Izzy Chapter 29: They’re Probably Going To Do Something Horrible, But Not To Us, So Who Cares, Really? (Patreon)

Getting back to the Tree in the morning took some sneaking, but between Caj’s scouting and Mash being able to float invisibly above bushes, fallen trees, and ditched, the scrum made it back without incident. 

“Straight to the water?” Izzy asked Stick and Mash.

“We’d better,” Stick said. “Naiads can be quick to turn on you if they feel insulted.”

Which was a good point, Mash thought, but it wasn’t the only reason. “White might be lonely and bored,” she added. “So I think we all agree that she’s probably been watching the gnoll camps, just in case.”

“In case she gets a chance to drown someone,” Izzy completed for her.

“In case she gets a chance to drown someone,” Mash agreed. “If anything interesting happened while we were out, she may have seen it.”

“You’ll never guess what happened!” White burbled a finger later. She was bouncing so much that she actually made small ripples spread from where she floated near the riverbank. “The biggest gnoll, the Chieftess or whatever you called her, she’s been in a mood! She left real mad yesterday, and then she came back even madder last night! All morning she’s been shouting and growling and hitting anyone who got too close, and a lot of gnolls have been leaving downstream, away from the river. Oh, but the best part is that she’s been sending anyone who really makes her mad to fetch water! I got one! I got one!”

Mash hovered silently as the naiad splashed and burbled, telling them how some particularly foolish gnoll had been either too confident in himself or just too stupid to let go of his bucket when White had pulled on it, and was now drifting along on the current, heading for the great lake that the river emptied into.

“That’s really great,” Izzy said when White launched into yet another description of how she almost got some other hapless gnoll or gnome. “Does it look like they’re getting ready to go out in a big group? Like most of their Warriors and Raiders?”

“Maybe? The Chieftess is really mad about some humans and wants everybody to find them, so I guess they’ll go kill them when they do? But I don’t know if they’ll all go or anything.”

“We need to get everyone ready!” Mash said. Izzy and Stick both nodded.

“Thanks, White,” Izzy told the naiad. “We’re gonna all go keep an eye on the camp now. Can you do that, too? And, ah… After we get in there we might have to run away into the river. Hard to know. If we do, could you make sure not to drown any goblins, or anyone else who isn’t a gnoll? That would be a real big help.”

“Mmm… I can try!” White said, and her lumpy face took on a cast of what Mash could only call determination.

  *

Part of their preparations was for Mash and Izzy to allocate their new Levels. For Mash it was easy; neither of her Classes would give her anything new, both being at Level 5, so she put her level into Advisor Spirit, the Class she wanted to get to 8 first.

For Izzy it took a bit more time. Mash and her both agreed that she should take another level of Scrum Boss, getting the Class to Level 3 and getting her a new Class Skill, but as for what that Skill should be…

“I still think you should take Harsh Motivation,” Mash said, but she wasn’t insisting anymore. That had gone horribly last time, and she didn’t want to risk messing up their partnership again.

“I know, and I get why,” Izzy replied. “But I really like the look of this new one!”

The new Skill she had available to choose wouldn’t help them now, but it would help if they succeeded. It was called Scrum Lord, and it would give Izzy a very small bonus to her mana — one point, to be exact — and stamina for every minion under her command. Which was a tiny number at the moment, but might be a lot bigger tomorrow or in a few days. And in the future, who knew? It was a good and interesting Skill, and one that Mash would definitely have recommended Izzy to take… just not now.

She also knew that the reason Izzy wanted it wasn’t that it was better than Harsh Motivation. The reason was that Izzy didn’t want Harsh Motivation, no matter how good it was. And Mash just couldn’t understand why. She’d bonked Twitch on the head with her staff just that morning!

“I just don’t like the idea of whacking someone being the right and best thing to do,” Izzy grumbled when Mash pressed her on it, and that was that. She refused to budge, and Mash, for all her frustration, had to give up on the idea. It had taken them two fingers of time, and Izzy took Scrum Lord, just like she’d wanted. Only this time they didn’t end up yelling at each other. Izzy admitted that she didn’t want to take Harsh Motivation because she didn’t like it, and Mash accepted that, even though she didn’t like it. And that was that.

  *

Another two fingers later the whole scrum was perched on the height that overlooked the gnoll camp, hidden from sight by some dense bushes. Izzy and Stick both had full mana, and Squirrel and Howl had prepared an escape route for them using trap parts and caltrops made by Twitch and Buttercup. Now all they had to do was wait. And wait.

And wait.

The gnolls didn’t go anywhere. Small bands still came and went, some bringing in game, others coming back empty handed. They still scuffled and laughed, got in fights and played games and had competitions and tormented their prisoners. As evening fell the goblins and gnomes and few humans in the camp cooked a great feast, then fled as the gnolls fells on the food.

On the hill the goblins gnawed enviously on roots and berries. Caj, though, still had most of his dried meat, and was quite happy.

They didn't sleep in shifts; Mash was quite used to not sleeping, and the long, silent hours while everyone else rested. Besides, it wasn't like the gnolls ever got really quiet. Even those on fire watch couldn't keep from bickering and scuffling with each other, and provided Mash with all the entertainment she might want through the night.

