Elleonora perked up at the mention of possible hostiles on the horizon. That… was not unheard of out here in the desert actually. Deserts made for some of the best ambush locations. Heck she had friends who lost great deal of money on caravans sacked during their trek through the desert sands. Out here it was easy to hide an ambush, all they needed was some cloth and to bury themselves just a tad bit. Spotting a hostile under the sand was hard if not near impossible.

“Let’s just keep ready… whomever it is they’d find it rather challenging when they come into contact with fully heavily armored fighters.” Elleonora said with sime content.” Fordes overthere especially would stop a great number of potential wanabe bandits. If they are friendly great, if not… well let’s just say the desert will bury everything left behind without much problem.”



At the mention of possible enemies on the horizon, the half-elf made a rather displeased expression as she pulled out her magic book. It was her first and last line of defense both literally and figuratively. It held all her magic inside and it’s heavy metal encased bindings and covers made it a very effective protective and offensive tool. She gently and carefully opened the book and her fingers ran trace across the inscriptions across one of the pages. Anyone tried something stupid as to stand in between her and her money was going to get into big troubles.

Vivian

Most of the group took the time to answer the Bard's question. A few seemed to just ignore the question. She did not know what to make of that. It seemed the ones that talked all wanted to go places. Well except her and Parum who felt like settling down. Catarina however felt the desire to go elsewhere. Vivian was planning on following after her once this mission was a success. Then Malkai alerted them to possible enemies. He did not say what but their figures were dark. Well that helped out a bundle. She sighed and decided to reposition. Take her new spot right beside Parum. She braved the rays of the sun to be prepared for what might come. Cat mentioned a village and hoped that they could reach it. If not they might wonder into a fight,... so soon already too. If felt like only a couple minutes ago they just left the darn city. She kept her staff in both hands ready to use it. Hopefully she could just use her own spells and not have to conjure her familiar. These people might not feel to comfortable with a giant scorpion... even if she was the one who released it.

Alexander

Fordes immediatly began to sniff the air. Trying to pick up any scent. What it got was not something he expected. It smelled of dog but it wasn't quite right. It was new to Fordes ,but it picked them up alright. He let out a little bark to Alexander to try and voice it's concern. Alex traveling with the dire wolf for quite awhile knew how to decipher what the animal was saying. Malkai was right. Something was out there. Whether it was friendly or not was undetermined. The bard tried to justify that the people might not be bandits or enemies but people passing through just like them. Which is possible. They could be but then again they probably might not. He drew his sword and kept it ready. "Nothing wrong with being ready for a fight though. Let's just keep on our guard." He wasn't worried. Any combatant would have to worry about not just him but Fordes as well.

Gnolls

The Gnolls had gotten a bit closer to the group using the sand as much camouflage. They hoped it would keep them hidden but one gestured to the falcon returning to it's owner. "Think it spotted us?" It asked. The others watched it and not very soon after the group began drawing their weapons.
"Well that answers that question... there goes our element of surprise." He looked around and figured they were not enough to handle such a well equiped group. Then he saw her... their quarry. The elf witch sitting beside the halfling. He then grinned devilishly. "You, go back to the camp and grab reinforcements. We will set up a trap up ahead. I have an idea.... I wonder what their group would feel if their elf company turned out to not be so white as she appears." The others smiled as well and began to cackle like that of a hyena. They got up and dispersed......

..... For the group it would seem like nothing was popping out at them just yet. however the area looked rather unnatural to someone who regulars this area. Side from the large sand dunes there was also smaller bumps in the sand so to speak. Almost as if graves were dug or something was buried underneath. As they kept going it would sooner be found out that something was underneath the sands. One by one each of the monsters burst from the sands. They were large and covered in sandy fur. The also carried makeshift armor from what would like parts they stole. Not well made but it did its job judging from the nicks on some of them. Their weapons also varied from different types and sizes. One such Gnoll had a buckler and a war axe, the one beside it a little ways to the left. That one carried a greatsword. However, the one taking charge came up from the front. He stood a good deal aways. His weapons was two longswords. He gestured to his comrades and barked at them and then. Looked to the driver Parum and then to Malkai.

"Now now,... we are not here to sack your wagon. We came here for just one thing only. One person actually." He lifted his sword up and tilted it to point it right at Vivian. Vivian gulped and began to feel uneasy. "We want the she elf and we thinks after I tell you the truth about her..... you will let us take her and you can go on your way." He said. He began to cackle once more. The others began to follow.

"She is no surface elf.... oh no she is far worse then any pale skinned elf from the north. In fact her kin go deep south if you catch my meaning." He continued. "On the surface she hides what is inside her. She is a dark skinned elf of the drow." He the extended his fingers. "You can't really believe a elf would normally walk around with a scythe like that do you?" He shook his head and then spat on the ground. "We want the drow elf,... that is all. Give her over to us and continue on with your mission you can." He stared right at Vivian afterwards.

Vivian felt nervous and a bit shocked that these things knew what she was and she wasn't doing a good job with her act now. She was trembling. It began to build up from fear to anger. She was not letting these dogs take her. They large but they where not many and they only outnumbered them two to one. She knew they could take these monsters out. Then she began to think... but would these people fight them with her. Would they help her or would they abandon her. These things wanted to take her... specifically her and knew what she was. This only meant her house was involved and they where on the surface. They were using these dogmen to grab her. She was not going to go down without a fight.... She refused.

"I'm not going anywhere......" Vivian spoke as she removed her necklace. As she did her appearance quickly changed from that of a elf to that of a drow. Her eyes went from blue to a vivid color. Her hair turned even brighter. She smirked and looked to who she hoped to be her friends. "Yes I am a drow and I disguised my appearance. How else would I a rogue drow enter a city like Sapphire." She spoke. If anyone the orc would understand. She then looked over at the Gnolls. "I thought if I chose the desert as my place of escape that I could be free of my house.... yet here are their dogs. Growling and slobbering."

Out of anger she rose her staff up and aimed it towards a group of the Gnoll to her right. The great jewel in the center began to glow. "Come out Selma,... Your meal awaits you." She said. A beam shot out and from the sands emerged a large monsterous scorpion. It immediatly began to attack one of the gnolls. She then immediatly slid down and readied her scythe for the others. "Im not going down without a fight..."

When Malkai mentioned potential bandits, Catarina knew their types well. Usually they were just poor folk down on their luck. Aside from a few times were Catarina was the sole protector of a caravan, they usually only attacked lone wanderers or small merchant wagons. However if they were orcs, they would be in for a harder time. Catarina was all too familiar with the orcish tribes in this area, and while some were amicable enough to actually trade with humans, an equal amount were roaming marauders. Usually they just raided villages for supplies, but it isn't unusual for a particularly large horde to attack a caravan too. Without a word Cataraina drew her blade, the sword glowing bright even under direct sunlight.

