Skyflower and Morrigan moved as a team, one on either side of the trail, the companion animals spreading out around them. From the tracks and scents, the gnolls didn't appear to have done much scouting here in the woodlands; they headed out along the trail, and brought people back along the trail.
The call was a bit of birdsong, possibly out of place here in the Ladraio Woods but unlikely to be noticed. Morrigan slowed, turned her attention ahead, and then slowed further as she advanced. The whistle she gave back was soft, still passably avian, and expressed her shock.
The gnolls didn't have guards in the woods, because the gnolls had cut down the trees to create a massive clearing and build cages and guard-towers. She could see them keeping watch, though there were fewer on guard than she might have expected. Their prisoners were digging out something that had sunk into the earth, some sort of ancient stone structure... and some of the gnolls were helping as well.
What is happening here? Morrigan just stared, watching. There were maybe twenty humans and ten half-elves, all in decent shape and apparently reasonably well-kept, working with shovels and picks and ropes. Oxen hauled loads of dirt away, and the gnolls were... well, they didn't seem to be abusing any of the prisoners.
"This... isn't what I expected," whispered Skyflower, and Morrigan nodded.
"Nor I," she replied, still studying the scene in front of them. There were pens for the stolen animals as well, and even something that looked like a half-planted garden.
"Nobody seems immediately in danger," Skyflower said, after another minute. "We should check back in with the others."
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