A Somber Conversation

Preparations for the non-scouting group were complete. Becky thought she had a good regimen for the corrupted girls to be cured over time and, with slightly more sedative, they should remain asleep until morning.

The uncorrupted girls had been conversing with the Bravos and each other well, bouncing back well from their imprisonment. Fuu only had to stand somewhat on guard until morning and then they could finish their quest.

The thought of the end brought her back to their Gnoll companion. Thankfully, the prisoners hadn’t seemed angry or distrustful of Gruul and so likely wouldn’t demand his death or something similar when they returned to town.

Emmaline had gone with Gruul alone again. Fuu would have agreed had she asked about it, but the fact that the dancer snuck away was not promising. Fuu wasn’t sure how serious Emmaline was about ‘borrowing’ Gruul, but Fuu hoped the other woman would remain professional. Fuu doubted it. She could imagine Emmaline kneeling in the ground just where Fuu had been hours earlier and sucking on Gruul’s cock.

Before Fuu’s mind could wander too far in that direction, Emmaline appeared. The gold and gems sparkled in the torchlight, drawing Liv almost immediately. Fuu walked up to congratulate her as Liv pulled the loot away to count. “Good wor-“

Emmaline hugged her, pulling her into a tight, shaking hug. Fuu held her back quickly, maneuvering them into the shadows as Emmaline cried silently into her shoulder. She didn’t know what could have caused Emmaline’s state. Dread pooled in her stomach. Surly Gruul hadn’t…

Fuu took a moment to steady herself before speaking. “What happened?”

Emmaline took a shaky breath. “There was a body. It’s his sister.” Emmaline shuddered but did not break down again.

Fuu shuddered. She didn’t have siblings but she knew Emmaline did. “Are you okay?”

Emmaline nodded, not trusting herself to speak as she tried to calm herself down. She kept looking back down the tunnel.

Fuu nodded. “I’ll check on him. Stay here.” Emmaline nodded and Fuu moved down the tunnel.

She followed the path back to the room with the iron doors. She was surprised how much worse she felt as she traveled there then when she was following the Shaman. At least with the Shaman, she thought she knew what to expect.

She moved to the side as she entered, watching Gruul through the door. Gruul was kneeling beside another white-furred Gnoll, maneuvering the body into a more relaxed position. He reached over to pull a necklace off from around its neck before speaking. “That’s right, we needed to have that conversation.”

Fuu felt vulnerable as she stood in the same bit of dirt she was kneeling in not two hours ago. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to sound as calm as Gruul sounded. “No, we don’t have to have that conversation yet.”

Gruul shook his head, still looking at the body. “No, I’ll be gone at dawn. I have to bring my sister home. Might as well do it now.”

Fuu looked at the body. It wasn’t rotting. In fact it looked remarkably fresh with the blood still glossy. She must have died fairly recently. They had been too slow to save her. Fuu let that pain of failure linger as she focused back up at Gruul. “Fair enough. According to the ritual, as you explained it, we are mates.”

Gruul shook his head and cackled, still not facing her as he absent-mindedly stroked his sister's fur. “We missed a few steps so you shouldn’t lock yourself into anything.”

Fuu wondered why they had kept the She-Gnoll locked in the treasure storage instead of with the other prisoners. The cock visible between her legs was a potential answer but not one that made sense. “The only step we are unsure of is the conception. Why would I not assume that the ritual is complete.”

“Maybe because there have been no hybrid children between our kind in recorded history?”

“Then why would the Shaman have you perform the ritual?”

Gruul’s free hand clawed at the ground. “To be cruel. Same as everything that beast ever did.”

Fuu thought back to the Shaman’s words, right before she first met Gruul. “He said he was going to breed me with the Chieftain. ‘Breed’ is a very specific word. Is there a translation issue?

Gruul paused and looked up at the ceiling. There was a short silence broken only by the slight humming of Gruul. “You have mentioned some protection you were given. You were not affected by my seed.”

Fuu nodded, thinking back to Gruul’s confrontation with the prisoners. “You said you were all infertile.”

Gruul nodded, staring up at the cave roof as his mind worked though a solution to something. She wished she could see his face. “It’s more of a curse to prevent conception.”

“My divine protection prevents magic from affecting my body.” Fuu placed a hand over her womb. “So the possibility remains.”

Gruul shook his head and snarled. “He wanted a paradox child.”

Fuu looked confused for a moment as she struggled to drag thoughts together. “A child that should not be but is?”

Gruul snarled again. “He wanted a child blessed to be born by some kind of supernatural force only to sacrifice it for more power.” The Gnoll stood and kicked something on the floor in rage, snarling in the Gnoll tongue,

The object ricocheted off the walls and flew out the door to land at Fuu’s feet. It was a bloody knife. A very familiar bloody knife. She had noticed it as was servicing the Gnoll Champions, in the hands of the Shaman. He had disappeared behind the iron doors with it and hadn’t returned with it.

Fuu lost focus on Gruul’s continued grumbling as things clicked into place. Gruul’s sister died while Fuu was captured. While she was sucking Gnoll cock, she was bleeding out. Whatever purpose the Gnolls had for her, the She-Gnoll was no longer needed when they had Fuu. Fuu had sacrificed herself to save her friends, and it had led immediately to the death of a prisoner.