The sun had just started to set when I reached the encampment. A familiar scent struck me as I entered the clearing, and it wasn’t hard to spot the cause: eight gnolls sat around a campfire eating dinner. Rotating above the fire, a creature with a beak and taloned feet had been impaled on a spit. The gnolls were having roast owlbear for dinner.
It was easy to figure out which gnoll was the chief. Nalkak wore gleaming chainmail and his muscles were so large that his physique reminded me of Zell’s. The shaman sat opposite, wearing a headdress with long blue and orange feathers.
After finding a hiding place, I got a closer look. Tents had been erected in a semicircle surrounding the campfire. The middle tent was larger than the others, and its entrance was flanked by statues of savage, axe-wielding gnolls.
Off to the side, a pair of black creatures stood tied to a tree. They had saddles strapped to their backs and resembled miniature horses. But when I looked closer, I gasped. The creatures’ fangs were as long as dagger blades, and their legs were lithe and covered with glossy black fur.
Dire wolves. The gnolls had tamed a pair of dire wolves, and the chief and shaman were probably using them as mounts. Thankfully, the beasts were too focused on their masters to notice me.
I studied the camp carefully, paying attention to the placement of the tents, the campfire, and the wolves. I wracked my brain to think of a plan.
⚔
After an hour of making preparations, I put my plan in motion. Staying near the camp’s perimeter, I crept behind the dire wolves, counting on the owlbear’s odor to mask my scent.
Once I got within range of my crossbow, I unstoppered the flask of harpy blood and covered four of my bolts with the writhing goo, making sure not to get any on my fingers. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves.
And so it begins.
Pull. Load. Fire. The dire wolf near me howled after my first bolt struck it in the side. The other looked around but didn’t see me. To my relief, the gnolls continued their spirited conversation.
Pull. Load. Fire. My second bolt struck the second dire wolf, who joined his brother in howling. Now the gnolls noticed the wolves, and three of them got up to investigate.
Pull. Load. Fire. My third bolt struck the first wolf in its neck, causing it to howl louder. The second wolf finally spotted me and barked in my direction. All the gnolls got to their feet, but only one realized what was happening.
“Someone’s shooting at the wolves!”
Pull. Load. Fire. My fourth bolt struck the second wolf, and the wolves’ howls filled the night. A gnoll pointed at me with an expression of fury.
“There! Behind those trees!”
The six gnoll soldiers grabbed their spears and ran toward me while the chief and the shaman tended to the wolves. I sprinted toward the grove of trees that I’d prepared. I climbed the central tree and sat on a branch overlooking the path. Then I loaded my crossbow and waited.
The gnolls ran forward in pairs, and the first two were easy. While scanning the treetops, they tripped on the rope that I’d tied across the footpath. They fell below the branch I was sitting on, and before they could get to their feet, I hit them with crossbow bolts. The gnolls fell to the ground, and after another pair of bolts, and they stayed down. +650 XP! +650 XP!
The next two gnolls pointed at me, shouting what I assumed to be gnollish curses, and hurled their spears. I’d thought my snakeskin would give me camouflage amidst the foliage, but one spear hit me in the upper thigh. It didn’t pierce my armor, but I screamed as my health dropped to 22. I should have mixed another Potion of Lesser Stoneskin.
I continued screaming as the last pair of gnoll soldiers arrived. Then I ran across a tightrope that led to another tree deeper in the forest. Another pair of spears flew upward, but this time, I was too high off the ground and moving too quickly. Now all four gnolls surrounded the second tree, and none of them had weapons.
Two unexpected messages appeared: +1,000 XP! and moments later, +1,000 XP! The dire wolves had succumbed to the poison, which meant the chief and his shaman were likely to be on their way. A golden plus sign appeared, indicating that I’d risen to Level 6.
A SNAP! sounded, followed by another SNAP! Two of the gnolls had fallen into my snares, and they cried as the ropes whipped them into the air. I fired two bolts at each, and thanks to my specialization, I didn’t miss a shot. +650 XP! +650 XP!
The two remaining soldiers climbed upward—faster than I’d expected—so I climbed higher still and hid among the upper branches. They were too close for a ranged attack, so I set down my crossbow and unsheathed Ebonclaw.
The first gnoll stopped climbing. “Where’s the smoothskin? Do you see him?”
“No,” said the other, voice trembling. “I thought you were following--"
I left my hiding place and silently approached the pair of gnolls. Neither wore armor, and when I came within striking distance, circled crosshairs appeared on their backs. BACKSTAB! +650 XP! BACKSTAB! +650 XP!
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After the last gnoll fell to the ground, I sheathed Ebonclaw, tucked my crossbow under my arm, and began climbing downward. Then a burst of sizzling white energy struck me in the side. I struggled to keep hold of the tree trunk, but my hands slipped and I cried out as I landed painfully on my left shoulder. My health had fallen from 22 to 12.
I got to my feet and saw the shaman sprinting toward me at incredible speed, his feathered headdress glowing like a candle’s flame. His high-pitched voice filled the forest:
“You killed our hounds! Our beloved, loyal, valiant hounds! You will perish in agony!”
I retrieved my crossbow and loaded a bolt. The shaman came to a stop about twenty feet away, and smiled wickedly as he raised his oaken staff. The baseball-sized crystal at the staff’s head began to glow bright blue. It was a perfect target, and my bolt not only shattered the crystal but sent the staff flying out of the shaman’s hands.
The shaman glared at me with his teeth clenched. He raised his fists and smoke billowed from his mouth as he began casting a spell. I fired my crossbow, but the bolt flew high and did nothing more than knock the headdress off his head.
