"This gnoll was quite important to this tribe-- if not the leader," Yasmeena says softly. "Especially considering how he was wearing such obviously well-crafted weapons and armor, and how lavishly this room is decorated. And, er, the female gnolls seemed to... respect him." She blushes furiously at this fact. "I wonder if he was, in fact, the chief."
|
Antarah slowly opens his eyes feeling pain everywhere in his body. He accepts Aithaloessa's help getting up thanking her, although it is more of a moral help given his enlarged body. Looking about, he quickly realizes what happened. It seems Yasmeena was quick in searching everything and the gnoll. He replies "Well, it doesn't seem we'll be able to ask him what happened. Did we find any documents that might help us figure out something about gnoll armies?"
Assuming a negative reply, Antarah walks slowly to the southern archway in the female gnolls' room. He asks to no one in particular "Where do you suppose this leads?"
"You look like a hard pat on the back will take you out again and you ask where that leads?"
Aith looks up from her rushing about at Yasmeena’s suggestion. “So we may have just succeeded at, er, carrion regicide, you mean?”
“That might make some things easier, but depending on how many more of these brutes are about, and how quickly a new leader can rise…” No wonder they didn’t station a full force here. Gods grant that the numbers are fairly low. A whole horde of those things, and a regular army would be torn apart. She turns to Antarah with some alarm, "A temple full of gnolls, some of them probably bloated with whatever this fellow was!"
“I can’t speak for Yaz and Tariq, but I can probably channel only two more spells of any power beyond cantrips, and not my strongest. Pardon me for being an elf, but hitting and running and coming back to keep up the pressure seems like the likeliest way for all of us not to die today.”
"I can stab them all day, but that doesn't do much good with that big gnolls. And without Antarah shielding us from most of the attacks, as he usually does, we'll in for a lot of pain."
"As long as the big guy isn't back to full health I'm for retreating too."
|
|
With clothes smeared with his own blood and very dizzy, Antarah says "I don't know what you're talking about." After saying this, he trips on his own foot and nearly falls then says "Ok, I may be a little dizzy. A rest would..." Without finishing his sentence, he collects what they found and leads the group outside saying "We should camp in the hills to the west, don't you think?"
As outside means back into the tower first there is a way to secure the retreat. "Yasmeena, can you lock the door behind us, or shall we check if we find something to block it?"
Yasmeena smiles wistfully as Aith lays out their plan. "Reminds me of when we were striking at Kelmarane from the hills. Remember?" She touches Haleen regretfully on the shoulder. "That was before we found you." She looks slightly uncomfortable when her friend suggests she use her roguish skills but nods and draws out her thieves' tools. "I can see if I can jam it closed. Might as well try to put these tools we found to good use!"
As Yasmeena works the lock once everyone’s gathered, Aith considers the stairs up and what might be waiting for them outside, trying to remember the layout of the temple complex.
“Fortunately, I think there’s a gap in the wall just directly to the west of us, if we can get out of this tower,” she explains. “It does mean getting past one of the outbuildings, but those seemed fairly quiet, and whatever’s that way really doesn’t like gnolls, if the trophies and warnings are anything to go by.”
“It’s also the way we came down from the hills. I think our best bet might be to just go for it, quickly, quietly, using any cover we can, if the coast is clear.”
"If we stay in the tower, we are hidden, and it is easy to defend as we can't be swarmed. But if there are a lot of those big guys lining up it could still be a problem, and we can't easily flee."
"Question is, if someone would search in the tower for the murderers of that gnolls."
"Also we would have to do without the comfort of our tent. Or do you think we could fit it in here?"
“We need at least ten feet square, and the spells on it only work once a day, so if we find the room here, we’ll have to get comfortable,” Aithaloessa explains.
“The thing is, they know where we are, at least roughly. We can brace ourselves and wait for nightfall, if things stay quiet – I can see further in moonlight than they can in the dark, I think, so if we move fast then, that should be fine,” she concedes. “Or if we wanted to be really reckless, we could try camping in here, if the gnolls don’t come knocking and Tariq can work his healing wonders again, but if I don’t get a good night’s rest, I won’t be able to gather more spell energy for tomorrow. I’ll make my peace with whatever most of us decide, but we should at least put a floor between us and this door, for now.”
She bites her lip and heads up the stairs to the next level of the tower, making sure as she goes that every barrel of her pistol is loaded.
Tariq has a look at some nasty wounds Antarah has, and tries to at least stop their bleeding.
[ooc]That's 31 hp healed unless you people want to help.[/dice]
Feeling a bit better with a fully-loaded pepperbox on her hip, Aith turns to helping barricade the door whose lock Yasmeena’s jammed, out of an abundance of caution. After all, there’s not much else to do while waiting for the coast to clear or signs of immediate pursuit.
