. We would also like to extend an invitation for them and their Human allies to visit New Humansville, just as long as they tell us beforehand and give us enough time to inform the populace." He paused and the edges of his mouth quirked up slightly, "What did he mean, his sister?" Mike asked, "She's Human. Is there something we're missing? Did her brother turn into a Diamond Dog?"

Razor shook her head, "It's one of their traditions. There are no orphans among Diamond Dogs. Every individual, no matter their age or species will have a family among the Dogs if you are accepted as one of their own."

"And how did these Humans slip by us and end up with Diamond Dogs anyway?" Full Spectrum asked, gesturing to the Humans among the Dogs.

Razor turned back to the Dog and asked him. His response was quite lengthy and took what Mike guessed to be close to an hour. The Humans who were with the Dogs occasionally joined in, seeming to clarify one point or another. After the Diamond Dogs and the people with them finished the story, Razor Wit translated and paraphrased, "Apparently they were dropped off underground, in one of the derelict tunnels close to Gem Fount. They were naked, scared, and effectively blind in the darkness. They panicked and made enough noise that a group of eight Guard Dogs were dispatched in order to find what they thought were lost puppies. It took less than an hour to find them because of all the noise they were making. When they came upon the Humans the Guard Dogs had no idea how to deal with them. They could tell that the Humans were blind in the darkness so they brought out and struck torches hoping that being able to see would calm them down. That was apparently a mistake. When the Humans saw the Diamond Dogs in the flickering torch light they REALLY panicked. They ran all over the place screaming and hollering. The screams were so bad that it hurt the ears of the Guard Dogs and they ended up howling and covering their ears from the discomfort."

Razor rolled her eyes as she chuckled, "Well the increase in volume and pained howling caught the attention of the rest of the Guard Dogs and the entire contingent from Gem Fount was dispatched to see what the disturbance was. Apparently the noise was so loud and terrible that the entire city of Gem Fount went into hiding thinking there was some kind of attack going on in the tunnels. The Guard Dogs found the source of the disturbance, but by that time there were Humans running all over the maze of tunnels and getting lost and turned around. It took nine days give or take, for the Guard Dogs to round up all the Humans. Thankfully, even though some of the Humans picked up rocks and tried to attack the Guard Dogs, none of the Guard Dogs were seriously injured, though nearly twenty of the 1339 Humans died from blunt trauma. Many of the Guard Dogs were accused of attacking the Humans, but it was later determined, after the Humans learned to speak Dirgeth, that the ones that died had been injured not by the Dogs but by large hail from the storm that brought them."

Razor shook her head, "Sorry, I'm jumping around here. Anyway, the Guard Dogs brought the panicky Humans back to Gem Fount under arrest for trespassing. Thankfully the City/state of Gem Fount has a massive population of about seven hundred and eighty-six thousand and they were used to feeding their Dogs and families so they had enough to feed the Humans too. Once the Dogs realized that the Humans couldn't speak Dirgeth, they set about trying to teach them to speak it."

Razor suddenly smiled pridefully, "I had left many of my notes, about how to learn and speak the languages of others, with some of the friends I made in Pumice Carve and my friend Slobber Chops was visiting his cousins after her puppy was born. He remembered the notes I left, ran back home, and retrieved them. Now this is the telling part. By the time he had returned, news about the epidemic that had been unleashed had reached Gem Fount. The city was locked down under guard until they received word that some friends of the Princesses had dealt with it but could not save the victims. They assumed that the Elements of Harmony had done it. Every one of the Diamond Dog City/States went into mourning at the loss of an entire City/State, even if it was a small one. Slobber Chops had not been idle though. He had gained the trust of one of the Humans in the cells and by the time the City/States had stopped mourning, he had taught one Human enough Dirgeth to have a simple conversation."

Razor smiled, "It took a couple of months but it was the turning point. During the period of mourning, the Guard Dogs again came under scrutiny because all the Humans vomited golden liquid. The ones who had been assigned to guard and feed the Humans were imprisoned under accusations of poisoning them. When the Humans became sick a second time, the second set of Guard Dogs were also imprisoned for poisoning the Humans. There was a colossal investigation into the causes of the sickness, but the Hounds could find no evidence of intentional poisoning. Many of the Humans began coming down with fevers and other sicknesses soon thereafter. The Guard Dogs who had been accused of the poisonings were sentenced to be housed with the Human prisoners to care for them and ensure their well being. Slobber Chops finally collected enough evidence to have his Human friend speak to the Governor of Gem Fount, Scar Nose, and explain what had happened to the Humans and how they had arrived. Scar Nose, realizing that he had ordered the imprisonment of so many innocents was so distraught that he immediately granted them pardons and citizenship. They were released that same day."

