Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part thirty-one

It was four hours later when Graznir returned, with Crack-bone carrying a small chest behind him. "My apologies," he said immediately. "The ancestors are... touchy, about their resting place. There was much discussion: who I am, who I brought with me, how many, how many others we might bring home. But they do have some resources, so I can keep my word to our captured workers."

Crack-bone set the chest on the ground and opened it, then called to the workers. "Form a line! One at a time. Come and get yer pay!"

The kidnapped farmers exchanged glances like they couldn't believe this was finally happening, and Azrael gave Tybalt a similar look. Tybalt just shrugged. The gnolls weren't necessarily trustworthy, but they were practical -- and this was a good way to build trust with the people around Aldpond. Plus, with the opening of the crypt it seemed they could spare some wealth. 

It suggested that there were few of them and much stored away in the depths, but Tybalt wasn't even vaguely tempted to go looking for it. Seven dead kings could likely overwhelm them, regardless of what they tried, but also... whatever was down there in the dark belonged to Graznir and his people as a rightful inheritance. Jacques was either entirely too trusting or else he pulling a friends-close-enemies-closer maneuver, but either way... if the Formorians became a problem, they could deal with it later. And if they didn't, well, powerful allies were hard to come by and good to have. His father had understood that.

Graznir and Jacques both watched as Crack-bone counted out ten gold coins for each of the farmers -- probably more than they made in a decade of farming -- and handed it over. Blunt-tusk had shown up at some point, and was standing at the back of the line to make sure nobody tried to circle back into it. 

It was late afternoon, and with the farmers paid and released Graznir turned his attention to Jacques. Tybalt stepped up to listen, but Graznir merely said, "What remains in the chest is yours, if you want it."

Jacques waved that away. "Sol Povos is not stretched so thin that we cannot get by, and you will need money for any rebuilding you do. Besides, I would rather have you feel that you owe us a debt, if you or one of your kin is going to be numbered among my father's barons."

Graznir blinked at him. "As you say, and I hope your father shares your wisdom... and your charity."

"Send word to Caristhium if you need assistance," Jacques replied. "I'm sure my cousins would be happy to assist me in answering any reasonable requests." 

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part thirty

"Success!" Graznir sounded delighted; then his snout wrinkled and his next words with worried: "Surely you aren't the only ones to survive?"

"The others stayed behind. Once we take you to meet your ancestors, we'll all depart." Tybalt sounded only slightly impatient.

"Ah. Yes, that's probably for the best."

"I'll give you my word on something else, Graznir," added Jacques, as they traced their way back into the crypt. 

"Oh?"

The viscount nodded. "If you keep your word to the farmers back there, not only will my kin and I keep quiet about this, but we'll do our best to do be sure that they do too. Tell some sort of story about how they were captured and we rescued them-- which is basically true if you don't look at the details too closely."

Graznir snorted. "Ah, politics," he said. "Very well, I accept. Certainly better than having your father track us down... or hunt us through the ruins. And at least this way we'll have time to build back some of what we lost."

"You seem a surprisingly reasonable sort for a kidnapper," observed Tybalt. 

"You sound surprised," Graznir said, "but it's easy enough to explain: I am devoted to my goal. I will do whatever it takes to regain the ancient knowledge of my people and see some portion of our kingdom restored. It required kidnapping, but once we had the numbers we needed persuasion was easier -- and far more practical -- than bloodshed. And if we do succeed at this, we'll need to be able to negotiate with our neighbors afterwards. We'll need trade, allies, acknowledgement. Much easier to find if you don't go around murdering people."

Jacques nodded. "As I said before, if you keep your word I'll do my best to help. The Forgotten Desert is considered wasteland; placing it into your hands as a barony should be an easy win, especially since most of our idiot nobles see your people as savages. By the time they learn better, it'll be established and much harder to revoke, even if anyone were so inclined."

They came to the chamber of the dead ones. Graznir moved forward, knelt, and bowed his head. He growled something in ancient Formorian. 

"Rise, my descendant," said the king at the center of crescent of thrones. He spoke in common, clearly intending his meaning to be understood to everyone present. "Are these others tools, or allies?"

"Allies, Magister," Graznir said, following his ancestor's lead and switching back to the common tongue. "They, and others of their kind, helped us to find you."

"Then they should depart now. This place is sacred to Formorians, and Formorians alone."

"A moment," said Graznir. "For the assistance they gave, they deserve some reward. May I beg the use of something here to repay them, and their kin who helped us with the digging?"

"Come forward," said the Magister, and then bent to speak softly into Graznir's ear as the rest of the children of Ruin, Tavros, and Vendril gathered near the door way.

Graznir straightened after a moment and turned to them. "Await me on the surface," he said. "I will keep my word, but this place is not for you."

Jacques didn't bother to survey the others. He just turned and walked out, knowing they would follow.

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part twenty-nine

The massive slab of stone disappeared up into the ceiling of the passage with a rumbling sound, a small shower of stone chips and dust, and almost nothing to mark it as mobile at all. Jacques whistled softly: if he hadn't seen the thing go up, he would have no idea that it could come back down. 

