Base camp

On the way back to the Draenei, Gil had Candress blast one of the giant moths in the wing. The delicate limb was burnt to uselessness, though it still seemed largely intact. It smoldered slowly around the area directly affected, like silk. That was good; if it had been so weak that it couldn't fly after sustaining damage, this creature would be useless to him. Hell, he was pretty sure most forms of healing magic he had seen would be able to get it back in working order.

He tossed the Beastmaster sphere, and the large white moth vanished in a flash of crimson light. The ball shook a few times, but it didn't escape. It wouldn't be properly captured until the portal closed for the week, but he doubted that a grounded giant moth would have much utility regardless.

"Alright. Thank you Candress." He smiled. "God I love magical projectiles. You can just toss them around whenever you want. Ammo is so much more cumbersome."

"Of course, sir." She answered professionally. "May I ask why we are assaulting random wildlife?"

"Of course! It's much better if you know why we do what we do." Gil answered. "Now that I've captured this moth, it will be bound to my will as you are. A flying servant would be quite nice, no?"

"I… suppose?" She said. "But it's a moth. Practically mindless."

"I've got another servant who is damn good at getting complex reactions out of simple animals." Gil assured her. "If Snow can't manage that, then I can always use Silky here as raw materials. I have some experiments in mind I could use it for." He checked the moth's status, looking for gender. "Or sell her. There's always that."

The four continued hiking as the sun fell, guided by a floating light summoned by Candress. They had to stop occasionally to catch their breath and check their wounds. Everyone except Candress was at least slightly injured, after all. Gil passed around the last few mouthfuls of healing tea in his waterskin, but that worked slowly at the best of times. Watered down, shared, and on an active body? It mostly just soothed the pain and helped scabs form. The rest periods gave Gil time to check his quest log and consider next steps.

He had gotten two credits, a blue capture ticket, and the right to build an arcane sanctum when he captured Candress. She was proving herself useful already, and what little magic she had displayed intrigued Gil. The Arcane Sanctum would supposedly allow him to use any magic from any setting within its perimeter, and that was more than enough for him to buy it on the spot. It only cost two credits, and would let him learn and test any magic before spending credits to jailbreak any given magic system. His next mission looked like it might possibly be easier. Who knew, though?

Acquire a fully charged Draenei Healing Crystal

Reward: 2 Credits, Seal of Joy

The Seal of Joy was a quirky little item. It flooded a target's mind with euphoric joy about their current situation, effectively removing any ability to think critically or object to anything. Those affected tended to be incredibly compliant while it lasted, and at least some of that enthusiasm tended to linger. It's amazing what one really positive memory can do for someone. It wouldn't have anywhere near the kind of lasting impact that the Corruption Fruit had on Snow, but its immediate effects were an order of magnitude stronger.

The only problem? He had no idea what the hell a healing crystal was. Luckily, he had an informant.

"It's a prepared receptacle that the Draenei tend to fill with life energy. Much more effective healing than the Light based magic of a Draenei civilian, but far weaker than a trained priest can manage." Zena explained. "The energy is usually donated from healthy adults, but they can also take it from animals they kill. They consider that shameful, but it's probably what they'll have to do here."

"Thank you Zena." Gil said. "Keep that up, and you might have a future here."

"Oh." She griped, "Wonderful."

The four followed Gil's compass right back to Snow, who was busily helping to cook up a simple, meaty porridge made from the local wildlife. She was whistling as she did so, a habit which a number of the Draenei had adopted in the last few hours. All told, the large blue men and women were proving very resilient in the face of tragedy.

The leader of the medics, a man named Proenitus, was unwilling to part with the one fully charged healing crystal he had, even for a moment. He was holding it in reserve, in case anyone came in that required immediate critical attention.

"Oh please, Mister Proenitus." Snow wheedled after Gil was soundly rebuffed. "We only need it for a little while. Isn't that right Master Gil?"

"I can only offer you one of the mostly depleted ones." The big blue man said, shaking his head sadly. "And I'll even need that one back. It won't be able to mend your wounds, not unless it can be recharged with the blood of at least six large animals. Preferably healthy ones, with the crystals pressed against their wounds at the moment of death. The rest of you will need to wait by the triage area."

"You know what?" Gil said, "That sounds great. Candress, could you go with Snow and find a hunting party to travel with? We need you to fully charge this before you bring it back. Can you handle that?"

Candress stared at the crystal, a sense of confused longing playing across her face as she stared at the tiny spark of blue-green light within. Zena, too, seemed deeply interested in the small energy reserve. She shook herself out of the reverie and looked at Gil.

"Yes. Yes, of course sir." Candress said. "As you command."

"Could I go too?" Zena asked, "I'm sure I could help."

"Nope, you're going to talk to Magelon." Gil ordered, "His people need to know everything about elves in the area."

It was dark, so Gil and Ireena did what injured people normally do at night. They slept.

••••••••••

Zena reported to Magelon, explaining in broad strokes the situation. Her people had managed to hop aboard the Exodar before it fled the Draenei's most recent home. The Blood Elves had smuggled aboard beacons that would allow their allies to follow the Draenei starship wherever it went, even opening short lived portals once they established a beachhead.

Somehow, during the conversation, Magelon got the impression that Zena was a noncombatant. A servant, practically a slave, who served drinks and did laundry for the troops despite her objections to the mission. Strange how such strange untruths can pop up here and there, especially in soft hearted men willing to take any excuse to avoid conflict an injured and bedraggled young woman. Zena could definitely see Gil's point about taking advantage of these people.

The Draenei here had no idea how long they had to prepare, or whether the majority of their people had even survived. Though they were still reeling from the crash and focused on recovering and healing the injured, Magelon sent out orders: fortify their position and secure food and water. The refugees were not going to be moving much until they had a clear destination, not when The Burning Legion might hide behind any given tree.

Taerix's plan to scrub radiation from the nearby lake shifted abruptly from an environmentalist gesture, worth doing but of low priority, to an immediate tactical necessity. Scouts and botanists worked through the night to help her develop a neutralizing agent.

The only problem was the giant, highly radioactive crystal embedded in the middle of the lake. Zhanaa could improvise shielding once it was on dry land, and the Draenei were more than capable of healing through the radiation sickness, but they could not afford to have half the able bodied men and women irradiated while they pulled the damn thing out.

Perhaps some kind of pulley system?