Catarina spotted them long before the gnolls popped out of the sands. Their tactics weren't anything the merc hasn't seen before. Almost amateurish really. What they said however made Catarina pause. She turned to Vivian, who took off her amulet and revealed that she wasn't a normal elf, but a drow of all things. Cataraina never met a drow before. For some reason the gnolls wanted her, likely due to drow related reasons. But Vivian wasn't going without a fight, and Cataraina wasn't going to betray one of her teammates.

"Kiya!" Catarina dug her boots into the side of her horse to make it charge forward towards the gnoll wielding two longswords. Before they got close enough for either horse or Catarina to be struck, she jumped off with surprising grace for someone wearing such bulky armor. Her roundness in fact helped her to her feet as she rolled over the sands and faced off against the large gnoll, her sword and shield ready to do battle. "We will show you no quarter!" Catarina shouted, and with a thrust aimed the tip of her bastard sword towards the heart of the gnoll.

---

Parum was always ready for trouble. Came with the territory of a rogue after all. Despite her silk robes making the small and lithe halfling look defenseless, she actually had an easy access to a variety of knives and short blades. With Malakai's announcement, the small talk they had was cut short as well and Parum focused her attention on the area around her. Thus, Parum was more then ready for the ambushes when she spotted their crude and rather pathetic camouflage a long distance away. When the gnolls popped out Parum had already taken cover inside the wagon. Sure, it would seem cowardly to hide away, but Parum was under no illusion that she could take as many hits as some of the others. She was a halfling who fought by stabbing people in the back and slitting their throats when they aren't looking. Getting into a straight up brawl was both stupid and suicidal for someone like Parum, so taking cover from their ranged attackers as well as letting the focus of the gnolls go to their bigger, tougher fighters was the best thing to do.

As Parum took her daggers out she overheard what one of the gnolls were saying about Vivian, their elven sorceress. If she was a drow, then this was a very, very good opportunity for Parum. Drow society was cutthroat and vicious for all it's decadence and luxury, but also very wealthy. Parum didn't know who wanted Vivian so badly, possibly a rival drow family or even her own, but Parum made a mental note that she could exploit this later. But for now, they needed to deal with these Gnolls. If they just gave Vivian to them the party would be down a sorcerer and Parum would never see a single copper of Vivian's bounty. No, if anyone is going to turn Vivian in for that money, it'd be Parum.

"Sorry, but no deal! Run back to your caves or else we'll bury you in the sands!" Parum shouted to the gnolls while hidden inside the wagon. If any of those dog-faced monsters tried to get into or even look inside the wagon, he'd find a dagger hurled right into his eye.

Malkai

It wasn’t long before the unwanted guests arrived. Gnolls; Malkai should have figured. If his knowledge of these hyena men was right, they typically inhabitants desert-like environments, more so than humans. However Malkai wondered why they were attacking them; assuming that the figures that Falchion spotted were scouts, surely they knew that this wasn’t a caravan. The wagon had nearly no cargo, and just about everyone here was armed or at least ready to fight. Wasn’t long however before the leader of the pack made their intentions clear: they were after Vivian.

Turns out she was a dark elf. This rather surprised Malkai; who’d a thought a dark elf would chose to travel to a desert of all places. Though perhaps it was due to a drow’s normal inclination to avoid the surface and the sun was why she fled here. At the very least, the chances of Vivian running into her own kind here was slim. But you can never escape the clutches of a Drow conspiracy, not until you or they are dead. If the party was smaller Malkai would have gladly gave Vivian over to the gnolls, for an honest payment of course. But that onion knight went ahead and attacked the biggest of the gnolls, so it seems that negotiation was off the table.

”Tch! Mindless brute, don’t over extend!” Malkai hurled one of his spears at the gnolls, the one wielding a greatsword. Although he impaled the gnoll through the shoulder with his weapon, the gnoll didn’t fall and charged Malkai.

---

Veridis Quo

”Ara ara… Looks like we have company!” Veridis look around to all the gnolls that surrounded them. Big, shaggy beastmen armed with crude armor but solid weapons. Their leader, presumably, was so big that the longswords on his side were more akin to shotswords to him. ”Now, let’s not get hasty here…” The gnoll promised to leave the group alone if they simply handed over Vivian, but Veridis couldn’t let that happen. Wouldn’t be honorable to betray a lady after all.

”I’m sure we can work something out. Oh, I know!” Just then Catarina attacked the largest gnoll. Seemed like she knew exactly what Veridis had in mind. ”You can all return to the sands! Vivian is important to us, and we won’t let anyone take her away..” As everyone went on the attack Veridis strummed his lute gracefully. Instead of attacking any gnolls however, his music would inspire courage and competence to everyone, allowing them to strike more accurately and harder than before.

---

There was seven gnolls that confronted the travelers initially. The one leading them was a large gnoll, practically nine feet tall, bulging with muscle underneath all that fur. Compared to the rest of his minions this one wore a proper metal breastplate and two curved longswords, much like what you’d expect from the Sapphire guards. Chances were that they are longswords from guardsmen, pilfered from their corpses. The other gnolls had cruder equipment, such as bucklers and hatchets or the occasional greatsword. Of the other gnolls, five had shields and axes while only two had greatswords.

However before the party could get their hopes up, three more gnolls popped out of the sand behind the wagon, effectively surrounding it from all sides. These gnolls however were smaller than the others, and they had shortbows. Without the sheer bulk to allow them to fight up-front like their larger kin, these gnolls relied more on cunning and camouflage. With hostilities underway each of the three archers released their arrows, one arrow heading to Veridis, another to Parum, and the last one at Kalista, as each of the three didn’t appear to be wearing any sort of armor.

The Gnoll Boss reacted to Catarina’s charge by drawing out his two longswords. He parried Catarina’s blow using his armor, her blade cutting only into its plate. The gnoll boss then swung a blade at Catarina’s helmet, aiming to decapitate her with one swing, while another blade went to her knees to knock Catarina off her feet. The two gnoll greatswords attacked the others, one going after Malkai and another seeking out Elleonora. They both charged recklessly, leaving them open to an attack but allowing them to use their momentum to increase the strength of their attack as they both did an overhead chop to Malkai and Elleonora.

The other five gnolls with bucklers and hatchets swarmed Alexander, Forbes, and the giant scorpion. They were quite aware that facing a dire wolf and his knight would end badly if they tried to fight on their own. Two went after Fordes and tried to sink their axes into the dire wolf’s hide while one took a swing at Alexander himself, aiming to chop into his legs and/or feet. The other two gnolls jumped at the scorpion and tried to go for its stinger tail, well aware that most scorpions had deadly venom.

“Well... I didn't expect this is how the day would go, but I'm not complaining.” Elleonora stated as all the amusing madness unfolded around her. So they actually had a drow with them! Who knew, she had heard rumors of drow traitors who for a reason or another left their race's usual habitat, but she had never actually seen it before. Didn't matter really, Catarina had the right idea here.