Beside him, Tybalt nodded. "That's some solid engineering. No wonder nobody could find them."

There was a commotion up ahead, and they started down the hall. A mixed group of humans and gnolls was coming towards them, and Jacques flagged them down with desperate movements. "Hold up! Wait!"

It took a moment for the workers to lose momentum; then they came to a gradual halt. "What is it?" asked one of the gnolls. 

"We need to get Graznir down here. This place is crawling with undead, and they don't like anybody who isn't a Formorian being down here."

"Ah," said the gnoll. "That... isn't entirely unexpected." He turned to the others. "All right, Blunt-tusk, you go get Graznir. Local farmers, get back to the surface -- you should be safe there." He looked back to Jacques and Tybalt. "Where are the rest of you?" 

"Waiting with the mummies, as a gesture of good faith."

"Brave," said the gnoll. "I'm Crack-bone, the work-leader. Technically, I'm an architect -- which is how I ended up directing the work crews." 

"I'm a bit ashamed to admit it," said Jacques, "but I really didn't come here expecting to find a bunch of well-educated gnolls engaged in an archaeological dig."

Crack-bone snorted. "Oh, there are plenty who aren't," he admitted. "With the fall of the Kingdom, our people scattered, and whatever they had to in order to survive... and we can survive on diets that most civilized peoples would find criminal. That's where "Gnoll" comes from, in fact: it's an old Formorian word indicating something feral."

Jacques tucked that away. "Sounds like it's more polite to refer to you as Formorians, then," he said. "My apologies." 

"Eh, don't worry about it." Crack-bone grinned. "It's been so long now, that's just etymology. Maybe we'll start making an issue of it someday, but it was a name we gave to our own." 

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part twenty-eight

Jacques watched as the dead things all turned to look at him. He stopped, knelt. "Blessed Ancestors," he began, "your descendants have returned, and sent us ahead to clear the way for them." 

The dead ones remained still, jackal-headed, studying him. "I seek to open the passage to the surface, that they may come and learn of your wisdom in order to reclaim your greatness."

He waited for the space of a breath.

Another. 

Another. 

Then the figure on the central throne opened its mouth. "They survived, then?"

Jacques nodded. "They did indeed. Let me bring them to you, and I will prove it. I know we are not welcome here, and depend solely on your mercy. Let me open their way to you, and we will depart."

The jackal-headed figure at the far left end of the crescent asked, "How long has it been?"

"I don't know," Jacques admitted. "Graznir Toothtaker probably does."

"Your accent..." said the one just to the right of the central throne.

"Is it hard to follow?" Jacques asked, deliberately slowing his words. "I'm sure many thing have changed since you took shelter here."

"They are enemies, robbers, vandals," said the one on the far right of the crescent of thrones. "We should destroy them."

"We have taken nothing," Jacques said, "and fought only in self-defense. We did not break anything, either. Check for yourself, if you like."

"What do you know of us?" asked the figure on the central throne. 

"Very little," Jacques admitted. "I know your people ruled here, or near here, a very long time ago. Graznir tells us that there is a legend of a Sealed Tomb which contains the knowledge of his ancestors, and he hopes that this place might be it. He said that if nothing moved in the darkness, that would be a disappointment."

The central figure looked around at its fellows. "We will meet with this Graznir. The intruders will depart. And perhaps, at long last, all will be made well." 

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part twenty-seven

"We've taken a wrong turn," Jacques breathed. Flanking him on either side, Telorn and Skyflower nodded.

There were passages out of this room, one to the left and the other to the right. Ahead of them was a raised dais, with seven stone thrones arranged in a crescent to face them. The central throne was two steps higher still, on its own raised platform. Each throne was occupied by a jackal-headed corpse, wrapped in funerary bandages and arranged stiffly in a seated position. 

They stopped at the end of the passage, a step away from actually entering the room. 

"Odds that they all stand up the moment we set foot in there?" asked Telorn. 

"Absolutely certain," Skyflower whispered back. 

Jacques studied the dead things again. Had the one in the center turned its head to regard them? He wasn't sure, and that was worse than knowing it had. "Okay, next question," breathed Jacques. "If we back away, are they going to get up and pursue us?"

"...Seems likely," Skyflower told him, "and I don't think we can take them."

"Then it's diplomacy," Jacques said, trying to ignore just how desperately he suddenly needed to piss. "Telorn... go back and get the others. Skyflower... wait here. If they turn me into paste, try to get everyone back out up the shaft."

Telorn turned and departed silently. 

Jacques set foot inside the room. 

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part twenty-six

The ruins were old, and overrun with undead... but it was the constructs that gave them the most trouble. Animated suits of armor, small scuttling things with pincers and blades, an iron cobra... 

