During that long and fruitful conversation, something kept nibbling at the back of my mind. It was one of those nagging, persistant thoughts that was just out of my reach. It was when the subject of protection came up (apparently these guys had quite a few enemies) that the nagging thought crystalized.
I immediately spoke up.
“Um, Lanni? Something just popped into my head and I need you to explain it to me.”
Lanni’s mind trick beat me to it.
“You want to know why we attack you first. Silly man. Reason is very simple. You came out of darkness and we mistook you for Nephilim or Elohim. Once we got clear look at you, we stopped attack.”
Lanni’s explanation was really good, except for one small detail.
“Lanni? The glowing plants all around us pretty much light up everything. There wasn’t enough shadow for us to be mistaken for nine foot monsters. Plus, we had a really serious spear throwing contest going on for some time. You mean to tell me it took you that long to realize we weren’t the bad guys?”
Lanni said nothing.
Had I gone too far and pissed the little guy off? The odds in another fight didn’t look like they were exactly in our favor. However, Lanni just sighed.
“Weren’t supposed to tell you this so soon. First, needed to make sure you weren’t sent by ‘them’. We watch path and defend it. No way of knowing for sure who is who. Fight told us what we needed to know. You stopped when we stopped. ‘They’ wouldn’t do that. ‘They’ would’ve killed us all rather than stop.”
Okay. Things were starting to get a little complicated. Who were the ‘They’ that Lanni was talking about? The little guys seemed genuinely afraid of whoever ‘They’ were. Also, who had assigned them the duty they were on?
Things were getting complicated, and as you already know, I hate anything complicated. Messes up my thinking processes. Figured I’d better ask.
“Lanni? Who exactly are ‘They’ you keep talking about, and why are they so darned dangerous?”
The little guy wasn’t having any of it.
“Can’t tell you. Told not to speak of it. Others will explain.”
I started to ask another question but Lanni put up his hand in the ‘shut up’ gesture and stared at me. Okay. Got it. That part of the conversation was over. Lanni decided at that moment to volunteer some other information.
“Seraphim should be here in couple of days. They will explain all.”
Wonderful. Another group thrown into the mix. Who were these Seraphim and why did Lanni put so much trust in them? As I went back to my lines to check on things, once again I found myself thinking of Tiny and home.
The Roman View 
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