For this installment of Foundations of Creation, we switch back to Vel's perspective as he finds out more about the reasons behind his abduction and we get introduced to a few more characters.

If you would like to read ahead, my Subcribestar ( https://subscribestar.adult/neopuc-s-fables ) and Patreon ( https://www.patreon.com/Neopuc )pages are staying two chapters ahead of what is posted publicly here on FA.

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Chapter 5

The world continued to spin for Vel as he laid down in the expansive palm of the gigantic gnoll. He was unsure of what had happened, but he thought that he had heard combat. Vel was not quite certain though. It was not like the pocket he had been staying in was so insulted that it shut out all sounds from the outside world. Nothing could have shut out the racket he heard. It was more like the world had exploded with noise of such volume that Vel had never experienced such a thing. It was hard for his mind to classify something like that as a simple battle, but it felt like that was what it must have been.

Things had been wild inside of the pocket that Iah had made for him. Normally, it was a gentle ride inside the pocket, Iah’s almost graceful steps causing minimal amounts of shaking. The warmth being given off by her body and the fur lining of the pocket created a very comfortable place to stay. He was also close enough to the gnoll’s heart that he could slightly hear it beating steadily, the beat almost helping to lull him to sleep on numerous occasions.

Then, without any warning, Vel’s world lurched into terrifying motion. The pocket did keep him secure, but his stomach lurched as Iah moved with great speed all over the place. He was even certain she had fallen over at least once, the impact of her fall rattling his very bones despite the cushioning Iah had provided the pocket with. By the time it all stopped, Vel was left feeling more nauseous than he ever had in his life. He desperately tried to signal to Iah that he wanted out of the pocket and clamped a hand around his mouth to keep from vomiting. If this pocket was to be his home for the foreseeable future, he did not want to stink it up with his bile.

It was a good thing that the gigantic gnoll seemed to notice as her large, pillar-like fingers managed to pull him out of the pocket. She had tried to talk with him, but, for the first time, he found it very easy to ignore the titan as he scrambled for the side of her palm. He did not want to see her reaction if he did throw up in her hand. It was a good thing Iah did not assume he was trying to jump to his death and tried to force him back into the center of her hand. That freed him up to successfully heave up everything in his stomach off the side of her hand without getting anything on his captor.

Then he just flopped down in her hand and tried to wait for the world to stop spinning. Eventually, he took note of Iah apologizing to him and looking down at him with concern. It was an odd sight for Vel. She somehow managed to look a bit sheepish as she realized what she had put him through. That was remarkable considering not just her size, but also the amount of blood she was covered in. Her muzzle was practically soaked in the stuff and her armor was covered in it too. The amount of blood was simply stunning. It would have taken hundreds, if not thousands of people to produce that much blood, and it did not seem to faze her in the least.

“Is any of that blood yours,” Vel asked woozily, holding a hand to his head.

“Just a little bit,” Iah said proudly, “Most of it belongs to those that so terribly wronged your people.

Vel tried to stand up and look around the area, Iah being patient with him as he took his time to do so. When he was able to survey everything, what he did see stunned him. He knew Iah had said something about avenging that town that had been destroyed, but seeing the results of that was something completely different. The bodies of dead titans littered the ground, two of which nearly equaled Iah in size. Some of them may have been small compared to Iah, but it was still so large that he had a hard time picturing how he would have brought it down without some well-placed trebuchet or ballista shots. And it looked like Iah had crushed one reptilian creature’s head like a grape.

He was able to spot a few more of the reptiles, but Iah’s body was blocking his view of the entire area and there were hills large enough to conceal even more, but something suddenly struck Vel. The town that had been destroyed by these creatures had all been slain by Iah alone. That force would have been more than enough to destroy his town too and he doubted they would have been able to take a single one of those monsters down. But there Iah was, sitting there looking as happy as could be with her blood-soaked muzzle, having taken no more than some minor injuries. How mighty was this creature that had taken him captive? He tried to imagine how many legions it would take to fight something like her. Vel was no trained soldier himself, but he imagined it would take the empire months of preparation to assemble all the legions needed to fight something like the gnoll. All the carnage around him only served to drive home the fact that he could not afford to upset this titan.

“Thank you for avenging my people,” Vel attempted to say happily, surprised that he actually did feel a certain sense of joy. Iah may have been a monster herself, but at least she did not want to see his people completely annihilated. If one monster was willing to kill even worse monsters, that was a good thing.