“She's not going with you indeed...” Elleonora stated as she jumped from her horse, pulling her warhammer ready as a gnoll with a greatsword was charging at her.

“Come!” She shouted and readied herself moments later she also charged at the gnoll. He was doing an overhead swing, using the momentum of the charge, but that was not going to exactly work on Elleonora and her weapon.” HAAAAAAAAAAA!” She shouted as she swung upwards directly at his sword, using her great range as he was using his.

---

Kalista's mind right away went into overdrive the moment the gnolls showed up. Her spellbook was in her arms, opened and prepared to be used in it's dual nature as a magical tool and a blunt weapon of bashing heads in! At first her attention was towards the gnolls in the front, but then she heard those in the back show up with bows! She had the ability to protect herself from them, but it was a single target spell! Without as much as choice, she jumped in front of Parum and focused.

“PROTECTION FROM ARROWS!” She commanded as her magic surged and engulfed her, activating the magic on herself, to block the arrows pointed at herself and Parum. She decided to leave the bard to fend of himself for she couldn't protect 2 people at the same time and second... he probably were going to be able to survive it. If not, well just a pretty face lost, not a big problem. She then right away started to prepare to throw a magic missile at the gnolls once the arrows flying at them were negated.

Vivian

It was weird, the gnolls went after her allies first. That would make sense with the fact that her kin would want her alive. Only so they could sacrifice her to Lolth for the sake of regaining favor. She spat on the ground and saw that two were jumping her scorpion. They were playing it smart by going for it's tail first. Go for the more dangerous part before dealing with the rest of it. However, she was not going to just stand there and watch it happen. There was no second thoughts at all. She ran up to the back of one as it raised it's weapon to swing it at the scorpion. She reached out with her hand. "Shocking Grasp!" She yelled as her hand connected to the Gnoll's back. All the metal on the animals back made for a good conductor making the spell flow right into it. The Gnoll howled with pain but not enough to kill it. Her scorpion took this moment to heart and struck with it's stinger. With the Gnoll staggered it had tried to block but it was no good due to the power of the punch. The stinger dripping with venom poked it's way into the Gnoll's body. The vemon acted quickly sapping the gnoll of strength.

"It was not smart filth from the sands, to ignore the sorceress from behind you. The sun has fried your what remained of brain." She said as she walked around him. The other Gnoll tried to intercept to help his companion but the scorpion swung with its claws throwing him back into the sand. The scorpion charged and struck with his tail. This gnolled rolled to the right dodging the tail. However he had to keep rolling for the scorpion's tail kept coming at him. Eventually he lifted up his buckler to block and his eyes widened and narrowed as he saw that the stinger had actually punctured through. He gulped and let go of his shield and got up and away.

Vivian saw the look of fear from the Gnoll as he watched her step around. The wound the stinger made itself was strong enough to kill a normal human but this creature was a little more resistant. The venom however,... that was working its magic. She knelt and looked straight into his eyes. "Experience with my kin should have taught you not to underestimate a drow and to certainly not turn your back to one." She said and she rose back up and swung with her scythe. The blade went right through his collar bone with no problem. The dogman's head leaving it's body. She then noticed the other Gnoll struggling alone against her scorpion. She smirked and decided it was time to play with the Gnoll... not just with this one. But all of them. She rose her hand into the air and snapped her fingers. Instantly all the gnolls engulfed in a purple flame. It was harmless actually but that wasn't its point. To anyone with a brain they would know it was only a illusion. To the dim witted they would act with their eyes before they acted with their mind. To the gnoll fighting the scorpion he thought he had engulfed in flames and began screaming trying to put himself out. He even dove into the sand hoping to smother it.

Her pet to advantage of this distraction and stuck with it's tail. The buckler still attached made it impossible for the stinger to go all the way though so the venom wouldn't effect him. It did do some blunt damage though. It curled up bracing for another strike. What he saw was the drow. "I can't believe my kin would send something so brainless to bring me back?..." She said and aimed her hand at the Gnoll's face. She smirked and laughed. "That would be too quick..." She lowered herself pulling from the vial case she bought from the merchant a vial. It was filled with stomach acid from a white worm. It could eat through the hardest metal. The gnoll shook his head as if trying to beg for her forgiveness. She frowned and popped it open and poured the liquid all over it's face. It screamed in agony as the acid ate away its face and no matter how much it tried it couldn't make it stop until the struggling stopped as well as all movement. She snorted and looked to see if her friends needed aid.

Alexander

Alex kicked at the sides of Fordes causing the dire wolf to leap at the first gnoll who charged. With his bastard sword and shield he deflected the blows of the others. He lowered the shield and positioned it to watch sparks fly from the axe that swung at him. While his sword knocked the others weapon away from hitting. The Gnoll that took the blunt of Forde's pounce found himself on the ground. The dire wolf swung with its paws striking at it's prey's arms to get the axe out of the way for it to bite. While Alexander slid down from his mount. He made sure he was between both of the gnolls. Three against two.... these were not too bad of odds. Him and Fordes fought in full scale battles compared to this. The gnolls themselves made it different. He never faced foes like this before. Each with a hand axe. Gruesome looking axes too. He reached down and grabbed his helmet and slid it on. It was not onion shaped like Catarina's but more of a boxed shape. Similar to a templar.

"Alright you ugly mongrels, I ain't got all day." He said. He leaped forward swinging not with his sword first but with his shield. The power he put into it knocked the gnoll to the side slightly and when it looked back at the knight Alex was already thrusting into the gnoll's exposed side. The sword sliding right through the armor's weak point. He twisted it and pulled it out not wait for it's life to end. He turned and raised up his shield at the other who came swinging. Sparks flew once more as steel hit against steel.

Fordes finally had the two arms of the gnoll pinned. It wasn't easy and fordes got a few cuts and scratches for his effort. The Gnolls had natural claws just like him and were famous for biting as well. Forde's has a few puncture marks on his left front leg to prove it. When the gnoll moved to bite again Fordes took advantage of this and thrust it's head down and bite right around the neck. The creature howled in pain. Now Fordes began yanking and pulling thrashing about. The gnoll was struggling for a good long while but it started to get tired. Eventually it lost the battle and Fordes was able to tear chunks out. Not enough to kill the creature for they had thicker necks then humans. That didn't stop the dire wolf for it kept biting and all it took was two. The first one got a lot of the matted fur out of the way and some flesh. The next bite tore out it's jugular. Once it stopped moving the dire wolf stepped off and began tending it's own wounds liking them.

"Hnn! Weak!" Catarina retracted her sword just as it scrapped the gnoll's armor. When he'd tried to go and cut off Catarina head, all she needed to do was lower her body a bit and let the blade bounce off her helmet. Despite it's silly shape, it was still armor; it could be used to block and deflect attacks as well as any shield could. And by lowing her body Catarina was able to parry the gnoll's blade as well, locking her Domina against the gnoll's sword to prevent it from moving further. Despite having her blade occupied with one of the gnoll's, she was far from defenseless. Quite the opposite: she was going to use her defense to attack.