At the break of dawn, as though some alarm had been raised, the camp exploded into action. Mash roused Izzy and Stick, who then shook, poked, and gently kicked the others awake. Below them gnolls descended on the remains of last night's dinner, then disappeared into their tents only to emerge fully dressed and armed, gathering in their little groups at the center of the camp with their packs.

Heh, Mash thought to herself. The packs are packed.

Soon Gshagra herself emerged from her tent, armed and armored, as did the old Shaman, Ragsha. She gave a short speech that amounted to, “We’re going to slaughter these naked apes and feast on their entrails,” he performed some kind of priestly rite to bless them all, and then they moved out with all the noise Mash had expected of almost a hundred gnolls on the move and prepared for war.

They left no more than ten of their number to hold the camp and keep their slaves in line, and by how those gnolls acted, being left behind was a punishment more than anything. Hrika and her band were among them, as were the first gnolls to come across the vineling giant, and a few others who must have displeased Gshagra somehow.

Izzy wanted to go as soon as the noise of the departing warband faded into the distance, but Mash held her back. Instead they waited, watching to see what the stay-behinds would do. Instead they snuck down the slope, getting in closer to the camp to wait for an opportunity. Soon, their patience was rewarded.

Hrika immediately took command of the camp, but that mostly amounted to ordering the others around when she wanted something; she apparently thought speaking to the slaves to be beneath her, since she didn't seem to care when her underlings passed her orders on to some slave or other, often right in front of her.

But it only took about a finger before Hrika decided that she wanted fresh meat. She pointed imperiously to three males who weren't part of her group, two Hunters and a Raider, and told them, “You lot! Go bring in some game!”

There was some grumbling, but the three were smaller, lower level, and outnumbered compared to the others. So they took their nets and bolas, and their spears and axes, and disappeared into the forest. And then there were only seven gnolls to worry about.

That was about the best they could hope for, and individually, the only one they really needed to worry about was Hrika. She was Level 13, a Raider, and bigger than most of the females in the camp. Fighting her head on was a no-no.

But with any luck they wouldn't need to do that. She was lazy, and as long as nobody spotted them, everything should be fine! And if not, well… goblins were good at fighting anything but head on. They'd deal with it.

Except for a few unfortunates attending to Hrika and her six remaining minions, the slaves were kept in three pens in the middle of the camp. “We can’t go across the camp to get to them, or they’ll see you,” Mash said as they discussed how to proceed, “but look; the fuzzers are all pretty close to each other. If you sneak around through the forest or by the riverbank you should be able to get at it from a direction where none of them can see you.”

“We’d have to go really far around through the forest. Water would be closer,” Izzy mused. “Then what? Dig under the stakes?”

“That, or break some. But the first question is how much we trust White.”

“She’s not bad, right?” Izzy turned to Stick. “That’s what you said. She’s not bad, just… very different.”

“I think we can convince her not to do anything,” Stick agreed. “She likes us… in her own way.”

“Alright. We’ll try going through the water. Come on!”

The scrum quickly scurried along the camp’s edge to the river, using the tents and huts for cover. The bank sloped gently enough that they couldn’t quite hide behind it; they’d have to get in the water and wade with only their heads above the surface.

“Get in,” Izzy instructed the others. “Stick, go first and keep an eye out for White. I’ll go at the back and do the same.”

It didn’t take long for White to make her appearance. She surged out of the middle of the current, headed directly for the center of the line of goblins like the aquatic predator that she was. Stick saw her before Mash did, burbling out, “White!” to get her attention, but she didn’t slow until Izzy did the same, and she’d pulled Buttercup off his feet before she actually stopped.

“Oh!” she said. “My goblin friends! You’re here already!”

“Hello, White,” Izzy said soothingly, slowly closing in on the naiad as Buttercup struggled, admirably calmly, to keep at least his nose above the water. “Yeah, we’re here!”

“And that means…” White looked down at the goblin that she was absentmindedly pushing under the surface. “Oh. This one is yours, isn’t it? I’m not supposed to drown this one?”

“That’s right,” Izzy said, getting her hand around Buttercup’s ankle. “Mind if I take him back? We’re in the middle of our rescue.”

“How exciting!” White exclaimed, and Mash silently blessed whatever god of the rivers and lakes had made the naiad language sound like moving water. In her excitement, though, she pushed Buttercup entirely under the water, his hands coming up to wave wildly as he fought.

“So, ah… my minion?” Izzy asked, as Twitch and Crack both slowly approached, reaching for Buttercup’s hands.

“Hmm? Oh!” With a bounce White moved back, releasing Buttercup and letting him bob to the surface, where Crack immediately grabbed him and put a hand over his mouth to stop him from sputtering too much. “Hey! I did it!” White cheered. “I let one go!”

“You did!” Izzy sighed with relief.

“Thank you, White,” Stick said. “Well done.”

“I knew I could,” White said proudly.

And that was that. They all made it to the other side of the camp, where the slave pens blocked their view of the gnolls and vice versa. They were in position. Everyone and everything was ready.

Now all they had to do was succeed.