Iah practically beamed with pride as she replied, “You’re very welcome, Vel.” He was able to hear her tail swaying behind her in a manner that seemed almost happy. Iah’s tongue was also flicking out of her mouth and cleaning off her muzzle as she spoke. Despite her fearsome appearance, she almost reminded Vel of a gigantic happy puppy at that very moment. For whatever reason, Iah decided to cement that image of her in his mind by bringing him closer to her very intimidating muzzle and greatly surprising him by flicking out her tongue and giving him what would have been a little lick to her.

Though it may have been little to the gnoll, the massive tongue was enough to knock him off his feet and leave him completely soaked in her spittle. Vel did not know what to make of what just happened. He did notice Iah’s huge ears suddenly wilt a little bit and her eye looked away from him. Then she hesitantly spoke, “Sorry Vel, that was too forward of me and it was very unprofessional.”

The gnoll sighed, a very grandiose gesture for a being of her size, before continuing, “This whole situation is just so strange.”

“I thought your people had been through things like this before.”

“We have,” Iah agreed, “But I have never been in a situation like this. Vel, you’re just so tiny. You should be closer in size to me and that should make it so that you would try to foolishly get away from me. Then I should catch you or rough you up a little. However, if I were to try and rough you up, I’m certain you would end up dead.”

“And getting away from you isn’t much of an option,” Vel sighed, “It’s a long way to the ground from that pocket. Even if I could climb down the length of your body without you noticing or me falling to my death, you cover more ground in a few hours than I might be able to in a couple of days. I don’t even know where I am anymore. Chances are I’d end up as food for some monster before I could find a town and people again.”

Iah replied, “See, you understand. Our relationship should be far more antagonistic. Now, you depend on me for your survival. Even if I had not promised to be your protector, I would still need to be your protector out of necessity.”

“So, what? Do you view me like a cub or something,” Vel snorted.

“You’re smaller than any of the cubs I have ever given birth to, Iah chuckled, “I’d say my instincts are more screaming at me that you’re an infirm member of the clan.”

“Well, I guess that’s better than,” Vel started before fully realizing what he had just been told, “Wait, you’re a mother?”

“Of course, I told you I’m a matriarch. What sort of matriarch would not produce more clan members?”

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t picture you as a mother.”

“And just what did you picture me as, Vel?”

Vel looked Iah right in her great blue eye, surrounded in black. This seemed like the sort of question that could get him in trouble. He tried to think about what to say, what might upset her. For a moment, he did think about lying, but then he tried to think about what he knew of Iah so far and he decided that honesty would serve him best here.

“I’ve just thought of you more as an unstoppable force of nature that can destroy everything in her path.”

“You’re a little flatterer, Vel,” Iah said with a grin that was slightly less intimidating now that her tongue had nearly finished cleaning her muzzle off, “I’m oh so tempted to keep you, but I really do need the funds and resources I’m going to get from selling you to my employer.”

“Just what do you need all that money for anyways?”

Iah’s ears drooped at that question and Vel wondered if he had said something wrong for an instant. This was the first time he had seen her looking visibly sad before she seemed to recover, looking around and saying, “Vel, your world may be small, but it is nice. Did you know that?”

The question puzzled Vel. He was a farmer and he did have a love and respect for the land. What that had to do with her question was a mystery.

“Well, sure. It’s been good to me, up until recently I suppose.”

Iah had a wry grin for a moment before looking more serious, “Well, my world has not been good to me for a while, or anyone for that matter. But that’s normal around the time a convergence event is about to occur.”

“Is something wrong with your world?”

“Oh yes. The plants don’t grow as well, resulting in weak and sickly herbivores. As you can imagine, that does not make much good eating for us predators either,” Iah explained, “Even the air itself does not seem quite right. It’s as if the world itself is sick and it seemingly spreads to everyone. Not even half of my clan’s cubs ever make it to adulthood. Even now, I fear one of my youngest will not survive without the resources I can get from your sale.”

This was certainly information for Vel to think about. He had only thought of Iah as some sort of giant monster. The fact that she had this sort of personal life was hard for his mind to grasp even after hearing it from her. This also dashed his hopes that he might somehow be able to talk his way out of his fate. As frightening as Iah’s mere presence alone was, she had been starting to seem somewhat personable, for a man-eating monster.

“Can’t you use magic or something like that to help?”