The hallway was full of them, and none of them were friendly. Rose watched her half-siblings and friends tear into them, smashing with draconic strength or carefully-channeled magics. Azrael, the bladecrafter, seemed to know just where to hit the things; his blows weren't powerful, but the constructs couldn't absorb them the way they seemed to absorb everything else. And he was fast enough to avoid being hit himself. Jacques Fontaine danced in and out, making himself a distraction while calling orders and offering encouragement; Rose could see his early training coming through. 

Her own spells were ill-suited to this, but she did what she could to help: conjuring roots and vines to trap enemies, healing allies so that the clerics were free to deal with the undead. Telorn and Skyflower fell back beside her, covering the rear and then moving forward to check doors when the last enemies were down. 

Jacques glanced back to where they'd emerged, then surveyed the hall and led them down it. "This way, I think," he said, and turned to the left. 

Telorn checked the door for traps, then opened it cautiously. Skyflower remained at his side. 

Nothing charged out at them. 

"Okay," Jacques said softly. "The three of us will check up ahead. Everybody else, hold here until we get back -- unless you hear fighting."

Risk grinned. "Then we come running." He was looking forward to it.

"Be careful," said Tybalt, barely loud enough to be audible.

Rose watched as the three of them moved out. 

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part twenty-five

Telorn hadn't expected to bring company, but Skyflower was as quick and silent and light as he was. They reached the end of the shaft, paused, and then listened. 

There was movement in the dark, and while either of them could hide very well in the darkness, neither of them could see in it. "Back up," Telorn whispered, gesturing, and Skyflower nodded. 

That was right before something grabbed his foot and slammed him down against the stone floor. Telorn managed to kick loose, and called, "Help!" as he drew his rapier. He could make out vague shapes outside the narrow square of light from the shaft, and settled back, ready to attack or defend. The thing that had grabbed him came forward and he stabbed at it, but it wasn't taking as much damage as it should for where he hit it. 

Skyflower hit the ground beside him, drawing her blade; a moment later four glowing darts angled down and slammed into the darkened thing.  Something struck at her from the darkness, but missed. Telorn put his back to hers, let her measure his movements, and then took half a step forward to give her room to move. 

Then Tybalt arrived, having slid down the ropes. He raised his blade, and holy light spilled forth. Half a dozen creatures -- zombies and skeletons -- collapsed on the spot; others drew back, hesitant. Sun was down, immediately beside Tybalt, and the light from her holy symbol downed the two large dead things. 

"Close," said Tybalt. 

"Thank you," said Telorn. The others were coming down the ropes, but they weren't here yet. If the two clerics hadn't shown up, he might not have survived. 

Sun conjured some floating lights, to make sure the area was clear. It was, and there was a door: they had a way forward. 

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part twenty-four

Telorn was ready to go in a heartbeat, and he evidently knew what he was doing. Graznir Toothtaker touched a particular carving on the back of the altar, and a section of the floor parted and swung down, revealing a vertical shaft through the bedrock. Telorn was already looping a section of rope around the altar and tying it off when Skyflower touched his shoulder and said, "A moment, Cousin."

"Yes?" he turned to her. 

"This is a scouting run, I trust: go down, make sure it's safe, then let the others know."

Telorn nodded. "That's the plan. I'm taking the lead because your siblings are... nowhere near so quiet as they believe."

She grinned. "Then let me come with you. If anything is down there, it's better to have two of us to deal with it, and if something else goes wrong, well, one of us can go for help." 

"You think there are still things down there, after all these centuries?" Telorn didn't sound doubtful; he sounded like he was considering possibilities. Skyflower appreciated that.

"There might be," said Graznir Toothtaker. "If nothing moves in the darkness, then this trip will have been a great waste." He paused. "Well, perhaps not a waste, but a disappointment."

Telorn turned to face him. "You believe there might actually be remnants of your empire down there? Survivors?"

Graznir nodded. "That is our hope, that not all of our people -- and their knowledge and scholarship -- was lost. That some remnant might have escaped and hidden themselves away here."

Telorn turned back to Skyflower and grinned. "I'd be glad of the company," he said easily. 

She grinned back, then turned to her kin. "If you hear the sounds of fighting, come get us." 

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part twenty-three

"This is... quite the reunion," Jacques said slowly, as Telom looked around at the others. "The idea that you have come here coincidentally strikes me as ridiculously unlikely. Would you offer us the courtesy of an explanation?"

Telorn bowed. "As you wish, Baronet." He surveyed the room for a moment, then focused on Graznir Toothtaker. "The children of Ruin and King Tavros Fontaine were not the only one to take note of your activities." He turned his attention back to Jacques. "How much do you know of the Silver Fox?"

Tybalt stepped forward. "If you are truly his son, then your half-brother was one of our siblings."

Yvette nodded. "The Silver Fox was a legend," she said. "He was one of the heroes of Fort Dido, and when the second Elfsbane took the throne he confounded the Archons and took elves and half-elves out of their reach. When the Solari-killers and the dark army took the capital, he stayed to help people escape."

