The wind whispered through the half-crumbled walls of the mansion as Vanthelis stood before the others. Dorothy leaned on her wooden chair, arms crossed, gaze sharp as ever. Haben stood nearby, silent and tall, while a few of the older children, their faces marred by dirt and fatigue, circled around. Among them were two unfamiliar yet curious faces—one a boy with a mocking smirk, the other a younger girl clinging to the edges of the group.
"Alright," Vanthelis began, voice calm but firm. "We have a potential advantage, but we need to move carefully. The gnolls have a small settlement and they outnumber us. We can't fight them head-on. So, we're going to pull them out—one by one."
"And how do you plan to do that, my lord?" Dorothy asked, tilting her head.
"We'll use bait. The murloc corpses. Drag one close to their patrol path and wait for a lone scavenger to approach. Then... we strike."
"Sounds risky," Haben muttered. "What if they come in groups?"
"We pull back. We stay hidden. We don't engage unless it's safe. That's why we need to observe them first."
One of the teenagers crossed his arms. "It's a decent plan. Better than just sitting here starving. But how do we know you're telling the truth? None of us saw the gnolls."
Vanthelis narrowed his eyes. "Which is why we need a couple more to come with me. To confirm what I saw."
"Who's volunteering?" Dorothy asked, scanning the group.
A voice piped up, cocky and amused. "I'll go. Let's see if our dear young master is hallucinating again."
The boy stepped forward, a sarcastic grin on his face. His tone made a few others chuckle nervously.
Vanthelis frowned but nodded. "Fine. You come."
Another voice, this time small and hesitant: "I want to go too."
Heads turned to the girl near the back, barely ten years old, eyes wide with a mixture of fear and determination.
"It's not safe," Haben warned.
"But I'm small. I can sneak and stay low. You need someone like that, right?"
Dorothy studied the girl and gave a slight nod. "She has a point."
Vanthelis sighed. "Alright. You're both with me. Stay close. Stay quiet."
The sun had barely begun its climb when the small group of four moved into the forest, leaves crunching lightly beneath their feet. The air was damp and filled with the scent of moss and morning dew.
"You really think there's some dog-people out here?" the boy asked mockingly, crouching beside Vanthelis.
"You'll see soon enough," Vanthelis said, eyes scanning ahead.
Kristine—the girl—walked carefully, hugging the trees as if they were her shield.
They moved in silence, weaving through the underbrush, climbing small ridges, and ducking beneath thick branches. After nearly an hour, the forest began to change—rocky paths, strange markings on trees, and the faint smell of smoke.
Vanthelis motioned for them to crouch.
"There. Look through that gap," he whispered.
They peered through the brush. Just beyond, nestled between rocky hills and natural caves, lay the gnoll settlement. Makeshift huts formed from branches and furs, campfires smoldering, and gnolls moving lazily among them. Some sat around in pairs, while others slept near the caves.
"No way..." the boy muttered, eyes wide. "They look... like real people."
Kristine's hands trembled slightly as she clutched a branch. "They talk to each other."
Then they saw him—the robed gnoll. Tall, hunched, and cloaked in strange cloths, it stood before a gold-veined rock inside a cave, chanting something none of them could understand.
"I think that's their leader," Vanthelis said quietly. "He's not like the others."
The boy nodded slowly. "Okay... okay, I believe you now."
Vanthelis turned to both of them. "This is why we need a plan. We can't fight all of them. But maybe we don't have to."
They stayed for a few more minutes, watching and listening, then quietly slipped away through the forest.
The walk back was tense.
"So... why not just leave them alone?" the boy asked.
"Because they're near us. If they decide to hunt or scout deeper, we're done," Vanthelis replied.
"They didn't seem that aggressive," Kristine said.
"They haven't seen us yet. That changes everything."
The forest thickened again as they got closer to the base.
"You really think we can take them down one by one?" the boy asked.
"We don't need to take them all down. We just need to create pressure. Confusion. Fear."
"You've changed," he said after a while.
"We all have," Vanthelis muttered.
By the time they returned, Dorothy was waiting, arms crossed.
"Well?"
"They saw it," Vanthelis said.
The boy gave a short nod. "He's not crazy. There's a whole camp of them."
Dorothy turned to the others. "Then we proceed."