Iah held up the hourglass full of mana powder and smiled sardonically at him, “Do you mean this? Well, who do you think provided me with it? This is part of my advance for capturing someone like you. I was afraid to even use it before I was able to get my hands on you. I’d have to return it to my employer if I failed and pay back any that I used, which is something my clan really can’t afford right now.”

It was hard for Vel to believe that Iah was in as desperate a situation as she said. A part of him wanted to believe that she was lying. This was a creature that probably could have taken over a small country all on her own. And now this nearly unstoppable behemoth had her fate tied to him, a simple farmer from the frontier of the Empire. It was all so unreal.

While Vel thought about what he had been told, Iah set him down on the ground. She had other things to do around the area. For one thing, she had to scavenge the people she had just killed for anything valuable or useful they might have. Then it grew hard to think when Vel heard the wet crunching of bones. Iah had stripped one of the scaled creatures of all its armor and clothing and was presently snacking on it. That creature was large enough to easily swallow Vel whole, but Iah was able to make it disappear after a few bites.

It was mesmerizing watching the gnoll at work. She simply operated on such a grand scale. Another monstrously sized scaled creature vanished into her belly, one which probably could have eaten dozens of people in a single sitting, and the gnoll did not even seem to get full from the meal. Still, she gathered up the remains of four other scaled beasts, but she set them aside instead of devouring them too. She did the same with the zebras, though she butchered them into smaller pieces. Afterward, she cast a spell on all the remains, probably some sort of spell to preserve all the meat even though that seemed like too much for her to carry with them.

Eventually, Iah grabbed a haunch of zebra and came to settle next to Vel, her huge form nearly causing him to bounce as her body thumped against the ground. She began to tear into the meat and Vel looked away. He had to remind himself that this was normal for her, but that meat she was eating right now used to be a person. Sure, he had been one that had been responsible for a massacre, but that did not negate the fact that he used to be a thinking being and was now no more than a gnoll’s dinner. He just tried to shut out the sounds that Iah was making as she ate, which was why it startled him when she suddenly addressed him, “How rude of me. Do you want some, Vel?”

Vel nearly panicked. He did not want to reject her outright while she was trying to be polite. His mind scrambled for a response, “Uh, no thanks. It’s your kill. I wouldn’t want to steal from you.”

“Nonsense,” Iah exclaimed, “It’s not like you eat much and I am your protector, which entails making sure you are well-fed. Here, have this. I’ll even get some wood to make sure you can burn your meat.” Iah sat what would be little more than a crumb to her in front of Vel, but was a fairly substantial meal to him. And then she was off, finding some wood for him to use while Vel just stared at the chunk of red meat he had been gifted with. Fortunately, there was no skin on the meat, which helped make it easier to ignore what the meat had once been a part of. It was not long before Iah returned with some wood for him to use.

As Vel went about hesitantly starting a fire, Iah sat back next to him and continued munching on her hunk of zebra while happily watching him. Seeing no other choice, he lit his fire and started cooking the zebra chunk he had been so generously gifted with. By the time it was finished cooking, he still had not come up with a good excuse for not eating it, so he just tried to pretend it was something else. When he finally forced himself to take a bite out of it, he could only console himself that it was not human at least. He did not know how to feel about it when he discovered that the zebra did not taste bad, considering he still had little in the way of spices. Still, he had to take his meal slowly and tried to talk with Iah to cover up for that.

“So, what are you planning on doing with the rest of that, uh, meat? Doesn’t seem like you can carry it all with you.”

“I won’t be carrying all of it,” Iah said between bites of her meal, “A good deal of it is going to be eaten and we will only be carrying some of it.”

“You’re going to eat…wait, what do you mean by we?”

“That’s right, I forgot to mention that I summoned some help. They should be rushing here now and they will probably be hungry when they get here.”

That statement made Vel feel very nervous. He was having enough trouble getting used to the presence of Iah alone. And she had more giants coming to help her. He had no idea if her behavior was even normal for her kind. So far, she was the only giant that did not seem interested in wiping out humanity. For all he knew, her help might think it was funny to crush him under thumb.

Just as Vel was finishing up his meal and the sun was beginning to set, he felt the ground starting to shake. At first, he looked over to Iah to see if she was the cause, but she was just leaning back and gnawing on a zebra bone. He looked around and was startled by just how close a new pair of giants had managed to get without him noticing. The hilly terrain of this region really could let them be surprisingly stealthy. Iah had spotted them as well, but she did not seem alarmed, which was a little comforting for him.