Telorn nodded. "My mother was Amra Bissent, one of the palace guard and one of the few who escaped when the city fell. My father never knew I was his child; he was gone to his other work well before she realized he had quickened her with me. Remembering what he had told her, my mother fled to his clan -- elvish nomads loyal to the crown, living strategically along the edges of the Forgotten Desert." He looked back to Graznir. "We know of your ruins, and we keep track of who explores them. My elders consider the pillaging done by the dark army to be a great failure on their part."

"Ah," said Graznir. "And our pillaging?"

Telorn shrugged. "Tolerable," he said. "My clan knows your heritage. For the most part, your activities here are too far away to threaten the clan... but not quite far enough for us to ignore it, either. So, they sent scouts -- myself among them." He looked back to Jacques. "Then, when I realized our shared history, I couldn't resist making contact."

He could see Jacques considering that. After a moment, the Baronet said, "You're a third perspective, then. Do you think we should help the gnolls open the way to their vault?"

Telorn grinned. "Only if you let me help you." 

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part twenty-two

The temple was little more than a carefully-arranged pile of massive, irregular, un-mortared stones. The entrance had evidently been closed off with a massive stone block, now dragged out and set to one side. 

"That must have taken some work," the half-dragon observed quietly. 

Beside her, Yvette Fontaine nodded. Sun had never considered that a half-dragon married to a human would have quarter-dragon children, but here they were: Julien, who seemed to have bred true to his father, Yvette, with silver scales where an ordinary human would have hair, and Jacques, whose scales were hidden away. Did they have breath weapons, as she and her siblings did? Were they strong and resistant to damage? Julien certainly looked it, but Sun was less sure of the other two.

 "Oh, look at that," said Yvette, nudging her shoulder. There were reliefs on the walls, scraps of paint still clinging to them: gnolls building cities, gnolls harvesting grains, something that might have been a wedding or the signing of a treaty, gnolls marching to war. Formorians, Sun reminded herself. 

"The temple itself is small," Graznir Toothtaker was saying, "consisting mostly of the entryway, a small chapel, a room that was probably used for storage or temporary quarters... and the stairs that lead down to the complex beneath. Likely at one point there were other, less durable structures here on the surface, but if so they have been lost to time."

"Have you made a study of the carvings?" asked Jacques. 

"Only in passing," answered Graznir. "Our focus has been on finding our way down. The passage at the bottom of the stairs is blocked by a series of  heavy stones that were lowered from the ceiling to seal it off. That matches with out stories of the Sealed Vault, but lifting and bracing them has proven time-consuming."

"How far have you gotten?" asked Jacques. 

"Two stones barriers raised, and we're at work on another. It might be possible to raise them all from the other side, without the need for levering and bracing, but none of my people will go down there and we would not ask that of the farmers who labor for us." Graznir hesitated. "Would I be a fool to trust you?"

Jacques frowned and glanced back at the others. "Of course I'd say no, regardless of whether it was true or not. Would I be a fool to trust you?"

"I, too, would say of course not," Graznir admitted. "So... we either choose trust, or we choose betrayal. Would you swear to me, child of Tavros Fontaine, that you would work to get your father to grant us a barony, if not an independent kingdom, in what you call the Forgotten Desert?"

Jacques glanced back at Julien, who shrugged; then he locked eyes with Yvette, who nodded. He hesitated, then looked to Sun. "What about the rest of you? Thoughts?"

"The ruins in the desert are Formorian," Sun said firmly. "Stripped and looted by the Dark Army, but they may still retain some secrets. If they do, the gnolls are clearly heirs to those places, I would join you in petitioning for this, especially since a revived -- and friendly -- nation of gnolls would make use of an area that most avoid, and potentially provide a bulwark against another invasion from the east."

Jacques surveyed the rest of the group, and the True Elf paladin Ash said, "I'm in."

Sun didn't even have to glance at her brother Risk to hear the smile in his voice. "Sounds like fun."

"Then come around behind the altar with me," said Graznir, "and I'll show you the other way down that we discovered. If you can raise the stone barriers and open the way, you'll save us considerable work... and possibly keep our workers safe. That's if  you're willing."

"Wait," said a new voice, and a half-elf strolled into the room, dressed in a mixture of grays. 

"Who is this?" asked Graznir, looking betrayed. 

Sun looked blank; so did Jacques, and Yvette, and all the others. 

"I'm not really with them," the newcomer said, "but I know who they are -- and after several days of lurking in your camp, I know who you are too, Graznir Toothtaker."

"Okay," said Scar, golden-scaled and impatient. "So who the fuck are you?"

"Telorn Bissent," the half-elf said. "Firstborn child of the Silver Fox, Vendril, and the guardswoman Amra."  

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part twenty-one

It was a trio of gnolls that came towards the break. Two of them stopped thirty strides out; the the third, armed and armored, continued forward. 

When Jacques stepped out of the trees, it stopped, grunted, whined... and then dropped back, motioning the robed gnoll forward. 

