A Deal is Made

The Shaman shook his head. “Do you think so? You don’t have the qualifications! You have no proof of your virility. Your pup didn’t make it out of your bitch aLive.”

“And whose fault is that, Blasphemer!” The bellow of rage from the Gnoll caused a ripple though the crowd. The unarmored Gnolls cringed back in fear and even the armored Gnolls took a step back.

The Shaman laughed holding his hands up placatingly. “Dont be so upset, Gruul! I know you’re lonely, but you can’t come back here. No matter how much fun you had with us before you wanted to run after Mommy.”

Gruul looked around. “Your numbers are dropping. Do you think you can stand to lose the numbers to run me off again?”

The Shaman’s cruel grin dropped and Fuu took a moment to look around. The Gnolls looked concerned but not all of them spoke the civilized tongue. They were definitely wary of Gruul. Fuu hadn’t seen the fight, but most of the blood on his white fur seemed to not be his. He could likely take down multiple Gnolls before retreating or dying. With the context of their conversation, Fuu assumed he would fight to the death, leading to even more casualties. Fuu hoped she would not be trusted with a weapon to fight him. The more he could kill, the better time her friends would have in dealing with the rest of them.

Fuu didn’t like that thought, practical it may be. Despite being a Gnoll, this male had lost a family and mate to this tribe. She would pray for him if he fell. It was the least she could do, especially if he led to the freedom of the other prisoners.

The Shaman took a step forward as the hem of his robes gained a slight band of the sun outside the cave. “You’re right. How about a deal? You leave and I will give you any bitch we have as a trade?”

Fuu crinkled her nose at the casual talk of trading women like items. She was even more appalled by the interested look on Gruul’s face. So much for ‘honorable’.

“Any female you have?”

The Shaman grinned. “Yes, I’ll even let you pick. You can make all the pale Gnolls you want with her. Although you will need to get more if you want a proper tribe.” He cackled. The armored Gnolls were looking back at the Shaman as if they could understand him. They didn’t look happy about it.

“Deal” said the Pale Gnoll, picking up his spear with a slight wince.

The Shaman grinned and gestured as the armored Gnoll’s parted. “Good. Good. Now let’s go find you a bitch.”

“I’ll take that one there.” The Shaman paused before following the pointing finger directly to the alarmed Fuu standing beside him.