Still, Vel could not help but inch closer to Iah, surprising even himself when he realized that he found her hulking form a little reassuring in this situation. Apparently, she also noticed this. A huge hand descended next to him and placed itself on the ground so that Vel found himself cradled between immense, brown-furred fingers. Iah used her thumb to gently stroke his back as she said, “Don’t worry. These are members of my clan. They’re here to help.”

“Sure,” Vel said weakly. While he was happy about the contact from Iah, it could not put him completely at ease. Now that he was sitting on the ground, it helped to emphasize just how large these titans were as they came walking up to Iah and himself. Like Iah, they were both gnolls, so they were absolutely gigantic. One was female and came equipped with a mace and shield. Her fur was a slightly lighter shade of brown than Iah and she looked like she was a little smaller than her too. The other gnoll had a bow for a weapon and appeared to be male. He was considerably smaller than the other gnolls, only coming up to the shoulders of the other female gnoll. His small size was very relative though, as Vel noted the male still had toes larger than he was. The male’s spinal mane also seemed to be more prominent than either of the females.

Iah’s hand eventually turned palm up, inviting Vel to get in her hand. It was an offer he eagerly took up this time. When Iah stood, lifting Vel along with her, he was relieved. It was good to get off the ground when there were so many mighty paws around. Getting off the ground also helped to take away from the full effect of being loomed over quite so much by the gnolls.

While the two newcomers did seem happy to see Iah, when they looked at Vel, there was a brief look of surprise before their gazes turned cold. It reminded him of the way Iah had looked at everyone when he had first encountered her. That was not very comforting for him since that encounter had left a lot of destruction in Iah’s wake. Once again, Iah was very attentive and noticed his discomfort, using a finger to continue reassuring him by stroking him with its furred backside.

It was hard for Vel to look away from the two when they were looking at him like that. Their gaze felt much more predatory than the way he had already become used to Iah looking at him. It almost took him by surprise when Iah started speaking above him, “Sister, Ryrrg, so good you were able to make it, without incident I hope.”

This was able to finally get the gnolls to look away from Vel and up to Iah, much to his relief. Once again, the looks on their faces softened as the female said, “Apparently less incidents than you based on what I am seeing. I’m sorry we could not be here in time to help.”

“No worries, sister. It was nothing I couldn’t handle,” Iah proclaimed proudly, “But feel free to share in the spoils of those that thought they could slay Iah Splithallow.”

“I thank you, sister.”

“As do I, matriarch,” Ryrrg spoke up for the first time, “While it is shameful we could not be here in your time of need, I am glad for the meal after this journey.”

Iah clapped Ryrrg on the shoulder and flashed him the toothy smile of a predator, “There’s no shame at all. I did not need help when dealing with these pathetic opponents.” Once again, Vel had to marvel at the truth of that statement. He had not witnessed the fight, but based on the size of the creatures she had killed, it would have taken a few legions to deal with such a threat. And Iah had dealt with the threat singlehandedly in just a few minutes. And now there were two more gnolls.

“Actually, maybe I could have used the help,” Iah continued, “The fight was a little rough on my poor little passenger. All that rapid movement made his stomach upset.”

The other gnolls looked down at Vel again, their once again cold expressions making him want to sink into Iah’s padded palm for protection. Once more, Iah’s pillar-like finger was there, offering him some very welcome encouragement as Iah said, “Now, now, no need to be like that all of you. Let me introduce everyone.”

Iah held Vel up higher so that he was around eye level with all of the gnolls. Then she said, “This is Vel Apelles. As you can clearly see from his aura, he is one of the most magically gifted individuals we have seen in a while, which makes him very precious to us. But, as you can see, he and his kind, humans they call themselves, are also quite small and frail. So, we need to act more as his protectors than his captors.”

“Protectors,” the other female said incredulously, “but we…”

Iah held up a hand to silence her and continued, “Vel, this is my older sister, Hestrihz, but please feel free to call her Hes.”

Hestrihz looked a bit confused to see Iah talking to Vel in such a friendly tone, as did Ryrrg, but the male was also looking a bit curious about the situation. Then Iah said to her sister, “Hold out your hand.”