Jacques continued forward, putting himself will within bowshot -- and both of the apparent guards were armed with crossbows -- and stopping just two strides back of the robed gnoll. "You're the leader, here?" he asked. 

The gnoll ducked its jackal-shaped head. "I am," it growled, then raised its head to study him. "I am Graznir Toothtaker, researcher and scholar and accidental wizard."

Jacques grinned, but kept his teeth covered. "Jacques Fontaine, firstborn son of the King, and Baronet of Caristhium. I won't say it's a pleasure, since we came here following reports that you were raiding the local households, but I'm given to understand that while your recruiting is... unconventional... most of the captured locals will consider themselves satisfied if you pay whatever you've promised."

Graznir regarded him. "Are you a scholar, Jacques Fontaine?"

"A dabbler," Jacques demurred. "I was trained for the Court -- a bit of this, a bit of that. I have been reminded that the gnolls are descendants of the Formorians, who once controlled a puissant magical empire in what is now the desert not far from here."

"Just so," said Graznir. "Legend -- our legend -- has it that there was a vault, sealed away, that contained the core of our magical knowledge after our empire turned on itself. I have spent my life tracking down clues and references, and I believe that it is here."

"This temple?" asked Jacques. "Or beneath it?"

"Beneath it," the gnoll said, his voice soft with reverence. "If it proves true, we could reclaim the desert, reclaim our ancient cities, and perhaps restore the entire area to the life it once contained."

Jacques considered that. "That land technically belongs to Sol Povos, and thus to my father. Would you be willing to negotiate with him? A gnoll -- or Formorian -- barony within Sol Povos is not out of the question, but given the current state of the kingdom I wouldn't like to see it mistaken for some sort of rebellion. We have other, more meaningful, fights to undertake."

 "The elves have their own kingdom, in alliance with Sol Povos. Would your father consider something similar for a small kingdom of Formorians?"

Jacques chuckled. "Knowing my father, he would definitely consider it. Whether he could make it stick with the other nobles... I don't know. But if you keep a low profile and don't let on that there's anything here worth finding, I suspect he could play it off as a concession to someone who would keep order."

The gnoll's face twisted in a way that Jacques thought reflected a frown. "You are the Baronet of Caristhium? You are far from your home."

"Father's orders," Jacques said, and offered a small shrug. "And my friends came to deal with the raids... but if you aren't truly raiders, then another approach seems called for. So... do right by the ones you have working for you, let us help you, and let's see what we can manage together." 

"I think we have little choice," Graznir replied after a moment. "I had hoped to manage this without being noticed, but since you have come... Yes. Very well. Bring your people, and I will show you what we do here."

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part twenty

Jacques slipped up to the doorway. "We're here to rescue you," he whispered. 

"You're what?" It was male voice, grumpy at being awakened, but still quiet so as not to awaken anybody else. 

"We're here to get you out and let you get back to your farms."

"We won't get paid if we do that." The man had risen, solid and stocky, light-haired in the darkness. "The gnolls promised us a reward if we helped them dig out the temple and the complex beneath it."

"They did?" Jacques let his surprise color his tone, audible even though they were whispering. "And you believe them?"

The man shrugged. "They didn't take our children, or our elderly. There's one of them can speak Common, and he says they're studying the ruins, hoping to find something under them."

"But they did kidnap you," Jacques pointed out. 

The man nodded. "They did, and there're some here as might resent that... but they've promised us payment once they get access to their temple, and so far they've been straight with us. No whips, no torments. Hard work, but no harder than running a farm. And if they find the gold they've promised us, well... we'll be well-repaid for our labor."

Jacques considered that. Beside him, Skyflower was frowning. Yvette asked, "You'd trust them?"

The man straightened, and his expression sobered. "I'd be lying if I said we weren't all a little concerned for our kids... but they know how to take care of themselves, and how to keep the farms in basic order.  Ellia had a newborn; they took her husband but left her behind with the kids. They aren't monsters, s'far as we can tell. They just took us because they needed help and had no other way t'get it."

Jacques made a decision, because there was no safe way to consult with the rest of his group. "Very well. Ask the one who speaks Common to come towards the treeline in the morning, and I'll meet him -- or her -- there, so we can talk."

"Just to talk?" asked the farmer, suspiciously. 

"Just to talk," Jacques reassured him. "I want assurances that the gnolls will pay you and release you when you're done digging for them, and I want more information about what they intend here. I don't intend bloodshed unless they do."

"Aye. All right, I'll tell 'im. You go your way now, before you bollix this whole thing up."

Jacques nodded, though he doubted the human could see him, and motioned for the others to back away. They slipped back out of the camp just as quietly as they'd entered, leaving one -- hopefully -- unconscious gnoll, and a pen with its door wide open.  

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part nineteen

Skyflower led the way, silent and precise in her movements, and Jacques followed in her steps. Risk moved close behind him, surprisingly silent for all his bulk. 