Holding her shield close to her body Cataraina thrust the spiked tip of her shield into the Gnoll's chest. Even if his armor could deflect the shield's spike, Cataraina followed through with her strike using her whole body. Thus not only was she putting her full weight into stabbing the gnoll, but even if she couldn't he'd be bashed by her shield and the rest of her body. And with the momentum of her tackle she intended to knock the gnoll onto his back so she could stab him in the face with her blade.

"Fall!"

---

Parum was ready for one of those brutes to try to hop into the wagon, but she was genuinely surprised to see that they had gnolls sneaky enough to get the drop on her. Parum turned around just as she heard the sands shift, raising her dagger defensively. Just as she thought she was going to get hit Kalista jumped in front of her. In what Parum thought was a heroic sacrifice was actually a clever tactic. With Kalista using a spell to protect her from arrows, Parum could use her to block arrows for her. "Thanks Kalista!" Not one to waste an opportunity like this Parum hurled both her daggers at the gnoll who tried to shoot her. One dagger went straight for the gnoll's eyes, knowing that he would try to protect his face when he saw the dagger incoming. And if he didn't then a knife would fly into his eye. But a second dagger was thrown shortly after heading lower into the gnoll's chest, which Parum knew she had a better chance of hitting. After tossing her daggers out she drew two more and readied herself for another attack, hiding behind Kalista.

“You’re welcome.” Kalista replied at Parum’s thanks. This was indeed an uncomfortable situation, but with the arrows coming at her negated by the protection from arrows, she was free to draw on her magic powers to return in kind for this… rude treatment. The audacity to attack two women like this( Veridis not counted)! Well it was fine anyways. Kalista opened her grimoire on the next page right away, placing a hand on it, her eyes narrowing at the other gnoll. With one of the archers under attack from the daggers, the wizard focused on the other one.

Magic energy surged through and between her hand and the grimoire, before she pulled her hand up and pointed it at the gnoll.” MAGIC MISSILE!” She called and the magical energy that was swirling around her hand suddenly split into two as it flew towards the gnoll, forming the two magical bolts. They wanted to kill her and they were going to get what they deserved for that! Though with that spell cast, she reached for her whip as she was running lower on magic spells.

The impact between the greatsword and the battlehammer was deafening in the area around the cleric. Both heavy metal object were swung with great strength towards each other, but Elleonora’s had an advantage in pure weight and leverage over the sword. It’s momentum was greater and focused at the hammerhead.

The battle between momentums was won by the cleric as the gnoll’s sword was nearly blown out of his hands. It was propelled upwards from the impact and the attempts to keep his hands on his weapon, opened his guard widely. His whole front was open for attack and Elleonora wasted not such a chance!

Her hammer was already under control from her first swing as swung it from it’s current position right towards the gnoll’s ribcage. She was about to teach the error of his ways into him... before he perishes at least!

Malkai

The Gnoll slashed down at Malkai, cutting his leg as cleaving through his horse. The stallion roared in pain and fell. Malkai just barely managed to roll back onto his feet before the back swing might have taken off his head. Stepping back Malkai drew his staff and mumbled a spell under his breath in Druidic. <Barkskin.> Suddenly Malkai's skintone took on a brownish tint, with a course texture. When the gnoll tried to smash his weapon into Malkai again he raised his arms and actually managed to deflected it off his "Bare" flesh, though in truth he had the help of his barkskin to parry the blow as if he had a shield. Right after her parried the gnoll Malkai smashed his staff into the creature's face, causing it to stumble backwards.

Putting a bit of distance between them now Falchion swooped in. The gnoll didn't see it comeing as the large bird flew in and clawed at his face, actually succeeding into tearing out one of the gnoll's eyes. But despite the massive amount of pain and blood lost, the gnoll was still up. But not for long. Malkai serveyed the scene of the battle and thought that perhaps Catarina may need the most help seeing that her opponent was still no worse for wear, and Malkai would come to her aid as soon as the half-orc dealt with this brute.

---

Veridis Quo

Veridis kept the arrow hit his back. Fortunately, his chainmail underneath managed to absorb the blow and prevent the arrow from piercing him, though it certainly left a bruise where it hit. He turned to face the gnolls, specifically the one that didn't shoot him. His horse was spooked but he was able to convince it to charge towards the archers anyways. As he did so Veridis switched from his lute to his glaive. His inspiration still filled the air with his ethereal singing, which helped him as well as he lowered the blade to cleave the gnoll. Veridis succeeded in cutting the gnoll's shoulder as well as cleaving through his bow, removing his range option. Now forced into melee, the gnoll drew his shortsword and lunged at Veridis, just as he had braced his glaive for the attack.

---

The gnoll boss certainly wasn't expecting such an offensive use of a shield. The spike indeed managed to peirce his armor and went into his chest, and if Catarina was just a few inches higher she would have stabbed him in the heart. Still while it wasn't a fatal blow it did succeed in wounding him, as well as knocking him away onto his back. With the sucking chest wound and having the breath knocked out of his lungs the gnoll boss barely had enough time to scramble back onto his feet, and in those precious few seconds Cataraina must be swift if she wishes to capitalize on the gnoll's defenselessness.

At the back of the wagon Parun's daggers met their mark. One knife flew into the gnoll's unarmored chest, sinking deep. That alone wouldn't have killed him, but he lowered his guard trying and failing to stop it, and thus wasn't able to stop the next knife that flew into his eye. The gnoll wasn't even able to scream as it dropped dead onto the floor. The second gnoll notched and fired another arrow at Kalista, mostly unaware of her magic at works. As this gnoll didn't speak common, he failed to realize that her spell would protect her from his attacks as his arrow harmlessly bounced off an invisible barrier over the sorcerer and planted itself into the wagon bed. Just as he was about to fire a second arrow he was struck by Kalista's magic missile, the first bolt caused the gnoll to flinch, and seeing that she was counter attacking he tried to go back into his hole for cover. But against a magic missile it would be pointless, as her bolt simply flew up and into the hole, blasting the gnoll in the back while he was still burrowing in. He wouldn't get out of his makeshift grave now. As for the last gnoll being dealt with by Veridis, his glaive prevented the gnoll from approaching too close and instead tried to disengage to meet with it's other, bigger allies and try to turn the tide of battle.

Two of the three gnolls confronting Alexander and Frodes were dead, but the last one didn't waver. His wicked blade was raised into the air as he hurled it at Fordes, who was tending to his own wounds. A big target this close was hard to miss. And should Fordes be struck by the axe the direwolf would feel poison seep into his flesh; yes the gnolls had poisoned their blades, obviously intending to take no prisoners aside from the one they were hired to obtain. And instead of charging at Alexander, the last gnoll took out a potion from his satchel and drank it. As he did, the gnoll's body grew in size, twice the size the already large man-beast became. Before the gnoll was about Alexander's height, but now the create was twice as tall, twelve feet high. The gnoll roared with fury as he tapped into his barbarian rage and with claws barred, charged at Alexander to rip him limb-from-limb.

