I open my mouth to say something and then, thinking better of it, I close it again, waiting to see what the officer says.
"I have one. Why should we sneak into the gnoll camp, other than not having to eat the gnome when the food runs out?"
Cam looks at Bandle for a moment as if sizing him up for the cooking pot. He turns to his niece as if to say something and then thinks better of it.
Lord Flash snorts in laughter at this, quickly bringing it under control. It's the first time you've seen him show any kind of real emotion since the journey began.
"I agree with Tallis. This was clearly not in our job description when we were railroaded into accepting this job. Why should we help you do this?"
To his niece, he says, "Write that down. Question 2: How much are we getting paid for this? Question 3: When did gnolls learn to build railroads? Question 4: Can Fort Gyr benefit from this technology?"
I open my mouth to say something and then, thinking better of it, I close it again, waiting to see what the officer says.
Realizing from LJ's hesitation that the Lord Flash's question actually requires an answer, Cam adds, "Well, there's the traditional gnome-scalp bounty ... I mean gnoll. Gnoll scalp bounty! 10 gp / scalp."
He turns to his niece and says, "Note to self: Revoke 100 gp per gnome scalp bounty until the gnome-monkeys are out of the fort. Also, ask cook for recipes for gnome."
"Well, very well then, if that's everything, I'll see you when you get back?"
"So just to be clear - you want us to find your gnolls, count them, find out who is leading them, perhaps, um, scalp a few, and then report back with our findings so that then you can help facilitate the prisoner transfer?"
"Perhaps you'd simply like us to chase the gnolls away while we are at it?"
"So just to be clear - you want us to find your gnolls, count them, find out who is leading them, perhaps, um, scalp a few, and then report back with our findings so that then you can help facilitate the prisoner transfer?"
"Perhaps you'd simply like us to chase the gnolls away while we are at it?"
Cam claps his hands together and winces, "Perfect! That is a wonderful idea. I'm glad to hear it! It may be easier, however, just to stampede their cattle. That should disrupt their food supply long enough for help to get here from Absalom! We'll draw up some maps for you as soon as we can."
He turns to the old man who show'd you in, "What prison transfer are they talking about? ... I thought we'd decided those prisoners from Ashlands Prison had been eaten by the gnolls? ... Add that to the list of questions these monks are going to answer for us. Question 5: What happened to the prisoners from Ashlands? Question 6: Do any of the bones in the gnoll encampment have a non-law-abiding look to them?"
The old man chimes in, sounding much more sane that Cam Donnelly, "Look. We're not asking you to kill the gnolls. Cam's idea of stampeding their cattle might just work. Gnolls don't get along at the best of times. Make them hungry, they might start eating each other."
He takes a rolled up canvas from the desk and unrolls it. "Look," he says. "The gnolls can't cross the river yet, but we can. They don't know about the shallows to the north. If you can get up there, you can cross the river and take Blood Hawk Trail down and behind the encampment. ... The trail ends at the old monastery."
"We have no one. We sent every fighting man we had at them two weeks ago over the bridge. They all died. We had just enough time to torch the bridge and trap them on the other side of the river. You're our only hope."
"Very well," I say with a sigh, "It would not be right to just leave all of these people here helpless. Have you guys thought of relocating?"
"How far is it to this crossing?"
Bandle watches the exchange quixotically with a dawning realization crossing his face, which he quickly shakes off.
"You mean to say I'll get a hundred gold coins if I give my self a haircut after going out of the gate?" he eyes Cam with what could only be described as pity. "Not a very good businessman, are you?" then adds under his breath "it's no wonder, with that goblin breath..whew!" He makes a waving gesture in front of his nose.
He turns to his fellow martial artists and winks slyly before turning to the lad with the map.
"Stampeding cattle sounds like mischief and quite a few large" his voice drops to a mutter "cloth-eared gits" then goes back to normal volume "have suggested that I have a talent for such things, although I would say that it's in very poor taste to suggest such a thing and would rather have people say that I find clever, methodical, and fun ways to solve otherwise boring and lackluster problems like the one you have here. I cannot speak for my companions of course, but I am willing to attempt this, if only to get free of the" he pauses crinkling his nose "er...rather stuffy environment here."
The old man looks at the hesitant monks and makes a decision. "Cam, I'm going to show them around. I'll talk to you later."
To you he says, "Cam needs his rest. He was injured when the gnolls first attacked. They crossed over the small bridge and started ... eating the farmers. Every single last man of fighting age rode out to meet them. Cam made it back in one piece. Then, he rode out again to cut the bridge loose and sent it downstream. The gnolls have had to sit on the other side and wait for the river level to drop. They'll be able to cross soon."
As he talks he begins to walk you around the camp. He gestures here and there to sights obviously meant to appeal to your humanity. He points to families scarred and scared, to hungry children, and to pregnant women crying over dead husbands. You've seen worse.
"Cam's idea is madness. I doubt it can be done. Distract the gnolls until help can arrive from Absalom? We don't even know if our riders got through to Absalom. That you came here without hearing of our plight suggests they didn't. If you do what Cam has requested, the gnolls are as likely to go after you as after the cattle. It's dangerous and probably futile. So, will you help us?"
"Um, of course," I say, and then add with a weak laugh, "What's an army of gnolls?"
If you are undertaking this mission, is there anything you want to do before you depart?
As a monk, dedicated to traveling light, I am ready to venture forth.
At some point, the old man takes time to show you the map again.
"Crossing the river is difficult. It may be hard to find, but up here ... 'Hope's Crossing' we call it ... the stones are just a hand's span under the water. With a quick and careful step, you can cross the river there. It's at the foot of the old 'Blood Hawk Trail'. I'd suggest crossing up there. ... The other option is to head about half a day downstream where the river widens."