The other female complied a little hesitantly, but she did as she was told. Then Iah extended her hand holding Vel and said to him, “Go on Vel. Step into her hand. She won’t hurt you.” This was something that Vel was reluctant to do. While he did not fully trust Iah yet, in his mind he could not help but start to think of her as his giant. She was his protector in this world gone crazy. This new gnoll was a stranger. Though she was smaller than Iah, that did not mean much when she still had claws like spears and those fingers could easily crush him like a bug without needing to put in any effort whatsoever. But, he turned back to face Iah and she gave him a gentle nod of encouragement. Not wanting to waste this goodwill, he decided to trust Iah and stepped into Hestrihz’s hand.

Hestrihz looked a bit concerned at first as his minuscule weight settled into her palm. Then she looked down at him and addressed him for the first time, “You really are so…small.”

“Yes,” Iah spoke up at that comment, “And as a result, he and the other humans think they are unworthy of being eaten by beings of our size. I’ll bet he’s afraid that you are thinking of crushing him in your grip right now, Hes.”

Vel watched as the eyes of both Hestrihz and Ryrrg shot open in stunned amazement at that comment. Hestrihz’s eyes darted back and forth between Iah and Vel a few times before they settled on him and she asked, “Is that true little one? Are you afraid I’m going to crush you?”

Vel looked at the massive fingers cradled around him and said, “The thought had crossed my mind.”

“That’s so…sad,” Hestrihz said, her gaze finally softening when she looked at Vel. Then she held him up closer to her face, alarmingly close to that deathtrap she would consider a mouth. It was alarming to be that close to the maw of a strange predator, especially while they were talking about the worthiness of being eaten, but she never opened her mouth. All she chose to do was hold him close to a great black nose, the size of a cart, and gave him a good sniff, the air tugging at his body as she did so.

“You smell tasty enough,” the gnoll said, giving her leathery black lips a lick as her stomach rumbled, making it clear that she was a hungry predator after a long walk at that moment. It was enough to make Vel shiver.

As scary as he found the situation, Iah seemed amused as she laughed, “See Vel. My sister’s stomach would gladly welcome you.”

“Of course,” Hestrihz said, “If you weren’t so valuable, I’d be tempted to lick you up right now. D-do you mind if I have a little taste…Vel?”

The thought terrified Vel and he felt a chill that reached down to his very bones. But, this new giant already seemed like her attitude towards him was softening. This was no time for cowardice. “That would be fine.”

A huge tongue darted out of the gnoll’s mouth and gave him a quick lick with just enough force to knock him over, which probably meant she was trying to be careful, but the size difference was a little too much. Still, the titanic gnoll took a moment to think as she withdrew her tongue back into her mouth and said, “Indeed, you are quite delicious Vel. I would be honored to have you for a meal if that were possible.”

Despite not liking the direction this conversation was going in, Vel put a false smile on his face, “Thank you Hes.”

“You’re welcome little one,” Hestrihz gave Vel what he thought looked like an honest smile, “But still, it is the right of prey to try and escape their predator, but by the way my sister looks and talks about you, it sounds almost as if you have not tried to do so. Why is that?”

“Well, you see,” Vel started, but it was hard to think of just where to start with that question.

Iah helped Vel out by laughing, “The answer to that probably seems so obvious to Vel that he is having a hard time trying to think of a way to explain it to you. Sister, what would happen if Vel were to try and jump out of your hand right now?”

Hestrihz looked down at Vel and then to the ground before her ears folded back in what almost looked like embarrassment to Vel before she spoke, “He’d likely die. I hadn’t even considered that. The height is just of such little concern to me.”

“But it means everything to him,” Ryrrg spoke up, the amazement at such a little fact easily detectable in his voice.

“Exactly,” responded Iah, “And how many vermin did you encounter on your way here?”

“Too many,” said Ryrrg, “This land is lousy with them.”

“Ate two of them on my way here,” Hestrihz said with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Compare their size to Vel.”

“They’d easily make a meal of him,” Hestrihz said suddenly before looking down at Vel with concern clear in her eyes, “Oh, the horror of even the possibility of a thinking creature falling victim to such a lowly predator.”

“Also keep in mind that a trip that took you hours could very well take days for Vel.”

“Even if he was not radiating magic like an inferno, something would probably run into him and snap him up before he could get anywhere,” Ryrrg said in dawning realization.

Hestrihz looked down at Vel again. The coldness in her eyes was gone and had been replaced with concern, “He needs us if he wants to live.”

“Now you understand,” Iah said, “We stand to gain so much from him and yet he depends on us as well. Out of respect, we should at least serve as decent guardians while he is under our care.”

