Chance could hear his heart pounding away rapidly in his ears as he crept forward, every noise, every sound causing him to almost jump. He tried his best to make no noise, slowing his pace to barely more than a crawl. He was going out, alone, to try and deal with with some horses while bandits slept all around him. Madness. Just madness. Why exactly was he doing this again, he wondered. This was how you ended up dead.

He pushed the thoughts aside, trying to concentrate just on what he was doing. He couldn't afford to get distracted from the task at hand and make a mess of everything. He’d done that enough in his life already.

Shags had told him that as a druid he should be able to calm the horses down. The question was how? He had never tried anything like it before. Maybe if he could have turned into a horse it would have helped, but they were too big for him to shift into yet.

He tried to relax, to still his beating heart, moistening dry lips. Animals could pick up on worry or fear and if he remained in that state, it would only spook the horses more, which was the last thing he wanted.

“Steady,” he whispered, more to himself than anything, trying to obtain the calm he needed, to allow him to think. It wasn’t magic that he could use to solve the problem, as none of the druidic magic he had was in any way helpful. There had to be some other part of being a druid that could deal with the situation, much like his weathersense or firestarting.

Or the Mindspeech.

Perhaps that was the key to it. He could use it freely enough with his friends, so maybe he could use it with animals as well. He had never found out exactly how it worked, or who it could be used on. He concentrated his thoughts on the horses, just as he had tried to do with Shags the very first time he had used it, to make sure that only they would be able to hear him and that he didn't accidentally disturb the bandits while they slept.

Easy, he sent to the horses, trying to project a sense of calm as well. The reaction was immediate. The horses raised their heads, their ears pricking forward as they listened. No longer did they show any sense of unease, pawing at the ground or snorting. They did quiver though, a sense of expectation coming upon them.

Chance pushed forward, hunkered down, until he came to the first of the horses, a brown mare. He rested a calloused hand on her neck. “Easy there girl,” he whispered, stroking her neck. He could feel her trembling under his hand even though she did not appear to be afraid. It was almost as if she was eager, ready to go.

Swiftly he untied the binds that tethered the horse in place, leading her after him as he approached the next horse. One by one he freed them and led them on until five horses were trotting placidly behind him. He found it odd just how calm they were acting around him, a complete stranger.

Power Unlocked: Animal Empathy

Power Source: Primal

Most see animals as creatures with little reasoning or emotions. Practitioners of the primal arts, more in tune with nature, understand that animals are more than that, and can read and modify their behaviours through words, deeds and their presence. They can smooth or calm frightened or aggressive beasts.

All this time and he never knew that he could do that. Not that he had actually tried to interact with animals much before, besides Shags, and the large wolf didn’t really count due to their unique bond. Now he knew of it, he would have to experiment with it more, to see what he could do.

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In the meantime, he had the horses to deal with. He didn’t want to risk returning to the others with them, in part so they didn’t disturb the sleeping bandits as they trotted along, but mostly as he was not sure if he could keep them calm when they were right up close to Shags. He couldn’t just let them go either. He had a quick look around before deciding on a course of action. The pool was nearby, and on the other side of it grew a small copse of trees, a perfect place to hide them. It was as far from the camp as you could get in the dell, and left little risk that Shags might trouble them further.

The horses followed behind him as he scurried furtively away, around the pool, and in among the trees. When he stopped there they did so too, waiting patiently.

“I will be back, I promise,” he told the horses as he made them secure, giving them each a pat for good measure. There was a soft snort from one, the brown mare he had first freed, and that was it. Then he scurried off again, leaving the horses out of the way, making his way back across the moonlit dell to where the others waited.

“The horses are out of the way,” he told them softly. “We shouldn’t have any trouble from them now.”

There were nods from the others, Yrip showing his nerves, Snarl grinning widely and Shags, as ever, not showing anything that Chance could read.

Chance turned about and led them forward again, swift moving shadows in the moonlight, making their way towards the nearest of the tents, one that was a mere canvas draped over a wooden frame, open to the air at the front and back. A snoring could be heard coming from inside as they neared. Chance paused at the entrance, his heart pounding, his skin running both chill and hot at the same time. The moment had come to see if their plan would work or if it would all turn to ruin.

Trying to remain calm, Chance crept into the tent, seeing a bandit with long hair tangled up in blankets. Snarl and Yrip followed him in, while Shags remained outside to guard. He gave a nod to the other two and then they were upon the man, Yrip placing his scaly hand over the man’s mouth to prevent him from calling out, while Chance grabbed his legs and Snarl his arms.

The man woke with a sudden start as he was grabbed, his eyes flying open. Snarl’s head was near to the man’s face, and he gave the bandit a toothy grin. “Not a word, understand?” the gnoll said. The man nodded vigorously, his eyes wide with fright. He would not have been able to make out much of the darkness of the tent, and, just having woken up, would be more than a little terrified by the proximity of the gnoll’s face close to his, what he could make out of it.

“Good,” Snarl whispered. He released the man’s hands for a moment to take out a cord with which to bind the man’s hands. “We wouldn’t want to have any accidents, would we?”

The man shook his head, sweat beading across his forehead. Snarl grinned again, finishing binding up the man’s hands before moving on to his legs. When they were done, he took out his dagger. The man’s eyes widened even further at the sound of it being drawn and its appearance. “This isn’t for you, as long as you behave,” Snarl told him, using it to cut some cloth from the man’s shirt. “I am going to gag you know,” he told the bandit, holding up the cloth. “No noise, or you know what happens.”

Yrip took his hand away and Snarl quickly gagged the man. He nodded with satisfaction when the job was done, checking the bindings again to make sure that they were secure. “Don’t worry, little man,” he softly said to the bandit, “We won’t leave you here like this. We will be back later.”

“You look like you have done this before,” Chance noted. The gnoll had done it all so swiftly and easily that it looked like he had plenty of practice at it.

Snarl shrugged. “It is a handy skill to know.” Then he grinned. “You never know who might get in the way when you are foraging. We had best to get moving; there are plenty more out there still to deal with.”

They left the tent, and the bound bandit, rejoining Shags. From there they crept towards the next tent. While it had bedding inside, there was no one sleeping in it. Chance suspected that it belonged to one of the two bandits who had been posted on guard duty up on the peaks above.

The next one along was occupied, with a burly bandit with a thick beard sleeping in it. They snuck in, taking up positions around him when he rolled over, his eyes coming open. He stared up at them, surprised and confused, still half asleep. Snarl lunged forward to restrain him, but before he could, the bandit gave a startled cry. The large gnoll cracked a fist into the man’s jaw, dazing him and the cry cut out. Before he could recover from the blow, the three of them restrained him, bound and gagged him, but the shout had done its dread job.

I hear movement, Shags announced from where he waited outside the tent. Someone stirs.