The gnoll Ellenora fought coughed out blood as her hammer blow had shattered bones and ruptured organs. Even if she didn't finish him off, without immediate attention this gnoll would die from his wounds alone. But knowing this, the gnoll was determined not to die without taking one of these foreigners with him! Rising to his feet the gnoll took out a potion much like the gnoll fighting Alexander, and like that gnoll this potion made the sword-swinging manbeast into a giant. Not only did his body grow, but so did his sword. Already it was a massive two-handed blade, and now it was a fifteen foot long slab of steel with an edge. The blade was so broad that it could over the entire wagon. Roaring with a dying breath the gnoll raised his giant sword up on high and smashed it down towards Ellenora, to both cleave and crush her under the sheer weight of his large weapon.

Vivian

Vivian watched as the battled drew out. She came across the battle between Alexander and his Gnoll and Fordes against his. Problem was Fordes was tending his wounds unaware of the Gnoll charging at him. She smirked as she cast her spell. "Blink"soon after she blinked and raised up her staff in preparation. Before the Gnoll's weapon hit Fordes he would find himself hitting steel.

Vivian in instant teleported herself in time to block the attack. She opened her eyes with the smirk remaining. "Have you ever wondered how it would feel to become blind?... Blindness" She said as she shoved him back and aimed her hand at the Gnoll. Everything would soon go dark and black. His eyes stolen from him. She could already see it take effect on the Gnolls mind as he staggered trying to get hid bearings. His natural senses still could tell where her location was but not where exactly. She took this chance and still held her hand in place and cast the final blow. "Lightning Bolt" Just like that a bolt of lightning flew out and hit the Gnoll in the chest.

Her scorpion was still at play. It could not teleport but it would not stop it. It charged at the back of the enlarging Gnoll. It did not stop even as the Gnoll charged at Alexander. All the scorpion had to do was sting the creature and it would be over.

Alexander

He witnessed as the Gnoll he was facing grew bigger.Due to the potion and the knight let out a sigh..... "Well this just got a whole lot better." He said as he noticed the large scorpion take charge at it from behind and then to the Gnoll. It claws now large enough to do some damage but... It was bigger now. That also meant it was slower. Alex really wished he had a Lance right now. He gulped and had to come up with something. He lifted up his shield and charged at it. Deciding to meet it's attack with his own. He lunged as it would lunge with it's claws. He could feel his sword enter it's stomach.... But it did not come without cost as he felt the strike of the claws against the side of his helmet knocking him back. The claws and slashed through it surprisingly and left him with soon to be scars across his face. As he flew and with the ground his helmet managed to fly off as well. He could feel the blood trickle down his cheek and onto the burning sand.

The Gnoll stood over him. His sword still in its gut. It growled and was about to finish him. The Gnoll forgot one thing though. A yelp came from it as it felt it had been stuck by a stinger. As it turned around it saw the scorpion ready to sting him again. The poison already taking effect.

Fordes heard the sounds around him and sprung up. Ignoring its wounds for now and saw the Gnoll that had just sent it's master to the ground. Fordes took charge to stand beside the scorpion.

Silently Catarina cheered to herself. Her technique had worked, giving her just the edge she'd need to win this fight. Around her Catarina was aware of how the battles elsewhere was going, noting that so far everyone was doing quite well. The gnolls were being systematically decimated, though a few still seemed to have a few tricks up their sleeve. No matter, there was only so much they could do before they would inevitably die. In the meantime Catarina wasted no time capitalizing on the gnoll's fall. Continuing her movement forward she aimed her blade right towards the gnoll's neck, where he was unarmored. When she got close enough she made a great stomp on his chest wound she had wounded him before plunging her blade towards the gnoll's neck. "Die already!"

---

Two down, one more to go. Thanks to Kalista and Veridis the sneaky gnolls were quickly routed, with the last remaining one running to his allies, who weren't likely going to be around for long anyways. Right now she had a few targets should could go after; Malkai seemed to be having some trouble killing the gnoll he's fighting, while Eleanora was now fighting a giant. Alexander was also fighting a giant of his own, who had just given him a hard smack across the sands. However it also looked like Vivian's scorpion was now in that battle, so Parum wasn't too worried. Instead she focused on the large gnoll attacking Eleanora and the other gnoll swordsman fighting Malkai.

From her position they were too far for Parum's daggers, but with a running jump out of the wagon, taking her huge bag of holding off of course, Parum was able to get a good twenty feet into the air. She spun her body around in order to use the momentum of her spint o give her just a few more inches and a little bit more time in the air, that time which she used to draw her daggers from her robes and hurled them at the gnolls. One dagger went towards the giant gnoll's face; Parum knew that her small blade wasn't really going to do him much harm. But if he saw the dagger flying at his face and reacted to it, then maybe Eleanora would have an opening to do some serious harm. The other gnoll that Malkai was fighting was effectively blinded, so he'd be much harder for him to see the dagger that Parum threw towards his neck. He was already looking pretty bad thanks to Malkai, and Parum intended to finish the job.

"Oofph!" Then the halfling landed in the sand, unfortunately messing up her landing due to her attacks and was laying on the ground. She was a bit dazed as she landed on her face, though no worse for ware than she was before.

“Come then!” Elleonora shouted as the gnoll decided to turn giant. She knew full well that he was mortally wounded by this point. The giant potion may have given him strength, but it couldn't mend his shattered bones and crushed innards. That creature was as good as dead if no serious medical aid was provided for it very soon. No such thing would come from them though. Still his sheer size was what held a problem here. Still she stood tall, proud like a true warrior from the North.

She took a stance as she watched the giant gnoll start it's swing and then just as she was getting into it, she reached an arm towards him, opening her palm towards him in a peaceful manner.” HOLD.” She calmly commanded, her magic Hold Person flaring into action, paralyzing the injured giant gnoll. It didn't matter if it was a giant or not as long as it was humanoid. Sure the enemy had started a swing, but she had used the magic just as he was in the middle of the swing, causing the sword to either get frozen in place as it's owner couldn't move, but his grip held firm, or the sword flying past her if he lost the grip. Still just in case she dashed to the side, can never be too careful.” Take peace in the domain of your god, warrior. You fought well.” She said to the gnoll and jump forwards, using momentum from the jump and a swing to deliver a crushing impact at the giant's knee. His injuries were already fatal, but she was not one to take chances.

---

Things went well for the wizard. She nodded in pleased manner as her magic missiles dealt with the gnoll and the only one that was left tried to make a run for it for it's allies. Not a too smart of a move from him, they were already being dealt with from what she could see. Kalista was actually amazed, she seemed to have gotten into a group of quite the unusually able companions for a change. Each of them handled themselves superbly, especially those who deal with the giants.

