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The gnolls look at the party surrounding them. They nod to each other and then the party. Then look at the party again. “Well it seems you at least look the part.” Says the other gnoll. “At our compound, we have the goods that you have come for. It’s not very far, just two days out of town. We heard that it’s going to be hot. So you may want to change your clothes.”
“I am Vangur. This is Hangur. Our boss is who you seek as well as our goods. So we will take you to our boss. We must tell you though, we also came to pick up some new slaves, and they are going to be joining us as well.” Vangur finishes his drink. “Well it’s at least past noon now, so we can get going if you are ready to head there. Don’t worry, we have camping gear. We make the new recruits carry it to get them warmed up.” Vangur rises from the table as well as Hangur.
They take all of you to a small shop at the end of The Fleshfairs out of town. There a salesman comes before all of you and Hangur pulls out a bill of sale. The man looks at it and then ushers all of you in. In this room, there are men, women and children of all ages and races sitting in cells and cages. As you all come into the room many of them look up at you with despair and hopes that you have come to set them free. All knowing that such a thing does not exist in this world.
The man then comes forward with a line of chain. Behind it is three, chained together. One, is a small female Halfling who appraises all of you with fear in her eyes. Then came a human Chelish looking man, looking down at the floor the entire time. The last one is a woman of Kelid stature and nature. She looks fierce, with a burning passion behind her eyes, whether it’s to escape or kill, you cannot tell the difference.
“Now that we have the new recruits, we can go.” Hangur says to the party. “We go now, before the dark comes and the wind makes it impossible.”
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Fen will purchase hot weather clothing and change into it, as well extra feed for his ram and extra water skins.
As the slaves are brought forward, he looks them over as if inspecting livestock.
"The small one will slow travel," he points out. "If these ones wish, she may ride with me." Fen indicates his saddled ram.
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The Halfling girl looks at Fen. First a sense of fear, but then speaks with a certainty that seems a little out of place given her body language.
Thank you sir, but I am quite capable of moving at the pace of the rest of the party. She says.
There is no need for you to trouble yourself on slaves. Vangur says distastefuly. Either they are going to survive the trip or they don't. My boss will not want them if they could not survive the journey.
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The first day of your journey, goes completely uneventful. As you progress on the second day, the sun while not high is still radiating a heat that is almost unbearable. The slaves pushing the cart and the entire party continuing to head towards the main base of the slavers. The three slaves are pushing a cart, which is not heavy with the exception of the chest that is in the cart. As you begin to travel onward, you notice that the city of Okeno grows further and further away from you and desert mountains and caverns are in your general view. You come upon a small cavernous space where there is shade for the party to take respite in.
"I am tired" Vangur says to Hangur. "We should take break here and move again once the sun setts a little further."
"We are almost there!" Hangur says angrily to Vangur. "We could make it by nightfall if we keep going."
" I am stopping. You can carry on by yourself if you want." Vangur says resolute. He heads towards an area of shade and plops down his gear. Hangur stands there determined to carry on, but eventually yields and comes to the shade. The slaves park the cart and themselves in a small shaded area just far enough away from the gnolls. Many of them look exhausted from the hard march in the day's heat.
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Elay avoids the slaves and goes about doing Scribely duties such as taking notes, writing down his dreams from the previous night, and doodling.
1st- Snowball (DC 16),
2nd- Glitterdust (DC 17), Mirror Image, See Invisibility
Speaking in the direction of the gnolls, Elay asks, "For my records, as I don't believe you mentioned it yet, what was the name of your employer?"
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The gnolls look at Elay as he is drawing.
Yeah the boss lady spends most of her time in her chambers. She be talking to someone, but no one ever comes in or out of the room. So she is totally a weird lady. Vangur says looking out at the slaver and the others sitting by the cart.
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Charging Bear looks to the rest of the party to see if they notice as well.If someone else speaks within 1 round Charging Bear will follow their lead.
If no one else takes action he will attempt to stop her quietly with a punishing look as he says,"Kāti ! tenei ka arahi anake ki te whiu atu . e kore ko to tatou rōpū ta tatou e mea !"
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Fen notices the halfling woman, and casually gets up and stretches, and then wanders over to the slaves. When he passes close to her, he whispers the word, "Bellflower" without looking at her, and then continues on.
Reaching the gnolls, he offers them some of his food. "Tonight, we rest, as friend Vangur says. Tomorrow, this journey will come to an end... at least for now. Who truly knows what tomorrow will bring?" He looks casually at the halfling woman as he says this.
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Since others acted, charging bear will not bother the halfling women. Instead he will approach Vangur and says "Ae ka okioki tatou no te inaianei , ka waiho apopo he ra hou , me te kawe hoariri hou , o taua tino o ahau i" as he takes a long swig of his waterskin as he looks around for any food or small game around the cavern.
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At the yelling of Charging Bear, the gnolls look up and see the little Halfling look innocently at the ground before her. Almost as if she was able to hide her true motivations just in time.
Elay asks to the gnolls, "I have travelled the Inner Sea and beyond as a scribe. I have seen many cultures. Tell me, what is the local custom for punishing misbehaving slaves?"
Vangur looks at Elay with great certainty as he replies. They Die. We beat them to death because they try it once and they will try it again, and that is not okay.
Yup. We get to kill them to make an example. But at home, we can sic the dogs on them also for sheer entertainment as well. Hangur replies to Elay as well.
