Diplomacy Goes Bad

"Damn it." the guard said. "They surround us."

"I only see six," I replied, "but four have bows."

None of this seemed to comfort him.

Gnoll refers to different creatures on different parts of Athal. Some are related; some are not. People sometimes lump them in with beastmen or beastfolk, though this is generally as accurate as lumping goblins, hobgoblins, and uruk into the same lineage.

The gnolls that night were properly speaking Hyenadae, or hyena-men. They walked upright, though they could make better speed on all fours. They were pale like the desert sands, with stripes and spots of dark colors.

"I get a false reading off the slave." one said to their Spearman. "That, or he is secretly the master."

"What language is that?" the guard asked.

"Vulf-ven. It's common to canines, lupines, dog-folk, and the like." I told him.

And then I yawned. "We're going to try offering the dead to them in exchange for our lives?"