She closed her grimoire and looked around, making sure there were no other surprises waiting for them.

Malkai

A flying blade came out and stabbed the gnoll in the neck as he flailed, causing him to clutch his neck in a vain attempt to staunch the bleeding. In that moment of pause Malkai took advantage of the opportunity to take his spear and stab the gnoll in the chest with it, knocking him into the ground. Another stab or two in the chest and the gnoll stopped moving. He looked over to the halfling on the ground as well as a few other gnolls still fighting, though they surely weren’t going to last very long. Ripping his spear out of the dead gnoll Malkai now clutched his magic staff and moved forward to deal with the gnoll runt. It was going to try to attack the halfling on the floor, but the half-orc intercepted the creature. With a single swing, malkai knocked out the gnoll with a single blow to the head. He was debating whether or not to interrogate this creature or not.

Look down at Parum Malkai lowered his hand towards her. ”Get up. It’s not over just yet.”

---

Veridis Quo

This battle seemed to be coming to a close. With that in mind Veridis still remained vigilant and urged his horse forward. But because it wasn’t combat trained it gave Veridis some trouble, though he ultimately managed to win it over to approach the now dying gnolls. Of all the combatants here, it seemed like only Catarina and Alexander sustained some minor injuries, which they could heal with a good night’s rest. The last gnoll was a giant one, who was kneeling on the ground. Rage still blinded him to move forward, even though the scorpion’s venom was starting to take in effect. While the gnoll would most certainly be dead, the most merciful and practical option would be to kill it now, instead of letting it suffer this pain and agony any further.

Drawing his lute Veridis fired a sonic bolt at the gnoll, it’s resonance powerful enough to impact the creature’s head like a hammer blow. It wasn’t particularly gory or messy, but once the giant fell his body shrank back down to normal size and his heart was no longer beating. ”Who needs healing?”

---

One by one his warriors were being taken down. The boss growled in his dying breath, regretting bothering try to parley with these adventurers. Should have just ambushed them in their sleep, or rain arrows on them from afar. Snarling and spitting out blood he saw Catarina approach with the intent to kill him, and the gnoll boss knew his time would come. But if he was going to die, then he would spit in the face of death. Just as Catarina was going to plunge her blade, the gnoll did the same, swinging with all his might to cleave through Catarina’s armor. While her plate was certainly strong, the gnoll boss swung with all his strength as well, strong enough that while he may not cleave through Catarina’s body in one blow, he could at least sink his blade into her side. His blade, like the other gnoll’s, were coated in a paralytic poison meant to be used to capture Vivian. The poison are hard to resist and harder to cure, as no common anti-toxin would remove it. It required magic to rid of, or a very specific cure. A local one, granted, but by no means an easy one to acquire.

The Domina sunk into the gnoll’s neck. Dropping his weapons the gnoll’s life was extinguished, his body sliding down the blade and falling to the ground. Blood oozed from his neck and stained the sand in red. With his death, all the gnolls were either dead or incapacitated. For a moment, the battle was over.

Vivian Bloodmoon surveyed the battlefield. Each one of her traveling companions had fought and won their fight. A few where coming out a bit beat up. Alexander seemed to take a lot of the said beating. His face was scarred ,but that did not make him an less handsome then he was. It just made him more fierce looking on top of that. She walked over to his helmet and lifted it up dusting it off and making sure all the sand had fallen. She then moved back to where he was and proceeded to hand it to him. "I apologize for your wounds. You got into this fight because of me." She said.

Alex looked up at her and raised a brow and then picked himself up off the sand and then retrieved his sword from the dead Gnoll and lifted his shield up. Sheathing the blade he looked to Vivian and smirked. "Look,... Vivian. We chose to enter that fight. The Gnoll's gave us a choice. Turn you over and we get to live. But we didn't." He pointed to the wound along his face. "I chose this outcome beautiful. Nothing changes that. If this is the price I pay for fighting for a comrad then that's the price I would accept." He said as he took his helmet. He inspected it to see if it was worth even saving. He sighed and tossed it back to the sand. He looked back to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Besides,... I am a knight. I live for battles like these." He added. He squeezed her shoulder slightly and then moved towards the man that helped them fell the Gnoll. He looked up the stead and towards the man and his lute. "Who would have thought that that Lute was more then just a instrument. Thanks by the way. I would have been a goner if you and that scorpion didn't show up when you did."

His words made her feel less guilty but it didn't change the fact that she was. Her very presence threatened the life of this mission. She thought her kin would not travel to the desert to come for her but I suppose with favor at stake any house would chase after a renegade. She sighed and inspected the group to see what else she might have caused for being a part of the party. When she came to the front of the wagon she noticed that one of the Gnolls was still breathing. A runt of the little knocked out. She knew her kin were on the surface coming for her but how many where there. That would be the true question. She motioned for her scorpion to come forth and came it did. She made a few hand gestures only known to the underdark. It answered the gestures with a stab of it's tail into the gnoll. The venom will continue to do it's work draining it's strength so it wouldn't resist the questioning.

There was a sting in Catarina's side. It wasn't the most painful feeling; this mercenary was no stranger to a blade going into her gut. but the numbing sensation that followed shortly after wasn't good. She figured these gnolls would poison their blades, and unfortunately of all the magical supplies they brought Cataraina did not have any cure poisons. She did have anti-toxins, which hopefully would let Cataraina rest out the effects of the poison. Hopefully. In a mix of anger and pragmatism, Cataraina made sure to cut off the gnoll's head, just in case anyone had any idea of turning him into a zombie out here. She'd do the same for everyone else, but looking back towards the group it seemed like Vivian had some explaining to do.

So the fighter stumbled her way over, listening as everyone spoke. Alexander did the knightly thing and talk about how he couldn't turn over Vivian for reasons of chivalry and all that, but Cataraina was much less honorable. "Those gnolls had a job, and so do we. Raiding that ruin. Can't do that without you Vivian, and unless they dropped 50,000 gold right at our feet, I wasn't going to let them just walk away with you. That being said, anyone else here want to drop their disguises?!" Cataraina yelled rather loudly. The poison was making her rather antsy. "Really now... Once we get somewhere to rest... You and I are going to have some words." Cataraina looked at Vivian before getting back onto the wagon, popping an anti-toxin to numb the effects of the poison.

---

By the time Parum got up it looked like the battle was over. Malkai came over to cover for her but that didn't seem necessary. "Thanks big guy. Didn't have too much trouble there did you?" Parum joked with Malkai before it looked like a scene was starting. Vivian apologized to the group, Alexander defended her actions, but Cataraina seemed a bit peeved. She loudly asked if anyone else had a disguise, but of course no one was going to drop it. Unless Malkai was as dumb as most orcs. Parum at least had no intentions of revealing her motives. "Hey, come on now, I'm sure we all have our own ghosts from the past. Let's not let it ruin our partnership together. Like she said, how about we all get to that village, find a place to rest for the night, and then maybe we can use that chance to get to know one another, yeah? Sure, maybe none of you are looking for friends, but no sense in being enemies, right?" Parum also climbed into the wagon, taking her seat back at the reins. "See if those gnolls have anything else with them that could help us. Potions, money, maybe even notes."

