Lyegerena the Gnoll: A day in the life.

Lyegerena the Gnoll:
A day in the life.


As always I awaken before the sun, but this time is different. This time I didn't wake up on my own. This time I am woken by a sent, a sent that sets my teeth on edge.

The last time I caught this sent was exactly a week ago today. The smell was all over my ransacked camp when I returned from checking my traps. Apparently the scoundrel returned to the scene of the crime to get some more. I hoped this would happen. Hence why I didn't relocate because I hoped the rat bastard would return and I could catch him in the act.

I can't hear anything over the crickets and the crackling of the hot Coals in the fire pit, so I very carefully and slowly open my eye just a crack to see what I can see.

My fire is nothing but red coals, but it's a full moon tonight, and there isn't a cloud in the sky.
Most creatures can see better than usual on a night like this, but as a Gnoll I can see better than most.
Despite that though, I see nothing.
I must have missed him again."Garrr"

My things have obviously been gone threw, but my burglar is nowhere in sight. "Damn, he was good." I mutter to myself as a stand up to survey damage.

It's obvious he's relatively profound in the arts of procuring other peoples things as he took everything I had of any value, and left the junk.
I'm probably not this crooks first mark, but I intend to be his last because this time their trail is fresh, easily fresh enough for me to fallow.

I don't waist anymore time dilly-dollying around the camp counting my misfortunes. If I can catch the prick I'll get it all back, but my thief already has a head start, so I better get moving.

I get to the edge of my camp and I catch another scent. "Thieves!?" I look back over to the oak tree I was leaning against as I slept. "Hmmm." This person had a perfect view of me and the rest of my camp.
I take a few more deep sniffs. "She must have been the lookout." I think out loud in a whisper, then I start tracking.

Their trail is well covered from the eye, but it would seem they never even thought about masking their scent, so it's taking me very little time or trouble to gain ground on them. I may be able to kill these two, get my shit back, and get back in plenty of time to enjoy a hearty breakfast before checking my traps.

Suddenly, my nose sets me into alert, "Colbolds.... Arg, Lots of them." So much for my optimism.

I start to sneak as best I can, but when you're the size of a BugBear you don't have much going for you in the way of stealth, but I did manage to fallow my nose another 50-60 yards to see the Colbold camp seemingly undetected.

There's six Colbolds all together. Well, six that I can see anyway, all dancing around a huge pot. but what really gets my attention is I can see a pile of clothing and backpacks on the camps edge. The smell of the thieves is coming from that pile.

I get down on my belly like a toad and crawl in closer toward the pile, but then I see in the middle of the camp two small humans stripped and bound about 10 feet from the pot. I don't think I need to tell you what's happening here.

I smirk a little as I figure "This Serves them right.", but then I hear the human female begin to cry. I take a more detailed look, and notice that both humans(My Thieves) Are just human cubs.

The boy seems to be the oldest looking to be 12 or 13, and the girl can't be any older than 8 or 9. My smirk fades as my heart sinks a little.

Compassion, empathy, sympathy. In Gnoll culture these are all weaknesses. Our Demon God demands blood, violence, and slaughter in his name. What good is a butcher that feels bad for the meat?
They made their bed now they can sleep in it. Damn lousy thieves.

I continue to make my way to my stuff. The Colbolds are so caught up in the excitement of cooking dinner I could probably walk over to the packs and dance back out without them seeing me.

I slink over to the pile of the humans discarded belongings and very carefully reach in and grab the packs, then I slink backwards, and back the hell out of there.

It takes a few minutes, but I eventually get far enough away that I think its safe to take a look in the packs and see if all my stuff is in there....
Yep, looks good. All my missing pelts, most of the food they took, and all my gold is present and accounted for. "Huh, All n all this didn't turn out so bad."

I start to put my stuff back into my brand new backpacks, but then I come across a cloth doll. The ragged looking thing is old and stinks of the little girls tears, but it's not my nose that's bothering me.

I know what hell awaits those cubs. The water will be brought to a boil, then they will be put in the pot and left to boil pretty much all day until the meat falls off the bones. They are no threat to the colbolds, so they'll see no point in wasting time on killing the cubs first as the boiling proses will do that eventually anyway.
It's not a good death. I know because I've been the cook before.

I hold the girls doll in my hand, and I am reminded of why I'm forced to walk alone today.
No Gnoll in their right mind wants to be alone.
Like wolves, dogs, and the Hyenas we are akin to we are meant to live and hunt in packs.
I hate being alone.

"Compassion for the pray is weakness!" I can hear my old chieftains words still ringing in my head today, but it's soon drowned out by the sound of the little girl crying.

