So, in case you've missed the story up till now: two Dwarves have been essentially abducted by an enigmatic underwater civilisation, and I, Daric, an urban Elf with impeccable dress sense, have been sent in by the British government to get them out. Politics have intervened, and the red tape makes it look likely that these refugees will die in an unspeakable manner. I've lost my temper, and I'm possibly about to start shooting people. Consider yourself up to speed.
 

I pulled the Tolok from my jacket, and prodded it into Haast's back.
"Sorry, Haast." I muttered.
He froze, but didn't turn round. When he spoke again, his voice was tinged with disappointment. "It won't save them. I'm sorry you're getting so desperate, Daric, but there's nothing anyone can do."
The Terrans on the platform above us seized one of the struggling refugees, and I seriously considered pulling the trigger. But something was stopping me. His words echoed in my head. It won't save them. I couldn't coerce him into doing anything, and nor could I sway anyone else if I shot him. I couldn't threaten creatures who weren't afraid of death.
"Oi." said a voice sternly from behind me. I turned.
Let's just pause there a second. I'm sure you have a passing familiarity with the laws of physics. Gravity, relativity, thermodynamics - any of those. You might not know them inside out, but you get the basic concepts. Now imagine there are people in the world who can just break those laws on a whim. Decide suddenly that they can fly, or walk through fire. But, I hear you cry, that can't be - the universe just doesn't work like that. There's a long answer and a short answer to that, and the short answer is: yeah, it pretty much kinda does. A lot of people can do magic. Degrees of which depend on how much hereditary Knowledge they have flowing through their blood. Knowledge is the fuel for Magic - it isn't learned or gained, you just have it or you don't. Even I've got a bit; it's relatively common in Elven genetics. Some people have enough to close a small wound or open a locked door, whereas others are saturated with it to the point when they can level a mountain if it happens to be blocking their light.
It was a member of the latter group staring me in the face now.
Magicians have their limits - they have to, to avoid them tearing open the fabric of reality - but the things they can do are still on a godlike level, and it's important you remember this when I tell you that I yelped like a frightened puppy. It may also help to explain why I raised my Tolok and fired six shots.
There was a pause.
"Oooh." Said the Magician, stepping forwards. She plucked one of the roses out of the air. "Pretty colours. Was that me?"
"I imagine so." I replied.
"Great." She smiled at me. She had a slight Northern accent. "I just let go a bit there for a second; let the Magic do its work. This is unexpectedly lovely. I've been known to kill people when I do that. Accidentally turned a dude inside out once when I stopped concentrating on what he was saying."
I frowned. "I'll make sure to stay interesting then."
She grinned at me.  "You've made a good first impression."
The Magician wasn't what I'd been expecting. She was probably five foot five, maybe six. Her sweet smile shone up at me from under a bob haircut and a small diamond nose piercing, which glittered in the intermittent light. A modest red mini-dress was complemented by her crimson flat-heeled shoes, and a small indistinct tattoo was visible on her left wrist. She looked for all the world like a university student.
"So why the shooting?"
As with Haast, I couldn't help liking her, and I answered honestly. "Half panic, half curiosity to see what would happen, really."
"I'll try to be more unpredictable next time, Daric. Roses are pretty, but fairly mundane."
"You know my name," I said politely, "but I'm afraid I don't know yours."
"Hm. Forgotten my orginal one, so you can call me what you like, sunshine. Oh wait no, that's good. Sunshine, call me Sunshine."
That smile flared again. Was...was she flirting with me? I looked around, and started when I noticed the bullet not inches from me, suspended in the air between me and the Terran who'd fired it. I could actually see the ripples in the space behind it where it had torn apart the air in its desperate quest to lodge itself in my skull.
"Did you just save my life?"
She squinted, then giggled. "Wow, I guess! I stopped time so we could have a bit of a natter. No red tape, no bullshit. Just two dudes, chatting it out. Come."
Sunshine glided past me and sat down on the edge of the platform, her legs hanging over the side. I walked cautiously over, past the frozen Terrans, and sat with her. The abomination in the tank below us was still a dark shape in the yellow-tinged water, a few tentacles lazily drifting across the surface of the water.
Sunshine caught me looking. "Horrible thing, that." She commented. "No idea where they got it from. Think they bred it. Gets fed ten, twelve times a year."
"And you let it."
She raised her hands. "Hey, we're a bit quick off the mark. I just live here. The Terrans can do what they damn well please with themselves, nothing to do with me."
"But you're getting involved this time."
"Well, I have to. Not often we get invaded."
"Invaded? Hardly. It's just me."
The change was instantaneous.
Her gaze snapped to me, and her pretty face clouded with a dark fury, making her suddenly seem altogether less human.
"LIAR." She screamed. Her Northern lilt had vanished, and in its place was a shrieking echo that seeped into her voice like oil in water.
A sudden gust of wind slammed into me, and my surroundings slipped past my line of vision. Rough, invisible hands spun me roughly around, and I realised I was suspended in midair, dangling helplessly above the creature in the tank. Four Terrans were clustered together nearby, hovering in midair like me. Behind them, Sunshine was standing on the platform. She pointed at me, hand quivering.
"I'll give you one chance." She barked, still with that strange echo. "One chance to tell the truth, or their heads will join you in the tank."
"They're with me!" I yelled. "They're Orcs! They were inserted two months ago!"
The masks were torn from their faces, and dissolved into ash. The Orcs stared blankly at me, with varying levels of eagerness and determination frozen on their faces. For a second, the world turned black, and when I opened my eyes I was once again sitting next to Sunshine on the platform. She was gazing at me mildly.
"Sorry." She said lightly. "Lost myself for a second."
I nodded, unable to speak. I was so absorbed by the mission of trying not to vomit that it was a few seconds before I realised she was speaking again.
"...not keen on overruling the Terran legal system. They couldn't stop me if I wanted to, but I once gave them my word. I'm a resident only."