Malkai

With the last gnoll dead Malkai proceeded to strip them of their equipment as well as ensure their actual deaths. Using his knife he slit their throats and took whatever they had on them, aside from the gnoll who Vivian was dealing with. He seemed to be alive and had some purpose with him. Unfortunately no real evidence of who sent these gnolls after Vivian was found, though on the boss himself there was a bag full of gemstones, most likely the "payment" to capture Vivian. Malkai was no merchant but he was sure these gems would fetch a good price. There was also a few potions left, and using a bit of his magical knowledge Malkai could identify one as another potion of Enlarge Person, and one potion of Bear's Endurance. The rest were weapons and armor that Malkai had no use for, but he piled them into the wagon anyways.

Cataraina went on a tangent about deception or some other, but Malkai had no intentions of revealing who he was. Unlike Vivian, he had no enemies searching for him. He'd like to say that's because he killed all his enemies but no, it's mostly because he isn't that well known nor sociable enough to make enemies. He did, however, notice something off about Catarina's wounds. Seeing her bloody wasn't really going to see strange to Malkai, but the purple ooze from her wound was disconcerting. Malkai went over to Catarina as she sat in the wagon. "You've been poisoned. Let me treat to your wound."

---

Veridis Quo

Finally the battle was over. Veridis had no doubts of their victory, but it almost felt like their battle took months to finish. His horse was very spooked by it all, so Veridis dismounted and fed it an apple, calming it's nerve with soothing words and head pats. Of course his horse could only be so calm, and once it at least wasn't jittery enough to go running off into the desert, Veridis decided to stay on foot for now and let his horse rest. In the mean time there was Vivian to deal with. Turns out she was a drow trying to escape her past, and the past has come looking. A familiar enough tale, and it'd certainly explain her passively seductive nature. Stereotypical Veridis would do the chivalrous thing and say that he couldn't leave a woman to fend for herself against such an unruly mob, but Alexander had that covered. Speaking of the knight, he complimented Veridis on his loot skills and magic abilities, to which Veridis was humble. "Twas nothing. Though I carry weapons, I'm not fighter. My skills lie in magic and music, which I hope helps the party well into the future."

Going back to Vivian, Catarina showed a much more pragmatic reason to fighting. It is true, if danger could be measured by reward than this ruin would surely require as much talent and ability as they could muster. Losing one would drastically lower their chances of success. That being said Veridis didn't want Vivian to think she was a mere tool in this party. Even for a mercenary like Catarina, surely she would understand that people work better when they like the people they work with. "We all have enemies Vivian. How could you have expected them to come after you, all the way here? It's not as if you're an outlaw or infamous criminal, just a victim of a society you wanted to escape from. For a peasant or commoner, they couldn't help you. But we're neither. That being said Catarina does have a point; it would be important for us to speak to one another, perhaps to get to know each other and more importantly, our enemies."

There was still some time to reach the next village before nightfell. If there was nothing else stopping them, they should leave immediately.

“We got into this fight for a companion. Who you were or weren't has nothing to do with it.” Elleonora stated as she walked over to Vivian and Alexander. The man seems has been wounded, an usual thing really for their line of business.” We are companions now, it's only natural we help each other, besides my way wouldn't allow me to turn my back on someone in need. For having your brethren after you, is indeed quite the need.” She stated and pulled off her gauntlet and reached over to touch Alexander's face, unleashing a cure minor wounds. It wasn't the most minor of wounds, but even this initial healing boost would help the wound to close up faster and not to mention lessen the scar if not even make it so non happened. It was a matter of luck.

“Nothing to drop on my end.” The priest said to Catarina with a shrug and swung her hammer, placing it on it's holder on her back.” Anyone else in urgent need of a heal?” She asked, looking about the place to see if any of her party members had need of her powers. That said she noticed the Malkai fella had already decided to help Catarina with her ills.

“Veridis, the fact they came after her all the way here, means they aren't giving up easily...” Elleonora stated and looked at the bard.” I've heard of the drow society before and if they've send people all the way here... means they are desperate, right?” She asked and looked at Vivian.” From what I've heard of Lolth... It's quite possible your head's the only thing that could safe those you've left behind. Am I right?”

---

Things were fine for now, the half elf concluded as she sat down in the wagon again and leaned outside.” Not to destroy the nice moment for you all, but those gnolls here were doubtful the only group around if they were to capture her.” Kalista stated and made a circle with a finger.” We are currently in a very ambush prone location so I propose we get moving for now. We can discuss things on the move. There's no better pray than the one drunk on self confidence after defeating an enemy. Let's act as if we're expecting another ambush.” She stated.

Vivian looked to Elleonara and nodded. She was right,... "Yes, for a deserter brings upon a house disfavor towards Lolth. Which is why they have come after me... like the wise have spoken we should get going. I will explain my situation on the way." She said. She pointed her staff towards the scorpion and the creature vanished back into the jewel in the middle of the scythe. She then proceeded to the wagon and climbed within.

"Where to start,... You see unlike most drow my head was always in the arcane library. I wanted to study all that was available to me. Not just spells but the creation of non living entities. I don't mean the undead though... I mean golems. To no success though." She said as she got comfortable. "Problem was,... I was not the first of my house to leave. My sister Cassandra started this whole thing. Who could blame her really. After what they did to her, I would have left too. She was a drow Assassin though. See she fell in love and wanted to be with that person forever. Tell one day,... the house needed a sacrifice to please the great spider queen. He was chosen.... that did not set well with Cass. She made a lot of noise but to no avail he was killed and offered up to the goddess. Now,... Lolth.... she is a funny goddess. You never know who is really in her favor. Cass and this other Drow must have been in full favor versus the rest of our house because Cass was able to kill half a dozen of our house before escaping into the caverns." She paused and looked out into the sands to see if she could spot any movement. "Well soon after a troupe was tasked with retrieving her alive so we could use her as another sacrifice to win back Lolth's favor. I was chosen to lead that troupe. With no real field experience I was not prepared for what was to come. I was trained and am able to kill beings such as the Gnolls and such.... but what Cass had prepared for us we were not ready..." She looked back towards those in the wagon. "Ever heard of a Basilisk?... yeah. She managed to get one angry and lured it right to us. I was the only who managed to survive by leaving my kin to die. Better one survive then none at all... or at least I thought. Sometimes I wish I had been among the petrified dead but atlas I am here. Well that failure did not sit to well with our Matriarch. She wanted me executed for it. As you can tell from me being here that also did not end well. I did however know what the surface world does to drow if spotted. I read them in diaries we have recovered from past renegades. It doesn't matter if your a rogue or do not follow a house. Any civilized city like Sapphire and the like will kill a drow on sight. No trial,... no cuffs. Just instantly turned into a pin coushin. Luckily my studing in the arcane lead me to my only salvation. I enchanted a necklace with disguise and took on the appearance of a surface elf. It was the only way I could survive." She added. It truly was for her the only way. Malkai would likely understand her blight being a orc and all. Even if he was a half orc they would still treat him the same way... only they might not exactly kill him on sight if he was alone. Likely torture him to see if he had friends.

