Rial walked back the way he had come. The going was easier now, and not only because most of the route was a descent. Something in the air had changed, something in the forest. The ivy seemed less grasping, roots less ready to trip the unwary, even the light seemed to flow more freely between the branches. Rial found it hard to countenance; the change couldn't possibly be all in his head.

The stream regained strength as he followed it down. It had been weak after Mead had done... whatever Mead had done, but regained its strength with every passing minute. No longer red, the stones and rocks over which it flowed became visible once more though the banks remained stained, evidence of its previous condition.

The sounds of life returned with the stream, the scurrying sounds of startled creatures intermingled with birdsong. Rial even managed to snare a very surprised nekota, though what the rodent was doing up at this altitude Rial had no idea. Its meat was tough, but good enough when thoroughly cooked. It helped if you didn't look at the claws. Also, the dried skin could make a simple pack.

Rial first noticed its approach by the long shadows drawn out ahead of it in the setting sun. The smell of the meat must have drawn it.

Rial froze in place where he sat by the fire as the khiladri emerged from the woods. It was one of the larger ones, forelocks framing a long, proud face. It paced forward, sniffing the air as it drew closer to Rial.

Rial's hand moved slowly towards Mead, lying a few feet away.

"It does not present any threat."

The khiladri shot up, jumping into the air on all fours and looking around in alarm for the source of the voice.

"The creature was attracted by the remains of your meal."

Even as Mead spoke the khiladri's nose flared at the scent of the bones Rial had discarded. It went over to where they lay in the dirt, paying no attention whatsoever to the human breathing heavily and staring wide-eyed at it. After another investigatory sniff the animal flicked a bone up into the air, to land in its jaws with a snap. It did so repeatedly until there was nothing left.

The whole process, from the arrival of the animal to its lip-licking departure, must have been no more than a minute, but Rial felt as if he had experienced the whole night attack once more. A cold sweat ran down his spine, and what appetite he had had was gone. He stood and threw the nekota meat he held as far as he could into the woods.

Fighting to hold back tears of fear and rage, face flushed and adrenaline surging, he turned to Mead.

"Why didn't you warn me, damn you," he cried. "It could have attacked me at any time!"

"Target displayed no hostile intentions."

"No hostile intentions? Intentions? They killed my friends!"

Even now, it was hard to rage at an unmoving lump of metal.

"Nevertheless, the creature we just encountered presented no threat. It is unlikely it shall again for some time. I calculated my charge was better conserved for such an eventuality. Would you prefer I eliminate the creature now? He is still within my range."

"No," sighed Rial, collapsing down beside the weapon. "Is it leaving?"

"Confirmed. It is already several hundred metres away and increasing."

Rial thought back on what Mead had said. He had come to realise that it was important to pay attention to the details of what the weapon said, because they often contained inferences that Mead did not elaborate on without prompting.

"You said the khiladri won't be aggressive for some time. You mean you think they will be again?"

"Correct."

Rial waited, then tutted at himself for expecting anything further.

"Mead, why do you think that?"

The weapon sat mute for some time. When Rial had first found it, these silences were indistinguishable from total inactivity, but now Rial was somehow able to tell when it was... thinking. He sat patiently.

"The initial stimuli for the animal's aggressive and territorial behaviour were attributable to the impurities in both their drinking water and the same impurities building up in the flesh of their prey. The compounds that have caused neurological complications in the inhabitants of your village will have similar effects on other mammals and mammalian-analogues."

"You mean the water made them sick, too?"

"Correct. My scan of the animal revealed low amounts of the compounds within its blood stream but high levels within the urinary tract, indicating both that the levels were previously higher and that they do not remain within the circulatory system for long."

"They're cured?"

"Correct. Members of your village should be recovering equally fast."

Rial felt a sense of relief, but also foreboding. Mead had said something else...

"But you want to conserve your charge for..?"

"As I said, it is likely such hostilities will reoccur in the near future."

"But we cleared the poison."

"Correct. My analysis predicts another source of aggression within the fauna of the planet will arise."

Rial was lost.

"Of the planet?" He picked up the weapon and placed it on his lap, feeling silly as he tried to fix the inanimate lump with a stare. "Mead, tell me exactly what you are talking about. No obfuscating, no waiting for me to ask questions; tell me exactly what has led you to the belief that the khiladri will attack again."

Again, a pause.

"Not the khiladri," said Mead. "The planet."