I stand up, and look back toward the Colbolds camp, then say out loud "They're thieves, they deserve what they get.", but I don't convince myself.
Then that voice.
that same voice that got me branded with the mark of a traitor.
that ugly weak voice in the back of my mind reminds me that they are just cubs.
I hate the voice. It's because of that ugly weak voice that I am alone today.

"ARRRRAAG!" I howl out in a rage. I know what I'm about to do, and I hate myself for it.

The Colbolds chanting and laughing comes to an abrupt stop when they hear a tormented howl come from the forest. Even the little girl stops balling out of fear of what may hear her.

The Colbolds all start looking at each other nervously. They recognize the howl of a Gnoll when they hear it.

Some of them start getting their weapons ready expecting the worse, one is delegated by the others to investigate. He protest, but soon sees weapon tips encouraging him to reconsider.

He looks back at the forest edge and gulps as he takes his first reluctant steps toward the direction of the sound.

The others watch him vanish into the brush.
The silence is tense, but is soon broken by their scouts terrorfide shrieks they see him run back into the safety of the camp, but as soon as his legs stop and he points into the woods to tell them what he seen my maul comes crashing down on his head crushing his bones and spraying his blood and guts everywhere.

I then let out a mighty Roar of Triumph disheartening those who seen it, but then one if them growled to the other four in an authoritative grunt, and they charge at me.

Three of them get in front of me so I swing my mighty steel hammer wide from right to left knocking the first one on his back, but leaving the other two dead instantly with shattered ribs and liquified organs.

The one I knocked prone shrieks in a shrill hiss as a stomp down on his tiny head with all my weight crushing it to a gory mess. the fourth one who hung back with his bow, drops his weapon and runs away flailing his tiny arms above his head leaving the camp and his leader behind.

The Colbold commander snarls something at him loudly that I assume means "coward!", then quickly diverts his attention back to me.

He charges in swinging his kinked up rusty saber at me. his first swing is a wild miss, but as I lift my hammer high above my head he sees an opening and takes it sticking a dagger from his belt into my right thigh with his off hand.

His minor victory is short lived however when I bring the hammer down missing his head, but crashing onto his left shoulder.
He lets out a scream of pain and agony as his left hand release the daggers hilt leaving it in my leg.

He falls onto his back holding his shoulder, so I raise my maul again this time I purposely crush his hip just to make sure he won't run off anywhere, then I reach down and grab him by the throat.
His right hand grabs my forearm, and he tries to get me to release him by scratching at it, but him and I both know that won't save him.
I hang my maul across my back, then grab his right shoulder with my other hand.

Tearing a Colbolds head off is something that comes pretty easy if you take the time to practice at it. And I am well practiced.

I walk over to the pot. The water is warm but not boiling yet, so I use it to wash the blood from my face and hands, and pull the Dagger from my thigh and wash the wound out as best I can before wrapping it in a clean scrap of cloth taken from a dead Colbold, then I kick the pot over.
The water puts out the fire, and washes the Colbold chiefs head into the bushes as the pot itself rolls away.

I look over at the human cubs. they are huddled together. the boy looks at me then wiggles so to get his sister behind him as if that could save her.

I walk over to them with the chiefs knife in my hand, then cut the boys ropes freeing him. he immediately grabs his sister and starts trying to drag her away from me.

I just roll my eyes then say "If I was planning to hurt you, you would be dead by now.", then I toss the knife to the ground in front of him, and point over toward their stuff before adding "Your clothing is over there." And I start to walk away.

"Thank you." I hear the little boy say as he cuts his sister free, then he continues "Father left before Amalia was born, and Mother died of a fever last winter. Please help us. We'll die out here alone."

I sigh before I turn back toward them and drop their packs on the ground. "I looked threw them, but I didn't take anything."

They slowly walked toward me and picked up their packs, then out of nowhere the little girl hugged my leg. "Thank you so much." My heart melted as I was reminded of my cubs.

"STOP THAT!" I shouted.
They recoiled from me. Then I snarled at them "You two need to harden up. I won't be here to save you if you get captured again." The little girl began to cry, but I think the little boy understood.

I turned and started to walk away from them, but stopped for one last minute to say. "You can keep what you stole from me, but if I ever see either of you again, I'll kill you myself.",

The sun breaks out over the trees as I started back to my camp. I hated the idea of leaving empty handed, but I figured I would let the Cubs have everything, but then I smiled when I seen the pot. "This shouldn't be hard to roll back to my camp."

All the while that weak compassionate voice in the back of my mind wants me to do more for them. it wants me to go back, take them with me, and mother them myself, but I won't.
They are not my cubs and they need to be with other humans.

I'm confident that they'll be fine... I hope..