[/b]Reaching the gnolls, Fen offers them some of his food. "Tonight, we rest, as friend Vangur says. Tomorrow, this journey will come to an end... at least for now. Who truly knows what tomorrow will bring?"
He looks casually at the halfling woman as he says this. As the gnolls start to get up and walk around, Fen whispers: "Not yet. Trust me.". At the whisper the young Halfling looks at him with determination and respect. Trusting Fen and waits.
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"Jy het dit gemis! Hoof uiteindelik hardloop die bedekte dame af! Ons gaan vier vanaand met haar beste wyn!"
You hear this as gnolls greet all of you at the gate the following morning. A wall of ochre bricks bristles at its base with sharp stakes, barring entrance to a deep round hollow in the red rocky cliff. The wall curves at a small watchtower with a leather tent roof. Beyond the wall, the cliff rises over a hundred feet, its lower reaches dotted with shallow caves. The masonry is rather thick, and an iron portcullis over the cave entrance is attached to a winch by a thick rope.
As the party moves into the base, A stone dais painted with a hyena-like face occupies the center of this round chamber. A wide, eight-foot-high ledge runs around the perimeter of the room with a crude ladder to the east connecting the floor and elevated area. To the south, an iron portcullis hangs over the entrance to the caves. Several shallow caves with wooden gates and floors covered in straw open into this room from the north. A door to the east and a door with a barred grille to the west lead to other parts of the stronghold. A shattered wooden box and several dozen scraps of sodden, torn paper lie scattered across the floor. Guarded by two hound dogs that look more like hyenas than they do dogs.
Then, you are are immediately greeted by a Kellish man who wore slaves clothing and a collar. He bows before he greets all of you. Greetings! My name is Korshad Satevis, and I am the overseer for our masters here at Fort Stonejaws. My master is currently away for a little while, so the head of the Gnolls will be in charge of the transactions and I will present your choices for your clientele tomorrow morning. Of course, I must ask for your safety as well as our own, that you please place your weapons into this box. Korshad points to a small chest that has been strategically placed next to your goods in the center of the fort. "Of course they will be returned to you tomorrow after all transactions are completed.
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"Greetings, Korshad Satevis. Do you take us for fools? Your master with whom we have business with is "away", and we should disarm ourselves and trust to the good will of a man we have never met? I may not be from Avistan, but I did not arrive yesterday by way of a turnip cart." Fen remains calm, despite his strong words. "I think not. Until we have proof that your master still lives, and has not been overthrown by an overly-ambitious henchman, I believe we will remain in possession of our protective items." Fen states things matter-of-factly, without any hint of threat, as if discussing the weather or other matters of simple fact.
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Charging Bear shakes his head in agreement with Fen as he raises his earthbreaker and says,"Ki te ahau whakaaro koutou e kuware, haere mai, ka tango i te reira, te tangata collared"
He then looks over Elay's shoulder to see what the elf is intent on scribbling
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As the remaining slaves are being dragged away into the doorway in the East, Korshad looks rather intimidated by the party.
Apologies, but it is our way. Korshad says rather apprehensively.
You put weapons in chest. Says Vangur sternly. Or else you sleep outside and your things stay here in the fort. We no trust that you will slit our throats no better than you trust us either. You surrender weapons, we not have to worry.
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"Does Vangur put his weapons in the chest, too? If not, there is an imbalance." Fen cocks his head at the gnoll. "I will note that we did not harm you during the trip - you slept while we stood guard. I find your lack of trust... disturbing."
Fen turns to his comrades. "We must consider this "request", and whether we wish to do business under these conditions, or whether we can already achieve our goals."
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Fen turns to Elay. "This one understands the fear these gnolls feel by leaving us armed," he begins. "If harm was meant against those ones, it would certainly bode ill for those."
Fen ponders, thinking back to what Lady Darchana told them back in Absalom:
"... you need only allow our enemy’s agents to escort you to their hidden stronghold. Once inside, it should be a modest challenge for you to escape and take their leader by surprise. Your goals are to capture the veiled spymaster and to bring the scrying mirror I observed back to Absalom for further study. If the spymaster dies before she is brought here, that would be regrettable but also understandable.”
He looks at the gate of the hidden stronghold, which they are already inside, and counts the number of gnolls, weighing the odds.
"If harm was meant..." he trails off meaningfully.
There is no further need for this ruse. Surprise has been achieved. We should act.
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The party looks around them as Vangur sternly speaks. Including the guards at the top, it looks like about 5-6 armed gnolls and two armed dogs, and a few human slaves who definitely look like they are prepared to fight.
Korshad looks incredibly nervous at the entire party. As if he knew something but was too afraid to speak. He took the stance of running if a fight broke out, yet hoping that the party will comply.
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Charging Bear tightens his grip on his earth breaker, looking menacingly at Korshad as he shouts,"He kakara te flash uira, mo te whatitiri e whai ka waiho te mea whakamutunga e rongo koe !!” as he charges/attacks the nearest armed knoll or dog.
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Charging bear quickly charges in on the nearest lieutenant. His earthbreaker goes smashing into the neckbone and causes the gnoll to fall over and suffocate itself to death.
At that the gnolls all howl and begin to move towards the party, weapons out. The dogs stand in a ready mode to strike any member on
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Elay positions himself to aim a spell as clearly as possible at the Gnoll furthest from the party, leaving the present melee in the hands of the Shoanti.
Blowing into his cupped hands Elay's breath takes on a supernatural chill, forming an icy ball of magical snow. He promptly hurls it at the distant Gnoll.