Skyflower held up a hand and they paused; after a moment she lowered her hand and motioned them forward. Nobody spoke; they all just followed. Morrigan had turned into a massive bear, but moved with a surprising lack of noise for her size; she was sniffing the air, and apparently had some sort of communication worked out with Skyflower. 

Yvette was staying close to her brother's back, evidently trying to step exactly where Jacques stepped -- which he appreciated, since she was far more of a scholar and a spellcaster than a rogue. Rose and Ash trailed them at the back, half-blind in the darkness but making their way quietly along despite that. They dropped back just a bit before the prisoners' pen came into view, in something that was evidently a shared decision. 

A faint grunt reached their ears, and Jacques looked over just in time to lock eyes with the gnoll who'd just come around the corner of the pen. For a moment, he froze. 

Risk had no such hesitation. He dashed forward, struck the gnoll in the solar plexus and then the side of the neck, and grabbed it as it sank towards the ground, gentling its fall and cutting off its air at the same time. He returned to the group with silent steps, then used his hands to mimic breathing; Jacques took that to mean that the gnoll would live.

Skyflower nodded and blew him a kiss; Risk grinned. 

There was door near the corner of the pen, heavy wood crudely fastened together and held closed with a pair of bars on the outside. Risk glanced at Jacques, who nodded and made a go ahead gesture. The half-dragon slipped forward, slid first one bar and then the other quietly free of their clasps, and then caught the wooden door as it fell towards him. That left him balancing a wooden beam and a door, but Morrigan came forward and braced the door so he could set the bar quietly aside. 

"Who's there?" whispered a voice from inside the pen.  

 

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part eighteen

Intrigued, Jacques watched as his siblings and the children of Ruin sorted out who would venture into camp and who would wait at the edge of the trees. Jacques himself would venture into the camp; he was stealthy, and he could see in the dark, and he might possibly even be able to provide a distraction if they needed it. Somewhat to his surprise, his sister Yvette joined him; she could see in the dark, but wasn't as practiced at stealth. Their brother Julien, on the other hand, shook his head and drew back; he would wait to cover them. 

Of the True Elves, the cleric Tybalt went to stand beside Julien, reaching up to put a companionable hand on his shoulder. The paladin Ash, however, came forward to join Jacques and Yvette. Somewhere in there, she'd switched out her scale mail for a simple buff coat -- a heavy leather arrangement that offered decent protection but wouldn't slow her down or make her clumsy. The paladins of Amun and Helios generally wore the heaviest -- and most magical -- armor they could get their hands on, and had all the grace and stealth of an iron golem. A paladin of Ruin, on the other hand... apparently they were more subtle, or could be if they wanted to. 

Azrael went and joined his brother. He was armed and armored and looked ready to fight, but Jaques thought that his decision to remain behind was correct: he didn't look at all sneaky. Skyflower slipped up beside Jacques, grinned, and strung her longbow. The two who looked like regular elves -- the druid Rose and the werebear Morrigan -- also joined their group. That brought the three animals -- the wolverine Brick, and the wolves Geri and Freki -- over to join them.

Too many, Jacques thought. "Can you send the animals over to wait with the others?" he asked quietly. "I'd like to keep them in reserve."

Skyflower glanced back at him, smiled, and touched the haunch of one of the wolves. All three animals quickly retreated, settling in around Julien and the others. 

Seven to enter the camp, Jacques thought. Eight to watch our backs. He wasn't sure that his tutors in the study of military theory would have approved of this, but then they tended to focus on movements in squads and divisions and wings -- and even they admitted that the presence of Solari always threw things off. Not that anybody here even remotely qualified as Solari... but if they all had anything in common, it was a tendency to throw things off. 

"We're going to try this," he said, glancing at Skyflower and offering a smile in return. "If anybody finds that they're hearing themselves move, just slide back and join the others. It looks like they used the trees they cut down to make the pens -- so we're looking for less solid entry points to open up. The gods alone know what they might have used for doors, so keep an eye out -- and keep an eye out for guards. Moonset is almost here, so they'll be relying on darkvision just as we will. We might have the edge in hearing and smell, so use that. If we can get everyone out before we're noticed, great. If not, then we're covering their retreat. It's well past midnight, so hopefully most of the gnolls are asleep and we can pick them off a few at a time -- or bluff our way out."

Behind him, "Sun, Scar, Julien..." Tybalt's voice was firm. "It's a clear night, so the rest of us can see a little, but we're working by starlight. You're the ones who can actually see in the dark, so stay alert. Don't neglect listening, and keep an eye on how the animals respond. We may need to follow their lead. Or, we may be able to wait back here and escort people away. We won't know until it happens."

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part seventeen

"Hold up," said Skyflower. "I'm not opposed to talking to them, but I'd like to do it with the prisoners safely out of the way first."

Beside her, Morrigan nodded. "If we could break them out, then deal with the gnolls..."

Jacques considered that. The True Elf Paladin and his sister Yvette were both nodding, and he could see their point. "So... try to set the prisoners free without the gnolls noticing?"

Skyflower nodded. "I say we hold up here, wait until dark, and then see if we can get them out without the gnolls noticing."