The other gnolls nodded their heads in agreement. Then Iah motioned towards Ryrrg and said, “Hes, why don’t you let Ryrrg hold Vel too? I want to make sure he grasps the fragility of our little Vel, and I want Vel to get comfortable with all of us, if that’s alright with you, Vel?”

Vel looked over at the smallest member of the gnolls, who still happened to be taller than any building he had ever seen by a wide margin. If anything, he looked hopeful, more like a puppy excited about the possibility of getting a treat. Since Vel realized he was that treat, it made him have some reservations about going to him, but hurting the titan’s feelings could also have some very bad repercussions, so he said, “I think I’m fine with that.”

Ryrrg’s muzzle broke out into a happy smile as he held up his hand and Hes held hers up to his to allow for a safe transfer. When Vel was safely in his hand the gnoll asked, “Mind if I get a sniff and taste too, Vel?”

“Might as well,” Vel said in resignation, starting to understand that this was probably going to be standard treatment among the gnolls. It was still more than a little terrifying when Ryrrg moved him so close to that massive muzzle of his, but his tongue was a bit gentler than the female's. He managed to stay standing when the gnoll licked him this time, even though it took quite a bit of effort to do that.

“Thank you, Vel,” Ryrrg said, his warm breath washing over Vel while he was still so close to the gnoll’s mouth, “And let me say that I agree with Hes, your taste is very pleasing. If I didn’t think Iah or Hes would want to have you first, I’d certainly love to add your flesh to my own.”

“I appreciate the sentiment,” Vel said flatly.

If Ryrrg noticed the lack of enthusiasm in Vel’s tone, he did not mention it, “I know I may be a bit small compared to the others, but I hope you will find me an adequate protector as well.”

Vel looked him up in down in astonishment, “You do know how big you appear to me, right?”

Ryrrg chuckled, “I suppose you’re right about that. I’m just not used to dealing with someone that even a hyena or an aardwolf would look large too. Anyways, we little guys need to stick together. So, if you need help, just give me a yell and I’ll be there.”

Vel was not certain if he was being made fun of at first, but Ryrrg extended one clawed finger to him and smiled in a friendly way. That huge claw-tipped finger seemed threatening at first, but Vel soon realized the hyena meant for him to shake it. So, Vel accepted, grasping the claw while making sure to avoid the sharp tip. Ryrrg favored him with another broad smile before handing him back to Iah.

With the introductions done, Iah set them about the task of making hidden pockets of their own to hide Vel in should one of them need to carry him while they still had daylight left to accomplish the task. Once that was completed, she finally allowed the other two gnolls to start enjoying the meal she had won for them. It was a sight that Vel was happy was more difficult to see now that the light of day was quickly fading.

Iah had set Vel on the ground while she joined her companions for their meal. He was just sitting peacefully between her legs with the other gnolls flanking her. Vel thought he was beneath their notice as they ate, but Iah eventually sat a small piece of meat in front of him. He did not want to decline, but he had already eaten and he was not feeling all that hungry at the moment, so he said, “Thank you Iah, but I already ate, remember?”

“I know, Vel, but could you try to eat a little bit more? It will be fun to show the others how you prepare a meal.”

“Okay, I’ll try,” Vel shrugged. This seemed to pique the curiosity of the other gnolls as they looked at him when Iah also presented him with some firewood. When he lit the fire and placed the meat over the flame it was hard not to hear the gnolls gasp in surprise. It was quite loud at their size.

“Vel, you’re burning the meat,” Ryrrg spluttered, “Iah, have we done something to offend him?”

“Yes, why would he insult you so by trying to turn your gift to ash,” asked a startled Hestrihz.

Iah laughed heartily, “I’m informed that this is the way humans prepare their food. Vel is my only example thus far, but he assures me they all do it this way. I’m still not sure that’s true and that our little Vel isn’t just strange, but I suppose we will find out when we meet more of them.”

Vel’s mind was reeling a bit at this conversation. It was not that they found cooking strange that bothered him, or that they seemed to have no moral problems whatsoever with eating their opponents, or anyone else for that matter. These three gnolls were probably powerful enough that the Empire would have had to mobilize all its resources to oppose them in battle and it still might have lost. Iah, Hestrihz, and Ryrrg were an existential threat to the mightiest military power in the world, and here they were, discussing his cooking as if it were the most fascinating subject in the world.