Chapter 11

 

"Well you three certainly did well today," Dexole complimented. "I know it may not appear like much but your efforts today have produced results."

 

"I still feel like we could've done more," Zayd insisted. "We walked around for hours and couldn't find much else."

 

"The gnolls have probably done well in concealing their hideout. It may not be so easy to find them," Dexole suggested. "At the very least, the gnolls are made aware that the village is no longer defenseless. They'll be forced to react to the situation."

 

"And when they do, we'll be ready for them," Ivory proclaimed.

 

"Is no one going to bring up what the gnolls said to us?" Milly asked. "They called us mercenaries."

 

"What?" Dexole seemed confused and was intrigued to discover more. 

 

"Yeah that's right," Zayd said. "They seemed to act like we were the villains."

 

"It was a rather strange encounter but gnolls are unusual creatures," Ivory added. "One thing that did strike me as odd though was the fact that they mentioned the town had sent negotiators."

 

"Huh? Negotiators?" Dexole began swiping through multiple screens on his projection. "I'm not aware of any negotiations having taken place on behalf of the town."

 

"Perhaps it was a lie? This gnoll in question could be attempting to sow discord amongst the townsfolk," Ivory suggested. "Gnolls can be rather clever at times and very tricky."

 

"While that is true I am concerned that there may be some truth to the claim," Dexole said. "Regardless of the claim’s merit, it's worth looking into. I am going to find out what's going on around here and see what I can discover."

 

"So I guess that concludes our quest then?" Zayd asked.

 

"Indeed it does!" Dexole began typing onto his screen. "Your guild accounts have been credited with the appropriate amount of payment. I'll have a new quest available for you three tomorrow morning so come visit me first thing!"

 

"Wow, that was fast," Zayd said. 

 

"Looks like this town will be providing us with plenty of work," Ivory noted.

 

"What now?" Zayd turned towards his party. 

 

They all exited the guild office together and looked around. The once bluish sky had begun to turn into a beautiful mixture of pink and orange as the sun started to set upon the land. A large opening existed in the village and the trees were far more separated, providing one of the clearest views of the sky within the forest. 

 

"I'm not sure that there is much to do here," Milly commented. 

 

They turned to hear the creaking of a door. It appeared to sound off from behind the town hall. They gathered themselves and quietly made their way around back. As they approached they could hear voices speaking to one another but they couldn't make out anything being said other than a few words. The closer they got, the more intelligible the conversation became. 

 

"You've received more than your fair share! Don't you dare try to extort me, kid!" It sounded like the mayor's voice.

 

"This was our deal," another voice could be heard arguing. "If you won't honor your end of the bargain, then I have no obligation to honor mine."

 

The mayor chuckled. "You've yet to produce any meaningful results. You'll be paid more when I get what I want. Now begone from my presence!"

 

The adventurers approached and witnessed a young boy with pale, violet skin walking away from the mayor. His hair was white and the tips of ears came to a point. The boy was adorned in long dark robes with a combination of dark blue and black colors. 

 

The mayor turned to notice them eavesdropping. "Oh, adventurers! Hello there!"

 

"Everything alright?" Zayd asked. 

 

"Of course! Why do you ask?" He nervously turned towards the individual that was leaving. "Oh you mean him? Oh, he's no one. Just a pesky traveler who's always coming around to beg from hard working people. Nevermind him. How goes your ventures?"

 

"They're going well so far," Zayd responded. 

 

"My lovely assistant tells me you three defeated a pack of gnolls in the forest today!" The mayor expressed his gratitude. "The town is already talking about ya. This is the first time anything's been done about those foul beasts!"

 

"Well I think we'll be going now," Ivory interrupted. "We've got to rest up before our big day tomorrow."

 

"Oh, of course! Go on." The mayor shooed them away.

 

The three of them turned away and began heading towards the inn. 

 

"Something's not right about that man," Ivory commented.

 

"Did you see the look of the guy he was talking to?" Milly asked. "His skin was almost purple and his ears…they were strange."

 

"There are stories of individuals accepting pacts with demons," Ivory began to illustrate. "It is said that those who do will obtain power unimaginable but it will deform them. Many of the descriptions I've read about them match that very physique. Pale, violet skin and pointed ears. Though the stories also tell of these people developing horns and claws on their hands."