Unfortunately, this didn’t disrupt his spell. An orb of yellow energy flew from his fists and struck me in the face, dropping my health from 12 to 5. The gnoll crowed with delight—he’d hit me twice and I hadn’t hurt him at all.
I clambered to my feet as the shaman ran to retrieve his headdress. Fighting back the pain, I loaded my crossbow and aimed at his head. The bolt hit him in the shoulder, and he turned and shouted. Gotcha.
While the shaman struggled to extract the bolt, I threw aside my crossbow and staggered toward him. I tackled the gnoll and grabbed his neck in the crook of my arm, but he tucked his chin under my elbow and threw me over his back. Now I was down to three health points.
The shaman uttered another incantation, but this time, there was no energy blast. Nothing happened at all. The shaman gaped at me as I got to my feet, and he quickly cast another spell. Again, nothing happened, which meant my amulet was working. Thanks, Antero.
A look of panic crossed the gnoll’s face, and he turned to flee back to the camp. But he wasn’t running as fast as before, and I unsheathed Ebonclaw and chased. Once I came within striking distance, a circled crosshair appeared in the center of his back. BACKSTAB! The shaman fell to the ground, shouting. Three more stabs and a +1,150 XP! message appeared.
I stood upright and caught my breath. While I waited for my stamina to return, I focused on the golden plus sign. A familiar dialog popped up: WELCOME TO LEVEL 6! SELECT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING ABILITIES:
1. Improved Acrobatics – add 6 to your Acrobatics ability
2. Improved Stealth – add 6 to your Stealth ability
3. Weapon Specialization – become more skilled with a weapon
I had been doing a lot more running and jumping than hiding, so I chose Improved Acrobatics. My Acrobatics skill rose from 13 to 19.
Looking toward the camp, I saw a giant gnoll marching briskly toward me. He couldn’t run as quickly as the shaman, but he wore shining chainmail and wielded a two-handed sword that was as large as he was.
In a low, booming voice, Nalkak called out: “YOU KILLED OUR HOUNDS, COWARD!”
I climbed the nearest tree, and after I reached a safe height, I dipped a bolt into my flask of harpy blood. I was almost out of poison and I only had three bolts left, so I had to make each count. I loaded my crossbow and leaned so far off my branch that I nearly fell.
Nalkak strode among the trees below me, so large that he could have been the spawn of an orc and a gnoll. He looked upward and shouted.
“SHOW YOURSELF!”
I aimed at the gnoll’s head and struck him in the face. Nalkak roared as he extracted my bolt from his jaw, and then marched toward me. I shook violently as he struck the tree with his sword, and he’d only need a few more swings to cleave the trunk in two.
He shouted with each swing. “YOU… KILLED… OUR…”
Before he chopped again, I hit him in the neck with another poisoned bolt. To my surprise, the gnoll didn’t seem wounded.
“...HOUNDS!”
The next chop split the trunk with a tremendous CRACK. As the treetop descended, I threw aside my crossbow and leapt at the closest tree. I managed to take hold of a branch, but only after its leaves tore through my hands, lowering my health to a single point. The next wound, no matter how small, would kill me.
“FACE ME, COWARD!”
I watched in amazement as Nalkak, apparently tireless, began striking the trunk of my new tree. I couldn’t fire anything, and there was no way I could beat the giant gnoll in hand-to-hand combat. With no other options, I jumped to the ground and ran—away from the camp, toward the road that led to Raven’s Rest.
Thanks to my Improved Acrobatics ability, I could outpace the giant gnoll, but my stamina was dropping rapidly. Once it reached zero, I wouldn’t be able to move. I needed to end this fast.
“COME BACK, YOU CRAVEN CUR!”
I ran to a nearby tree, keeping a few paces ahead of Nalkak. Then, after digging the hooks of my boots into the tree's trunk, I grabbed a branch about seven feet off the ground. Instead of climbing, I kicked outward, threw my head back, clasped my knees, and rolled into a tuck. I backflipped over the giant gnoll and landed two feet behind him.
I wanted to say something triumphant, but there wasn't time. I unsheathed Ebonclaw and found the circled crosshairs just below Nalkak's chainmail shirt. He started to turn, but I was faster.
BACKSTAB! BACKSTAB! BACKSTAB!
The giant gnoll fell to his knees, shouting. I stabbed him twice more in the neck, and he fell onto his side. +1,400 XP!
⚔
The only items I could find on the gnolls’ bodies were a sapphire ring worn by the shaman and a copper ring worn by Nalkak. I took both rings but I didn’t dare put them on, and I didn’t touch their weapons. With only one health point left, cutting my finger on Nalkak’s sword would kill me.
I approached the gnolls’ tents slowly, Ebonclaw raised. I couldn’t see or hear anything moving, so I entered Nalkak’s tent after scanning for traps. The only furnishings were figurines of gnoll warriors and a cot. It didn’t make sense. If these gnolls were notorious bandits, where was the loot?
Beneath the cot, I found a folded letter and a ponderous bag of coin. Much better. The characters of the letter had been written in a flowing script:
NALKAK, KEEP STEALING FROM TRAVELERS AND I WILL CONTINUE PAYING YOU TWICE WHAT THE GOODS ARE WORTH. DO NOT FAIL ME.
PALOMIR
My character sheet informed me that I’d acquired 200 gold pieces. But I was more interested in the letter. Who was Palomir, and why would he pay gnolls to rob travelers? A new message scrolled across the bottom of my view: QUEST ADDED: LEARN ABOUT PALOMIR AND NALKAK.
Before leaving, I severed Nalkak’s head and put it in my pack. Then I headed back to Raven’s Rest as stealthily as I could.