Mastery Is Earned

Four days passed quickly, and soon it was time to trade with the gnolls.

Raymond and Henk’s three wagons were loaded with grain, salt, iron tools, and serviceable secondhand weapons supplied by the town guard. No bows or crossbows had been included, but the quantities of the other goods had been increased to make up the difference.

Besides Raymond and Martin, two members of the town guard accompanied the shipment. Raymond and the two guards each drove a wagon along the abandoned logging road outside Silverleaf Village, with Martin riding beside Raymond.

Two support squads totaling eight members followed far behind them, ready to come to their aid if anything went wrong.

Henk, meanwhile, formed the tracking party with two hunters and two other members of the town guard. Their task was to follow the gnolls after the trade.

Martin would handle most of the communication, while Raymond and the others spoke as little as possible to avoid making the gnolls suspicious. Before their departure, Marcus had given Martin a stern warning. Martin presumably knew exactly what he could and could not say.

Along the way, Raymond spoke with Martin at length about the gnolls and gained a much better understanding of them.

According to Martin, hybrid gnolls usually took charge during the trades. Full-blooded gnolls also traveled with them, but they acted more like bodyguards and escorts. The two groups did not get along well, though they managed to cooperate on the surface.

The bandits had occasionally clashed with the gnolls during previous exchanges, but nothing serious had ever happened.

Despite the shade in Blackpine Forest, the summer heat remained considerable. To be safe, Raymond wore his coat of plates and carried both weapons.

“You’re not planning to betray us and run to your gnoll friends for help, are you?” Raymond teased as he sat on the wagon and polished his weapons.

Sweat immediately covered Martin’s forehead, and he forced a smile. “How could you say such a thing, Master Raymond? I would never dare. Those gnolls don’t consider me a friend. If I ran toward them, I’d be the first one they ate.”

Raymond chuckled and said nothing more, continuing to tend to his weapons.

The three wagons rocked slowly down the road and soon reached the meeting place.

It lay only a mile from where Raymond and Henk had fought together before. The trees there were thick and sturdy. One trunk bore obvious claw and bite marks. This was the marker identifying the meeting place.

Henk and the others had scouted the area the previous day and familiarized themselves with the terrain. To keep the gnolls from catching their scent, they had not hidden near the meeting place and were waiting farther away. Raymond did not know whether they would be able to pick up the gnolls’ trail in time once the trade was over.

After they had waited for a little over half an hour, a harsh scraping noise came from the distant forest, accompanied by slow, heavy hoofbeats, several muffled grunts, and a few short, strange laughs.

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Raymond and the two guards had already climbed down from the wagons. They stood behind Martin with weapons in hand. At the strange sounds, the guards exchanged glances, and Raymond heard them swallow nervously.

Marcus had selected these men personally, and both had some experience fighting gnolls. To make this trade possible, he had even recalled two patrol squads stationed outside town. That alone showed how much importance he placed on the operation.

Of course, Raymond suspected that Marcus had already learned the black ore’s sale price from Bob. Ore worth several gold coins was more than enough reason for the sheriff to go to considerable trouble.

Three shaggy, short-legged mountain oxen emerged slowly from between the trees, each pulling a wagon. The wagons were nearly identical to the ones Raymond’s group had brought. They had undoubtedly been made by the same craftsman.

What caught Raymond’s attention most, however, were the tall, powerfully built monsters following behind the oxen. They looked like intelligent, hyena-like creatures walking upright.

They held themselves in a habitual hunch, their heads thrust slightly forward. Their shoulders were broad, their necks thick, and their backs sloped down toward the rear. Their arms were somewhat longer than a human’s.

Their coats varied in color. Short fur of gray-brown, tawny, or dark brown covered their bodies, with darker manes along their backs and the napes of their necks. Irregular spots marked their fur. Each had a broad muzzle, a black nose, thick canines, and upright round ears.

Every gnoll carried an axe, machete, or similar weapon. One even wore a human-made suit of leather armor, though it fit terribly because of the creature’s size and build. The others had draped themselves in animal pelts, making them look savage and fearsome.

“Those are gnolls, right?” Raymond asked from behind Martin.

“Yes.” Martin nodded.

Raymond studied them again and had the odd impression that they were not so much beastlike humans as hyenas whose limbs had been forcibly stretched until they had no choice but to stand on two legs.

Then a shorter, thinner gnoll caught his attention.

It walked in the middle of the group, hidden behind one of the mountain oxen. Raymond might not have noticed it at first if it had not stepped forward on its own.

The gnoll stood more than half a head shorter than the others and was much more slender. Unlike the other gnolls, its muzzle was longer and narrower, and its facial features resembled a lizard more than a hyena.

Its fur was sparse, with some patches completely bare. Those areas were instead covered in tiny, tightly packed scales. Its eyes were larger, its fingers long and slender, and its tail considerably longer than those of the other gnolls.

“That’s the hybrid, isn’t it?” Raymond asked Martin as he watched the smaller gnoll. “It certainly looks strange.”

“Don’t say that in front of it, Master Raymond,” Martin hurriedly whispered. “It’s extremely clever. You mustn’t underestimate it.”

“Of course.” Raymond nodded and said nothing more.

The gnolls soon brought the short-legged oxen to a halt not far from Raymond’s group. The hybrid leader’s slit-pupiled eyes swept over everyone present before it spoke in a rough, hoarse voice. “Human. Goods?”

“Here.” Martin hurriedly stepped aside and revealed the cargo behind him. Raymond and the two guards followed his example, moving out of the way to clear a path for the hybrid.

The hybrid gave a grunt deep in its throat and stepped forward to inspect the goods.

The three draft horses grew restless as it approached, stamping their hooves uneasily. Held in place by their reins, they could not retreat, their breath coming in low, heavy snorts.

As Raymond watched the hybrid carefully inspect the cargo, the scene suddenly struck him as absurd. He turned his attention to the full-blooded gnolls.

They stared hard at Raymond and the others. One met Raymond’s gaze and held it. Its eyes were vicious, and its lips and nose twitched constantly as thick saliva dripped from its broad muzzle.

“Weapons wrong!” the hybrid suddenly shouted. A series of low rumbles rose from its chest. Its lips fluttered as it let out several quick huffs.

At the sound, the other gnolls immediately drew their weapons and growled at Raymond’s group.