She paused, regarding the Humans and Diamond Dogs warmly before turning back to the Captain, "The Guard Dogs who had been assigned to care for the Humans had already formed friendly bonds with their charges and so every Human was offered a choice between living in a Common House or to stay with the Guard Dogs who had cared for them. Every single one of them chose to stay with the Guard Dogs and their families. Over time the Humans began to become more sociable and they began sharing their knowledge of math, the various sciences, chemistry, medicine and so forth. The Diamond Dogs are nowhere near as advanced in knowledge as Ponies, Minotaurs, or Gryphons. Diamond Dog society developed much more slowly than other species because there was no sharing of knowledge with them because most other races were afraid of them for so long. The Dogs also used to kidnap and enslave other races for labor. When you are treated like a monster for so long, eventually you start to believe it. They eventually developed past that mentality, well most of them anyway. Some isolated groups still practice slavery, but they are so ignorant a foal could fool them. When I visited them, they were ecstatic because they had only just discovered bronze. The Humans taught them how to forge tools, weapons, and armor out of steel. They have been adopted by the entire population of Gem Fount. The Diamond Dogs consider them a type of Civic Treasure. They are allowed the same rights and privileges as any other citizen."

Razor giggled, "Apparently when a number of them expressed an interest in joining the task force to raid this Bloodmage safe house the Diamond Dogs nearly had to arrest them again just to keep them safe." She gestured to the lead Dog and the woman sitting next to him, "These two plead their case to Scar Nose personally and convinced him to allow the Humans to come."

Darryl loudly cleared his throat, "Um question, if Diamond Dogs' claws and teeth are strong enough and sharp enough to dig through solid stone, they why the hell do they use weapons? Wouldn't their natural weapons be better?"

Razor shook her head emphatically, "Absolutely not!" she shouted. She folded her ears back, ashamed of her outburst, "That pertains to one of their most serious beliefs. No Diamond Dog, civilized or otherwise would EVER attack or kill another sapient being with their claws or teeth. They believe their claws and jaws should only ever be used for what they call 'natural uses'. They will dig, forge, build, eat, or even kill prey with their claws. They draw a very distinctive line between killing an animal for food and killing an intelligent being; and before you ask no, the animals they hunt are bred in their lairs for it and are not intelligent."

"They're quite a ways from home. Why don't we spread the word around town and invite them to meet their neighbors?" Full Spectrum asked.

Artex cleared his throat, "There could very well be some significant problems with such an idea. While I applaud you for the generous offer, there are sure to be many people, Humans and Ponies alike, who don't receive word tonight. Imagine the reactions people will have when they see Diamond Dogs walking around among them, especially if their only previous contact or knowledge of them was during the Battle For New Humansville. That plus... well the appearance of Diamond Dogs is rather startling if you've never seen them before. Perhaps we could bed them down in Town Hall then make an announcement in the morning? I need to make one anyway."

Mike raised his right eyebrow, "Really? What for?"

Artex smirked, "Well while you and the rest of your team were out hunting, I announced the decision about the baby. Of course it was met with many... vocal concerns however, I also stated the alternative of having a nanny watch over the baby up to a certain age. After that Razor, Oriana, and I helped our two hopeful Kavim couple interview nannies. We found one too, one of your officers: Briana Sykes. She said she isn't needed in the C.W.G. at the moment and that the baby would need somebody to act as a bodyguard for fear of another Bloodmage abduction. She tenured her resignation and it's waiting for you on your desk."

Mike scratched his chin in thought then nodded, "And she is aware that the assignment will be for quite a number of years?" Artex nodded silently. Mike then shrugged, "Alright. As long as she has a way to defend herself. We can issue her a couple of weapons and locks for them." He looked around the gathering, "If there's nothing else to discuss, then let's ask our new allies here if they wish to take a couple of days to relax, courtesy of New Humansville."

Razor turned back to the Diamond Dogs and Humans with a smile. She spoke several sentences then waited while the Diamond Dogs and their Human friends discussed it among themselves. After a minute or two the lead Diamond Dog turned back to Razor and spoke a few words. Razor smiled brightly then repeated the response to her comrades, "They said they would be honored to spend some time among such warriors, but they insist on paying for their own lodging and food. They still feel indebted for the attack on the New Humansville by their own kind, diseased or not. They have offered some of their more finely cut gems as payment."

Mike smiled warmly, "Tell them we'll be leaving shortly."

More people! Find and annihilate all typos!