"Have the gnolls taken any captives," I ask as we stare at the map.
"The gnolls ... the gnolls eat what they kill. ... and they eat what they wound ... pretty much anything they manage to grapple they start munching on," the old man's tone is grim and angry. "I didn't see much captive taking but its possible, you know, if they felt like saving a snack for later."
Lord Flash sneers at the whole lack of order this area seems to be under. Fort in disarray, reckless Gnolls. He contemplates leaving the whole lot of them to wipe each other out, before remembering his legally binding promise.
He sighs audibly and says, "we shall scout the area and determine the best course of action when we finish. The stupid creatures won't know what hit them.
"Well, I guess we should get moving. The gnolls won't be waiting on our account."
He sighs audibly and says, "we shall scout the area and determine the best course of action when we finish. The stupid creatures won't know what hit them.
The old man starts to agree but something in Lord Flash's tone stops him.
"Well, I guess we should get moving. The gnolls won't be waiting on our account."
"Yes," the old man nods still glancing cautiously at Flash, "we don't have long and it may take a while. I'll get the quartermaster to get you some rations. Good luck."
Unless you take any more time to prepare, the old man shows you to the gate. He orders the children to open it just a smidge so that you can sneak out in case anyone is watching. Once outside the noise and congestion of a fort hiding all the local populace, the surrounding countryside seems even more ominously silent and abandoned than when you entered.
The gate shuts with a dull thud.
The old man nods still glancing cautiously at Flash.
Lord raises an eyebrow at the curious inspection, but otherwie doesn't comment on it.
He accepts the rations with a sigh and heads out with the rest of the Monks. "So let's get moving then." He starts of in the direction of the ford at a trot (sort of a walking jog).
Glancing around to see if anyone outside the fort is watching us, I head casually north, trying to feel upbeat.
The path indicated to you by the old man takes you between some barns and farmhouses. The further you get from the fort the more signs of battle you see. The brutality of the gnolls is made clear by the gnawed remains of the farmers who did not make it to safety. They did not even make sure to eat all of what they killed and masses of insects leap up into the air as you walk by only to quickly settle down again on the corpses.
LJ:
From a barn up the road, you see a flash of metal and even hear a 'yip'. You are being watched and the watchers are not being very subtle about it.
"Damned flies...", mumbles Tallis as he swats ineffectually at the insects.
"There's trouble in a barn up there," I say, pretending not to notice the flash of metal and continuing forward.
"I say when we get close enough we rush them."
"The barn? Think we can risk burning it down?", Tallis asks as he hand begins to inch towards a vial on his belt.
"That isn't a bad idea. Start to burn it and anything that survives we kill." Lord's hand rests comfortably on his Kama as they continue on their way. He watches the barn for anything out of the ordinary.
Perception Check. (1d20+9=14)
"I'm not sure the nice farmers would really want their barn burned down. How many of them can there be?"
"Actually, I think we passed the nice farmers a few moments ago.", Tallis says gesturing back at the corpses.
"Oh. Yes. That is a very good point. Still. I'm not sure setting the barn on fire is the best thing..."
"Won't the gnolls on the other side of the river notice?"
"Yeah, then they'll all be looking over here and not paying attention to the four monks crossing the river."
Lord looks to Tallis. Misdirection is one of a Monk's key skills. At least so my Master used to tell me. I never quite got the hang of it." Suddenly realizing he's said too much, he drops back behind everyone to curse to himself.
You hear the sound of a dog whimpering coming from the barn.
That isn't a dog whimpering.
"That isn't a dog."
"Sure sounds like one to me, are we really going to burn a dog to death? I suppose if that guy back there with the flies" he gestures in the direction of the mutilated remains " Was the dog's master, the poor little thing is probably hungry. Then again if he was real hungry he'd be joining the flies for a meal or consider us a meal no? Do dogs have morals? I mean, would a dog eat it's own master if it was starving to death? Maybe he's rabid and killed his master already and means to eat us. Do you think they would consider that biting the hand that feeds if his master was already starving him?" He pauses and looks with trepidation at the barn, fingering the shuriken in the bandoliers across his chest.
"I told you there was trouble in the barn," I say, remembering the glint of metal.
"Still, how many can there be?"
"That would be biting the hand that doesn't feed" Bandle seems to puzzle over that for a moment before going on. "Bad Dog! Maybe the Beastmen coerced the dog into biting the hand that doesn't feed..I mean it would be easy to convince a dog to do that if you were a beastman right?" His eyes dart around to the undergrowth. "They could be watching us right now! Because we're the hand that doesn't feed too!! They've probably convinced him to bite us! Bad dog! Burn the bad dog!"
The wimpering sound grows louder and more insistent.
The whimpering seems to say, "No, really, I'm not a gnoll hiding in here and trying to lure you in so I can pounce. I'm really just a poor, lost puppy dog who will love you and sleep beside you and be your friend. Honest."
The loft in which LJ first spotted a flash of metal is about 90' away, up a bit off the road. If this area wasn't dead quiet due to everything being, well, dead, you would never have heard the whimpering. As it is, you can hear every step one of your companions makes and the whimpering in the barn is clear as day.
"Maybe we could send the gnome on ahead and then when they rush him we could charge in..." but my tone is not serious.
"Oh listen, a puppy!" I say loudly enough for the things in the barn to hear.
"Maybe we could send the gnome on ahead and then when they rush him we could charge in..." but my tone is not serious.
"Oh listen, a puppy!" I say loudly enough for the things in the barn to hear.
"Here we go," I say and I move forward preparing myself to charge anything that comes out.
Although much of the hay on the ground has begun to rot, the flask of alchemist's fire catches and the hay begins to smoulder and slowly burn.