She sighed and looked to Catarina. "I apologize for it I really do, but you have no idea what it is like to be part of a race so hated that anyone would kill you on sight. Nothing you've experienced will compare to the vast hate on my people. Again can't blame them... after what my kin have done and continue to do on the surface I would want me dead to if I saw me." She ended her conversation right there. There was nothing really more to explain. Everything else everyone could come to their own conclusion which was right. If the burning hot desert wouldn't stop her kin from hunting her.... chances are nothing will. Which would mean they had two things to worry about on this journey. The horrors of the temple,... and the constant ambushes and attack of her kin. Bad part is,... the drow would not go themselves... they would send someone or something to do it for them. They wouldn't want their presence discovered or else face the wrath of the local populace. She would expect more then just Gnolls, but orcs as well as other dim witted beings who where dumb enough to be caught within their web of lies and deceit.

She leaned back and closed her eyes. She would keep in faith that her group would warn her when they came up to the next village in time for her to place her necklace on. If they didn't?.... well then they didn't and her adventure would end here. She wondered where Cassandra had escaped to...



Alexander felt the soft hands of Elleonara touch his face.... wait. Soft?... how could such a powerful woman have the softest hands? He looked to Elleonara as she was done. "Your hands are soft to the touch Elleonara. Unexpected from a strong woman as yourself. I expected them to be course,.." He said. He felt his face and saw that it had healed a good portion of the wounds. The bleeding had stopped and the cuts had actually closed. However they would remain as scars. Not as large as they would be unattended of course. He accepted it, perhaps they would make him more attractive to the right eyes. He continued on as he listened to the conversation.
At one point through Vivian's tale he thanked the gods above for not making him a drow. There was no real honor to them. To betray and stab one's kin in the back for just favor of a goddess is outrageous. From what Vivian said Lolth was a very picky person... you either had her favor or not. In some cases she might pick a lone drow versus the entire house. He wondered how that worked. Questions for later he supposed.

He kept a steady eye though on the sands around them. He even looked to Fordes. "Keep your nose and ears ever sharp my friend...." He told him.



Farther off peering through a decent sized scope was a being. It would look almost like a lizard but if seen up close it was just a dark skinned elf dressed in a lizard skin mask with goggles on. What made him harder to see was the fact he had on a cloak they practically made him invisible. He sighed as he watched the battle from afar. The results where.... well not unexpected but undesirable. "You told us that your kin could handle it...." He said looking to the Gnoll they had ordered to scout the group earlier. The dogman scratched the back of his head.

"Maybe we had underestimated them..." The creature responded. The drow elf raised a brow at the answer and looked back towards the group and then back to the Gnoll. "Want us to try again?" The beast asked.
"Has the sun completely boiled your brain or is your kin naturally this stupid? They are expecting another assault. To attack now would be futile and stupid. No we will wait when they feel comfortable and safe.... the village they will be stopping at is small correct?" He asked. The Gnoll nodded.

"Yes, we attack it's farmers every now and then without much resistance. Enough to steal what food and supplies they have and leave." He answered. The drow elf began to smile.

Laying against the side of the wagon, Catarina didn't really resist when Malkai asked to see her wound. Though she did keep a hand on her shield in case he tried anything funny. "Tainted blade... I took some anti-toxin so hopefully I can shrug it off, if not... Well I hope the next village has a apothecary." Taking off parts of her armor, Catarina revealed to have quite an athletic figure underneath, despite her armor's bulky onion shape. The wound was on her side, and it managed to pierce the leather and cloth padding her body. The cut wasn't shallow, but it wasn't too deep either; perhaps an inch or two. But more than enough for the poison on the blade to do it's job. She had no idea what it did, but she didn't feel any pain, just numbness. If she had to guess this was some sort of paralysis poison. Mercs would coat their weapons with a cheap version to make sure any wounds they struck killed their enemies too. Catarina dabbled in it a bit, but decided not to waste money making her sword more deadly, and just made sure she hit her targets.

As Catarina let Malkai examine her she listened to Vivian's story. Her story sounded like something out of a fairy tale. Princess wanted to leave with her lover, but who was unjustly killed "for the greater good". Princess wants vengeance and leaves, leaving behind a trail of corpses. Then her sister, who was Vivian, was tasked to get her. One mistake later and now Vivian had the honor of being a free woman. Of course like all fairy tales, it wasn't sunshine and rainbow. Being a drow, Vivian couldn't exactly settle down with a normal life. Even with her magic to disguise her Vivian still risked being ran out of town simply for being a drow. Catarina understood that much.

"Tch... Well, I guess I can't blame you. What with me being human and all, never really faced any discrimination. At least nothing that I couldn't handle. But don't think I don't know what it's like, being targeted for who you are. Humans are right bastards you know. The fact that I'm a woman in armor is more than enough reason for some men to draw their swords on me. Well, I guess that's not really unique to me, but it's all the same. Bigotry and fear makes men do stupid things." Taking a deep breath Catarina took out a water skin and drank from it deeply. The poison was starting to make her feel feverish. She really hoped that she wasn't going to die from poison of all things.

---

And once more the party was off! Parum listened in one the conversation behind her while she kept her eyes on the road ahead of her. As Vivian finished up her story Parum chimed in. "Oh Vivian, it doesn't take much for people to try to kill you. Whether you're a drow, foreign, or even just poor, no one needs a good reason to be hateful and bigoted. Still, good on you to use your talents. Plenty of people would kill to have an amulet that lets them change their appearance. Change their whole life really." Parum herself was all too privvy to those types of people. People who wanted to try to start fresh with a new life, and escape their old ones. It wasn't as if they had nothing to loose, far from it. They had debts they couldn't pay, and they'd have to do things so horrible they couldn't live with themselves. Some of them... Didn't.

As the sun went down Parum had other thoughts on her mind. "If what you're saying is true Vivian, chances are this wouldn't be the last we hear of your kin or those gnolls. I've been around the city long enough to know that there's a sizable gnoll population hidden in the dunes, and once they figure out that there aren't any survivors they're going to send some more. Hopefully not for a while since we did leave anyone alive, but drows are tricky. I'm sure they'll find out sooner or later. To that end, we should schedule a watch order tonight. With eight of us we should have no problems doing one-hour rotations. I'll volunteer to go first of course."