"I seem to recall being reminded that the gnolls can see in the dark," Julien observed quietly. 

Skyflower nodded at that. "They can, but only so far out. If we can get to the prisoners without being seen, then we might be able to pull it off."

"And if we can't?" Jacques asked. 

Skyflower shrugged. "Then we back out and try diplomacy."

"I think..." Ash, the paladin, looked thoughtful. "I think I prefer this approach."

"Does anybody oppose it?" asked Jacques. 

Risk shrugged. "If we aren't fighting anyway, we might as well try this first."

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part sixteen

"Okay, so the gnolls aren't raiding farms to eat the people living there, or to sacrifice them some dark god. They're basically kidnapping farmers and using them as slave labor." Tybalt looked frustrated. "That means that if we start moving against them, they could easily turn their captive labor force into hostages."

Jacques nodded agreement. "A direct attack could go very badly, and if we set to picking them off by stealth... we'd have move carefully and make no mistakes."

"Not all of us are that stealthy," Julien remarked, and Tybalt nodded. They could shed some armor and be quieter, but none of them were dedicated rogues and Jacques suspected that he was one of the stealthier ones there. Skyflower would be good at it, and Risk and Rose could manage... 

"Well," said Tybalt. "We might actually have to fall back on diplomacy. M'lord?"

Jacques nodded. He was unquestionably the best suited for that -- the golden half-dragon sorcerer Scar was compelling in his way, but lacked training in diplomacy and information-gathering. 

"I'd very much like to know what they're doing," Ash (the true elf paladin) said. She sounded frustrated, and Jacques couldn't blame her. 

"The gnolls..." said the golden half-dragon cleric Sun, "...are the descendants of the Formorians, who held a sizeable and magically-powerful empire in what is now the forgotten desert, between Wellfort and Fort Dedo. The champions of Fort Dedo were said to have discovered powerful magical artifacts in the ruins there, artifacts which the Dark Army later claimed and used."

Jacques had a vague memory of that as well. "Yes... crossbows that fired magic missiles, and... ballistae that loosed bolts of lightning? Something like that, anyway. Maybe some Flame Blade swords as well."

"So do we think they're looking for weapons?" asked Ash. "If so, they may want to murder their prisoners to keep anyone else from learning about them." 

"They might just be after magical secrets," suggested Azrael. "Who knows what's buried down there?"

"The gnolls do, apparently," observed Skyflower darkly.

"Very well," said Jacques. "Do we have any way of learning more without approaching them, one way or another?"

Sun shook her head, looking frustrated. "I'm too new to this."

Scar looked around the group, grinned, and said, "Well, I propose that we just go ask them. We've a large enough group. If we walk out to the edge of bow range, and wait for somebody to come talk to us, they'll likely send someone. If they swarm us, they're away from the prisoners -- and they'd need most or all of their group for that, according to Rose and Skyflower and Morrigan's count of their numbers. We could take them out without risking the prisoners. If they ignore us, they have to worry that we could just walk away and come back with a bigger force. They'll know we know where they are."

"It's a gamble," said Yvette, but she was thinking hard. "They might already have some of those weapons."

Scar nodded. "It is, but I don't think it's a foolish one. And I think we're safest -- and most threatening -- if we move together." He glanced at Jacques. "No offense, new friend, but you had a look in your eye as if you were thinking of going to talk to them alone. I think you should do that, just... with the rest of us standing ready at your back."

Jacques chuckled. "When you put it that way..." and Tybalt nodded.  

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part fifteen

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." 

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part fourteen

Rose drifted across the sky, flapping occasionally to keep her position but mostly letting the late-afternoon updrafts hold her in the air. The feel of air playing across her wings was like nothing else she'd ever experienced. Morrigan and Skyflower were down in the trees somewhere, making their own way with bestial companions to protect them if they needed it. Either of them could handle herself, but if some of the gnolls surprised them it would be better if the deaths looked like animal attacks.

Her mother was a priestess of Amun and her father was a god -- no matter how minor -- but Rose had only truly come to understand herself as a druid. She'd never shared her parents' fixation on weapons and battle. She'd humored them, learned enough to hold her own, but she'd never be a deadly blade. On the other hand, she could take the form of an eagle and fly, or go unseen as an ordinary dog, or tap into the power of the land to cast her spells. 

She hadn't known her father as well as she knew her mother, but both of them had supported her decision. Her father, in particular, had frequently said that he only wanted her to find a place of her own, where she was happy and fulfilled. And her father had had a certain attachment to the druids, and not just Alnira among them -- though their connection had certainly made it easier for Rose to find her way to them. 

Her mother had been disappointed, perhaps, that Rose hadn't followed her into the priesthood of Amun or at least Corellon, but Rose had simply never felt that calling, that attachment. When her sister Sun, the golden half-dragon, had stepped into that role instead, Rose had been nothing but relieved. Even so, her mother had never said a word against the druids, or her choices, or...

