Stalking the Bravos

Becky kept a hand hovering over her belt as she took a seat on a fallen log. Liv and Emmaline were quickly heading her way, but Becky saw how quickly their new ‘ally’ moved.

Gruul was almost nonschelant, not looking her way as he began to butcher the animal he brought for a ‘peace offering’. He seemed to be recovering quickly. She didn’t remember Gnolls having regeneration or anything like that. Considering the state of his body, maybe he was just used to pain. Becky decided to wait until her friends were beside her before she started asking questions. “How do you know our names?”

“I was following you on your journey up.”

Becky looked over to Liv to find her looking back. A silent agreement passed between them. Neither of them had felt themselves being followed. Becky turned back to Gruul trying to lay her hand on her thigh so it was still close to her equipment but not obviously tense. “Why?”

Gruul looked up from his butchering “Same reason I am here now. To find allies to end this insanity.”

“Then why didn’t you appear when we all first gathered here to plan?”

Gruul lifted his wounded hand, blood still staining his fur. “Because this would happen.” Becky blushed at the obviousness of the answer but Gruul was already looking away. “I was waiting for you to send at least one of you to scout.”

Becky felt a pang of self-incrimination again. She should have pushed harder against going straight in. She always folded whenever Fuu got that confident look on her face. “Did you follow us to the fight?”

Gruul nodded. “I did. I was going to jump in after that enchanter unleashed that large spell. I wasn’t expecting the fighter to be immune.”

Liv glared at the Gnoll. “So when Fuu stepped in, you just decided to let her sacrifice herself instead of stepping in yourself.”

Gruul turned to face Liv directly, pulling off a deer leg with little effort. “Fuu might be immune, but I’m not. Me jumping into that fight would have been a **** move to kill that bastard before I was overwhelmed by lust and join in on **** you all.” He flicked the blood from his fingers. “Do you still think I should have tried it?”

Emmaline placed a finger to her lips, making a show of looking Gruul up and down. “Yes.” After too long of a pause, she continued. “If you killed him, the spell would have ended and you could have escaped in the confusion.”

Gruul shook his head. “No I suspect that kind of hex would keep going long after he was dead.”

Emmaline’s beautiful face creased in confusion. “How is that possible?”

Gruul smiled. “Because it isn’t his own power he’s using.”