There’s also a certain amount of relief to be found, paradoxically, in physical strain (since she lacks the others’ strength to move building material around) and using her knowledge of building to brace and block the door, rather than worrying about her low reserves of magic deep in enemy territory.
After walling the tower off the rest of the underground complex, nothing happens. An hour passes and no one attempts to open the door. Also through the window of the tower at 40 feet above ground no change in activity is seen.
Haleen walks along the length of the tower floor and determines "That's big enough for our tent. I'm not sleeping on flea ridden gnoll mattresses."
The tent can be placed on the platform with the entrance looking out the window. No one from outside or below cares for the intruders. Or they are just to stupid to search in the obvious place.
And there was evening, and there was morning — a new day.
Before she sleeps, Yasmeena uses up her remaining magical energy to heal the party.
When they rise fully rested, she casts her exploration spells again.
After the tent is packed away again Haleen stretches and enjoys a moment at the window, looking over the countryside. "Where shall we continue? Clear out the entrance below, or go outside and look for another entrance?"
Before going for a well deserved rest, Tariq has a quick look at his wounds
|
|
Feeling refreshed and stronger, Antarah makes his preparations and gets ready to move out for another day. He comments "Well, no one came during the night. I guess this gnoll wasn't... that important?" He seems mildly confused.
Once everyone is ready, he clears the entrance and takes a look outside the window above, sword in hand.
Aithaloessa is uneasy through the encampment in the tower, but does calm down a bit as the hours drag on and no vigorous pursuit is forthcoming. She’s still jittery, and even anything more than goodberry surprise for meals is too much for her, and it’s really Antarah settling down to examine the monstrous gnoll’s loot that finally distracts her enough to stop freaking out.
Her eyebrows raise high as the nature of the weapons becomes clear. “Those are nasty pieces of work, to be sure. Do we dare sell the axe, and do you think we could adjust the enhancement on it?”
Beyond that, she pores over her working notes on various spells, trying to think of something new that might help the next day. She goes to rest rather hopeful, eventually.
Feeling refreshed and stronger, Antarah makes his preparations and gets ready to move out for another day. He comments "Well, no one came during the night. I guess this gnoll wasn't... that important?" He seems mildly confused.
Once everyone is ready, he clears the entrance and takes a look outside the window above, sword in hand.
“Or they just ignored the door to an inconvenient tower in all the confusion. After all, it wasn’t even locked, and if-” she blushes “-if I were so occupied, I would definitely take steps to minimize any chance of being disturbed.”
“Since this seems to be it for this entrance, why don’t we try another way, keep anyone who’s left off-balance? And maybe make things easier if there are more of the big brutes left and we have to fall back, since I don’t think they’ll fall for the same trick twice.”
"Animals don't care about who watches their procreation. Sometimes I wonder if it's a good or a bad thing, civilization changed that."
"I don't know that many elves personally, but don't you have that goddess that is rather open minded in her teachings about that?"
"But to stay on topic, wanna search for other entrances, or go for the main entrance?" Haleen inquires. "The room we fought in had the outline of the next tower in it."
As all seem to be indecisive, besides not wanting to go back through the blocked door, the group leaves the tower through the window and climbs down. On the way something in the corner of the eye draws the attention of the group. There seems to be someone in the building at the corner.
Two small minarets guard the entrance of a low stone structure topped with the ruins of a small dome. Centuries of mountain winds have sand-blasted the western faces of the minarets to a smooth, polished finish, while the eastern sides facing the temple walls still bear illegible traces of ancient icons and calligraphy.
Entering the building turns up five frightened humans in rags, that are armed with makeshift clubs.
"Hello." one of them shyly greets back.
”Don’t be afraid!” says Yasmeena. ”Who are you? What are you doing here? Where are all the gnolls?”
She tries to be especially friendly as she suspects they had been enslaved like she and Haleen had once been.
"We fled from the gnolls. And now we're hiding here. We don't believe we can make it to the next town. What ever direction that would be."
“We could take you, once we’ve –” turned this place upside down doesn’t seem like very knightly or sheriff-ly language, so Aith opts for, “quite figured out what’s going on here. We’ve heard disturbing reports. Kelmarane’s about two days east-south-east from here.”
Yasmeena strikes a rapport with the fugitives with breathtaking ease, so Aith figures their nerves might be getting the best of them, as far as more useful information goes. “Do you think you can shelter here? We can get you some food and water, but we’re not sure how this place isn’t crawling with gnolls still. Have they gone raiding recently? And have you seen any really big ones? The things move damnably fast, if you’ll pardon the expression, and if there are many of them around, the city will have to know. How long have you been here? Do you have any idea what’s in the building to the south, with the grisly décor?”
"We're here for two days. The troglodytes from the southern building attacked the gnolls and we used the commotion to flee."
"Ah."
Tariq thinks this is an important turning point. He's sure it could be used for their own profit, though he's never been much good with diplomacy tactics.