The thought trailed off into the silence of pure shock as she drifted close enough to see the gnoll camp. They're weren't taking captives for sacrifice; she could see the wooden pens, currently empty as humans and half-elves and a pair of dwarves and even some of the gnolls worked with picks and shovels and ropes. 

They were excavating.

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part thirteen

"We're getting closer, I think," said Skyflower, studying the path ahead. 

Morrigan bent down and sniffed at the ground. "Yes. The scent is stronger. Best to move quietly from here." 

Rose nodded to them and dropped back, light-footed as she waved the others closer. She had the features of a classical elf, a blend of her mother's half-elven ancestry and her father's True Elf bloodline. "Okay," she said gently. "Time to slow down and go carefully. Morrigan and Skyflower both think we're getting pretty close, and gnolls... well, they can be pretty hard to sneak up on."

"Should we wait until after dark?" asked Risk. 

"Not all of us can see in the dark," Rose reminded him. "And the gnolls all can." 

"Oh," he said. "Right."

The battle-cleric Tybalt glanced around the group. "I say we wait here and let Morrigan and Skyflower scout ahead -- or Rose can scout from the air."

Jacques, the nobleman, nodded and set a hand on his rapier. "Seconded."

Rose nodded. "Let's do both. Stay here, stay quiet, and I'll let them know."

"You said she was the oldest?" Jacques asked quietly, as Rose walked away. 

Tybalt nodded. "And the most experienced. Watch this."

Rose spoke briefly with the other two women, then shimmered and transformed into an eagle. Wide wings shoved her into the air, and she circled as she rose, slipping through the trees and into the sky. 

"I should..." Risk made to start after Skyflower and Morrigan, but his half-dragon sister put a hand on his shoulder. "Stay here," she said, looking past him at the two woman who were slipping into the woods alongside the trail they'd been following. 

Jacques followed her gaze, just in time to see a pair of wolves and... was that a wolverine? He legitimately didn't know. The three animals followed the women, and Risk said, "Oh. Right."

"...What were those?" asked Yvette. 

The paladin Ash chuckled. "Rose is the most experienced of us. Brick is her companion and protector, a wolverine. He's not wearing his barding because Rose wants him to be mistaken for an ordinary animal. Morrigan and Skyflower are both training as rangers, and part of that includes companion animals for them as well; those are the two wolves, Geri and Freki." 

"So we aren't just twelve," Julien observed. "We're fifteen." He looked over at Risk. "Oh, this is going to be fun, New Cousin."

Risk smiled back at him. "Oh, yes it is." 

Duendewood: Children of Ruin, part twelve

"Excuse me," said Morrigan, "I need to go catch up with my sisters."

"Of course," answered Julien, with a courteous nod. He fell back as she strode forward, covering ground quickly and gracefully despite her comparatively short legs.  

At his slower pace, it took only a minute or so for his brother Jacques and the True Elf cleric Tybalt to catch up to him. "Well," he said, "that was interesting." 

"How so?" asked Jacques, with that half-concealed smirk that indicated that he knew more than his brother did. Jacques was perfectly capable of deceit or false politeness with people he didn't like, but with his siblings he always gave way to that expression. 

Julien pretended that he hadn't noticed. "Well, Morrigan isn't wearing armor, and that guisarme she's carrying is too big for her, so I suggested that if we went into combat she should stay behind me and make her attacks from there."

"Ah," said Jacques. Beside him, Tybalt had turned his head away to study the brush along the side of the trail. "And how did she take that?"

"She seemed to think it was funny," Julien admitted. "She said that fighting in formation was never a bad idea, but I swear she was trying very hard not to laugh." He looked past his brother to Tybalt. "Is she a powerful fighter? Because she looks, well..."

Tybalt glanced at Jacques. "I am so, so tempted to tell you to wait and see, just so I can see the expression on her face. So... permit me to test you a bit?"

Julien might have bristled at anybody else trying to test him, but Tybalt seemed... More like he's jesting with me. And with Jacques. It seemed good-natured. So Julien said, "Very well."

"I want you to work out a puzzle," Tybalt told him. 

"And Morrigan is the puzzle?" Julien asked. When Tybalt nodded, he said, "As you wish. She does not wear armor. She carries a warrior's weapon, so presumably she's trained with it. That fairly well rules out her belonging to one of those orders that fight without weapons or armor; I don't know of any of them who teach polearms. On the other hand, her clothing is loose and flowing, with plenty of extra cloth..." He blinked. "She turns into something, doesn't she? Something larger than she is right now." 

"There you go," Jacques congratulated him. "Tybalt says she's a werebear."

"Truly?" Julien didn't try to conceal his shock. 

"Truly," said Tybalt. "Born to it, and werebears are not vicious in the way that some other lycanthropes become. But she learned fighting from both her mother and our father, and she's easily as formidable as Risk."

"Ha!" Julien laughed. "So it would work, especially since she could swing that thing right over my head." He chuckled, then added, "But I can see why she thought it was funny that I was trying to protect her."