 

"You think that person made a pact with a demon?" Zayd questioned. 

 

"It's possible and if so then we should be even more cautious of the mayor," Ivory suggested. "There's no telling what dealings he's involved with."

 

"He didn't seem too friendly with that stranger," Zayd pointed out. "This town certainly seems to have some secrets about it."

 

"You're right about that, Zayd." Ivory walked through the doors of the inn as Zayd swung open the doors and held them open for her and Milly. "Maybe these townsfolk can help us uncover some truth."

 

"Well there they are!" The innkeeper shouted as they entered. "The gnolls slayers! Welcome back."

 

"Gnolls slayers?" Milly confusingly looked around at the excited crowds, ready to greet them. "All we did was defeat three of them."

 

"Aye but that's three less that we have to worry about!" The innkeeper said. "This town's got a pretty decent shipment coming in tomorrow and your victory today may have provided us some safe travels."

 

"Shipment? A shipment of what?" Ivory asked.

 

"Food and wine of course!" The innkeeper said. "It's been awhile since we've had something nice around here. Only a few of our caravans ever make it in without being raided by those thugs."

 

"How long has this been going on for?" Ivory questioned.

 

"Not for long," the innkeeper said. "The attacks started a few weeks ago and they've progressively gotten worse since then. At first they only took what they wanted. Now the caravans come up missing entirely."

 

"Where's this food and wine shipment arriving from?" Milly asked.

 

"They're coming from Yule's Vineyard. It's a large farming village located north of here."

 

"So they'll travel straight through the worst part of the forest then?" Ivory questioned. "Why secure a shipment so soon? If the attacks are happening, why not hold off on it and collect a shipment from Bea Lardi instead?"

 

"We don't have the means of notifying them in time. We'd have to travel there ourselves to deliver the message and by then they'd already be on the road," he explained. "Even if we had a way of contacting them, we can't last long without food. The wine just happens to come from the same place. These people still need to eat! Besides, we’ve been eating and drinking the food and wine from Bea Lardi for weeks now. We’re tired of the same ol’ junk and we want the good stuff!"

 

"These gnolls have called that forest their home for quite a while. Has there ever been any attacks before a few weeks ago?" Ivory asked.

 

"Hmmmm." The innkeeper stood there for a moment, in thought. He turned towards the other residents and shrugged. "I can't say I recall anything. How about y'all?"

 

The residents' replies were nothing short of a simple nod indicating that they hadn't. 

 

"I can't say they have," the innkeeper answered. "Things have always been rather peaceful for us around here."

 

"Isn't it a bit strange that they've only recently begun their hostilities?" Ivory wondered. "Surely, it's not just a coincidence that they decided to begin launching raid campaigns against their neighbors."

 

"I suppose so. We'd lived in harmony with them for ages but we've never really made much contact with their kind," the innkeeper explained. "Several of the villagers have had plenty of sightings while out in the forest but no complaints were ever shared. But either way they’re still animals and they’re attacking us now!"

 

"Not a single act of aggression before though?" Ivory asked.

 

"Can't say that anything out of the ordinary has ever happened before recently. You think something may have happened to have started all this?" The barkeep wondered.

 

"It's quite possible," Ivory noted. "But we can't be sure of anything yet. I think it's getting late. I'm going to head up to my room."

 

"Yeah it's about that time for me too," Zayd added. "Time to get some rest!"

 

"You three rest well now. Good luck out there tomorrow. We're counting on you!" The innkeeper waved at them as the three made their way upstairs.

 

"Something's definitely off around here," Ivory pointed out. "I think there's more behind the scenes than we know."

 

"Yeah, that encounter with the mayor certainly was strange," Milly commented. "I wonder if that has anything to do with the gnoll’s hostilities."

 

"That is exactly what I was thinking, myself." Ivory opened the door to her room and looked back at her companions. "Goodnight you two. Tomorrow will be an interesting day. We should all get plenty of rest."

 

The door shut behind them and the three adventurers laid their heads upon their beds and began to contemplate their thoughts and reminisce about the day. While they had accomplished their task, more questions had arisen with more answers to seek. What was their true purpose here within the small community of Bullhill Town?