Fleas - Songs of the Gnolls I

WHAT MANY HANDS PAINT 9.6

"Did they get through the bridge? Hmm, you're screwed."

"'We' are. I don't think they'll welcome you with open arms after your betrayal"

Huauau nodded. Dannke was more worried than angry. He could feel the room where the hyaenid was imprisoned closing tighter and tighter, trapping him, squeezing his bones. It shouldn't be long before Lei Livilan's reinforcements arrive, but resources were running out fast and the villagers were getting more and more impatient with each passing day. The tension was at a breaking point.

"You said you had other ideas to counter the invasion, I'm willing to hear them."

"Those ideas depended on the moat and the trolls not being able to act... Wait a minute," the hyaenid scratched his jaw and began to walk in a circle. "The trolls are already on this side, but the inner wall has not fallen yet. Why not?"

"Maybe they want to wipe out the humans on the outside first."

"Yes, but most of them have taken refuge here. And they must know that. It would be easier to open a hole first, create chaos, and kill as many as they can. Then they could split up and take over the rest of the city."

"Maybe they know reinforcements are on the way. Ripping information out of a man is not exactly arcane magic. In that case, they will be defending themselves first, so as not to be attacked from behind."

"You said that some of the rebels live underground. That there is a network of tunnels under the city. The trolls should be able to sense them. From below, they could protect themselves from the invaders, emerge in a coordinated attack, and kill us all."

"The rebels have trolls too," Dannke understood. "Are you suggesting that those below prevent those above from tearing down the wall and discovering them?"

Huauau was silent for a moment.

"Trolls are strange creatures. They appreciate the silence of the rocks, whether in freedom or not. If my instincts are correct, they have a plan of their own that is alien to both sides. Speaking of sides, how are the rebels positioning themselves? Because they don't seem to want to help Scourge and the rest."

Dannke snorted.

"I don't know. I'd like to talk to them, but I missed that opportunity when I tried to kill Fleas. And now the Wind Paws are loose. Why didn't I kill them when I had the chance?"

Huauau chuckled.

"Then watch your back. Tell your guards to cover their ears. They can put anyone to sleep with their singing. I would take alternate them, one with covered ears, one without.

"Strange that there are no maps of these tunnels," Huauau continued. "I thought humans were more organized."

There probably were, but that information had died with the librarian. Had he known he would need it, he would not have tested the shell's effect on him.

"I could try to talk to these rebels," the Hyaenid suggested. "I hear there are entrances in different parts of the city. Since I am not human, they will probably listen to me."

"So you can run away? No, Huauau, I know your treacherous nature. Come with me, to the throne room. Whatever the end, we'll face it together."

"Do you have a plan?"

"We know there's a storm on the horizon, but we don't know if it will be a typhoon, a drizzle, a lightning storm, or a snowstorm. When it takes shape, we will act."

He hated to admit it, but his fate was probably in the hands of the underground rebels.