It’s Already Over

Fuu saw the Chieftain on his back, poleaxe laying beside him as the quickly spreading pool of blood seeped into the rough leather grip. Standing over him was a large, white-furred Gnoll. The Gnoll was the second largest one she had seen dressed exactly opposite of the Gnolls around him. His groin was covered by a simple loincloth and his chest was bare, showing deep furrows in his fur from many battles. Fuu noticed an unfamiliar spear several feet away that probably belonged to the newcomer.

Fuu was surprised to see no other Gnolls around him, but the thing that truly gave her pause was his face. His face was covered in gray ash, perhaps for a tribal marking. He was panting slightly, blood dripping from his teeth. His eyes were a pale green and, unlike the Gnolls around her, they were sharp and focused. Focused on her. His gaze didn’t hold curiosity, confusion, or lust. He looked at her with familiarity. The newcomer knew her though Fuu didn’t know him. Fuu could feel her heart start to beat faster but she restrained herself from speculating what it could mean.

The Pale Gnoll turned to the Shaman and spoke in the human tongue, even better than the Shaman himself. “You have a strong female there. How did you manage that with your pathetic body?”

The Shaman cackled in a high pitched rasp. “You’re one to talk, Gruul. How’s your mother doing?”

Fuu saw the newcomer, Gruul, tense and bare his teeth for a moment. The Elite Gnolls formed a barrier between Gruul and the Shaman. They knew each other very well. Too well for the pale one to be from a different tribe. One of her worries was relieved but Fuu could not relax just yet. She didn’t know what the Shaman would demand of her if things came to blows.

As swiftly as the tension came, it left. “I am assuming the females are taking care of her. I was exiled.”

The Shaman’s laughs doubled him over with their intensity. The other Gnolls around also cackled in chorus with their surviving leader. As he stood up, the Shaman grinned. “Oh poor Gruul, abandoned by everyone. Is that why you came back? Trying to get back in the tribe?”

Gruul kicked the corpse of the Chieftain. “I think I succeeded. I am the Cheiftain now.”