Maybe Aith or Yasmeena...
"Troglodytes? Interesting."
|
|
Antarah, knowing he is not the best diplomat, continues silent, watching the door and being generally uncomfortable. They sure find a lot of prisoners where they go. He wants to ask about the supposed armies, who these people are, how they came to be here, but he knows he will seem more like an interrogator than someone who is here to help. He offers them some food and water.
Interesting, Aith muses, before starting to think out loud, “Some schism or split, maybe between the original custodians and the gnolls? I’m not local, so I wouldn’t know, but… This isn’t that huge a place, and depending on how long the Carrion King’s been throwing his weight around, I wonder what led to a final break? Or is this just what regular negotiation looks like between the two parties?”
She turns to her fellow adventurers. “I suppose we could at least see what the troglodytes want, but I’m not sure we’d want to trust them, depending on their numbers, the details… If they were something like friendly for the gnolls for some time, they’re probably not charming neighbours either. Perhaps we should keep them in mind, but circle back around to the main building again.”
Facing the desperate humans again, she warns, “It might get messier here before it gets quieter. I know you’re unsure of the routes away from here – if there’s anything that would make you more comfortable risking it, I can see what we can do, otherwise, we should set a watchword, and we’ll try to escort you as soon as it’s safe to leave this place behind us. Sound good?”
The scared humans stare at the elf and nod where they think they should. They gladly accept the food and water from Antarah.
|
|
Antarah sees the wisdom in Aithaloessa's words and says "Well, I'm sure the troglodytes have seen our handiwork with the gnolls. It's likely they will be easier to talk with. If we present ourselves as potential allies, then I don't believe they would attack us, and we'd have access to information about the Carrion King and his plan. There is one potential problem, however. I'm not sure troglodytes speak our language."
Or course, Antarah might be underestimating the troglodytes' will to kill them outright, but he is an optimist altogether.
“It might give us more to work with, at least, and if it doesn’t work, better to find out now than when we’re trying to fight our way clear from the depths where we found our large, amorous friend. As to languages, I suppose we’ll have to take our chances. If they’re at all spiritually-minded and taking care of the place, maybe they’ll have a bookish sort among them that might improve our odds.”
“Still, we’ll burn that bridge when we come to it,” Aith concludes, cheekily acknowledging the group’s less felicitous architectural interventions. “Let’s beard these troglodytes in their den, then.”
Yasmeena indicates the door. "I think it's best to leave it stuck, in case we need to come back here. This minaret is surprisingly defensible, all things considered!"
"If the troglodytes were working with the gnolls, they probably speak the same language. I might be able to work out what they are saying if it comes to negotiations instead of battle." She bows to Aithaloessa in willingness to follow her.
"Then onward to the entrance outside."
Protruding from beyond the safety of the western temple wall stands a fortified gatehouse built around a forty-foot-diameter dome covered in pale blue, flaking mosaic tile. Behind the dome stand a pair of slender spires. The top of the northernmost spire sheers off at a jagged angle about three-quarters of the way up, while the other bears extensive cracks circling its foundation.
Faded tiles have cracked and crumbled into small piles at the foot of mud-brick walls. Once colorful mosaics are painted with sloppy, blood-scribed warnings written in Draconic and punctuated with gnoll scalps spiked into the walls. Narrow archer slits open along the slightly curved outer wall.
As you approach a volley of javelins comes flying through those slits. "<Stop there. What do you want?!> a rasp voice shouts from inside in draconic.
Yasmeena draws her bow with lightning speed when the javelins fly. She looks at Aithaloessa with a shrug and a shake of her head, to indicate she doesn't know what the voice is saying.
The javelins come down in rough proximity of the group and are clearly only a warning shot.
"I know I could use a bath, but I'm not that easily mistaken for a gnoll, am I?" Haleen seeks for assurance from Yasmeena.
Yasmeena gasps in shock at Haleen's joke. "No one could ever mistake you for a gnoll! They are probably just afraid of your martial prowess."
"Phew, glad to hear that. Don't want another one of those big gnolls to attack me with his other 'sword'. That would be traumatizing."
|
|
Antarah steps towards the two women and says "Shouldn't we address the... uhm... javeliners...?" He turns to the slits from where the javelins came and replies in Draconic also "We come as enemy of the gnolls. We wish you no harm." He wishes that is enough to warrant them a conversation with faces instead of bricks.
"To me it's all noise, with those click and hiss sounds. Interesting that you speak that."
<"Wait.>" the reply comes from within.
Yasmeena shudders to the core of her being at the thought of fighting the alpha gnoll and his "natural weapon."
After some minutes that feel like forever, the door opens. "<You can come talk to Grundmoch the Redeemer. Keep your weapons sheathed and your hands where we can see them.>" the troglodyte tells.