“Assuming you can kill the first guard with one shot,” Becky started, “How long will I need to distract the second guard before you can line up another shot?”
“Normally?” Liv asked, thoughtfully stroking her rifle, “A couple seconds at most, but given how well-armored they are…” Liv screwed up her face and hummed, and Becky frowned.
“So you’re saying I might need to dance around with a giant, armored gnoll for who-knows-how-long until you get a lucky shot in?”
Liv shrugged, then nodded. “Like you said before, these guys aren’t really our specialty. Should we check one of the other tunnels?”
Becky shook her head, and knelt down, rummaging through her pouch, “No, it’s fine. I’ll just brew up a Stone Skin potion so I can survive a couple hits, and I’ll try to, um, create an opening for you.”
“Are you sure?” Liv asked, kneeling down next to Becky, “You might want to save that potion for later, when the actual fighting starts. What if we try a hit and run strategy, instead...”
Becky heard Liv out, and countered with a plan of her own. This went back and forth, and the two women spent a solid five minutes deliberating over how they were going to address the problem of the armored gnolls. Unfortunately, the middle of an enemy’s stronghold is a poor place for extensive last-minute planning, and the two bravos didn’t realize they had been discovered until Becky looked up from a rough diagram Liv had carved in the dirt to see the hulking form of a large gnoll behind her friend.
“Uh,” Becky was frozen in a combination of shock and fear, “Liv?”
Liv looked up and, seeing another gnoll behind Becky, could only think of one thing to say.
“Fuck.”
