Breanna was bored. Sure she was being held captive against her will because of some stupid magic that had been coerced on her because of Shub who had used her fears against her. But even after all that, she was still bored.

The gnolls had slowly been preparing from what Shub was calling a big feast. Seems like the gnolls hadn't had much to eat lately and as such had been dying off.

It explained why there were so few males since if she remembered correctly gnoll males were less efficient at using the energy stored in their body than females. Mainly because females had to birth a lot of children every time they were pregnant and needed to make sure each child had an equal chance of surviving.

That short biology lesson had been interrupted(thank god) by one of the previous gnolls throwing a rock at her again.

Shub had stayed quiet when the gnolls threw rocks at her, but due to Breanna always screaming when they hit her. Because who else didn't react when they were hit with rocks?

Breanna had slowly been tiring herself out cussing the gnolls so much she had probably committed a felony. But the Dragonborn didn't care. She had pride, and her pride wouldn't let some stupid gnome furry rejects throw rocks at her and get away with it.

But while she could cast glares at the gnolls, she still couldn't move. Due to her Bond.

Cost: 50 MP, Range: Long, Stats: Magic & Loyalty Bond: Through the act of coercion or through simple stupidity and/or loyalty you have managed to get some poor random fool into serving you for who knows how long! Just make sure the Communists don't get this skill, there's a reason we sent them to DUCKY after all...

Breanna had found the menu pop up in her face when she had enjoyed some much-needed peace when the gnolls had stopped throwing rocks at her.

When the menu popped up, she had yelped. Her incessant yelling had annoyed one of the hunters so much she had hurled a medium-sized rock straight at Breanna. While few rocks had actually done enough to lower her HP bar, and fewer still had drawn blood. This throw was a class of its own.

Literally.

Name: Gerry Throws Class: Rock Hurler STR: 18 Level: 27 DEX: 24 TS: 57 INT: 12 RH: 60 CHA: 34 SS: 34 WIS: 6 LP: 29 CON: 17 Skills: Rock Hurl, Throwing Speed, Stone Strike, Lifting Power, Wrath of the Small, Rocky Power, and Gnollish Strength.

Breanna had screamed for several minutes when the stone struck. And she was sure some scales had been knocked off her skin, with her only way of knowing was the disgusted looks the gnolls gave when the rock hit. But that could've easily been them realizing that she was just as beautiful even if covered in blood. She hoped so anyway.

The menu had appeared in front of Breanna after the attack. And she was still confused about how it had ended up there.

"Hey, Shub?" Breanna asked.

"Please tell me you finally see the wisdom of being quiet," Shub replied. It had been fun adventuring with Breanna for the first few days but with their current predicament, the Dragonborn had grown annoying. But Shub had to stay calm.

Party's always had some sort of trouble within. It was how they dealt with it that separated those that were horrible and those that were great. She had to get Breanna to listen to her, that was her first challenge.

"No, I haven't. But I did receive the class window of the gnoll that hit me. What should we do with it?"

"What? Show it to me! We could find the weaknesses of one of our enemies!" Shub was excited, was this what being an adventurer was like? Hanging by a thread to some impossible challenge. Finding a clue that could help you win the day!

It was, for the most part. Because most adventurers don't get caught by gnoll groups of this size. Plus, they were guaranteed to get paid. Unlike Shub's group.

But hey, let them have small victories, alright?

"How do I do that?" Breanna asked.

"Just tell it to appear in my face, okay?" Shub replied.

Breanna smiled and thought of just that. Her thinking was quickly followed by the laughter of several gnolls as they saw the sight of an Eriska orc having a blue screen popping out of each side of her face. Shub quickly glared at Breanna, her face heating up in embarrassment.

The men disappeared from her face and reappeared in front of Shub. The orc quickly took to reading it.

Night had slowly encroached the forest. Cloaking the area in a thick blanket of shadow and darkness. Breanna could only see the vague silhouettes of the gnolls before the first fires popped up. Instead of the usual red and yellow flames that Breanna expected.

Bright blue appeared instead. Followed by purple and green to her left.

A crimson red flame slowly appeared to her right, flickering back and forth quickly till it overtook some blue flame. Devouring it quickly, the flame jumped from fire to fire. Devouring each one and slowly cloaking the campsite in red and nothing but red.

The children came out of tents from whatever they were doing and quickly made their way over to the biggest fire of all. Right in the center of the camp.

The flames spilled back and forth, with small pockets of blue fire peeping out only to be quickly devoured and subjugated. Breanna's eye's widened in disbelief as a figure popped right out of the flame. Clad in bright green robes with crimson sickles on them.

A helmet made of wheat surrounded the figure's entire head. With a mask made of wood, leather, and bone having been configured into the likeness of the gnolls cladding its face.

Two hollow eyes peeped out of the mask. Each one an emerald green with a fire in it.

A hammer was tied to the figure's waist on each side. A leather tunic with a badger cloak covering the chest and back of the figure.

A long dark pant covered in small critter bones wrapped around each of the legs of the figure. With the bare feet being the only ones not covered up.

The figure looked at the gnoll children assembled before it started to speak in the language of the gnolls. Gnomish.

Its words were cloaked in snarls and snorts as it repeated a vast tale. Using some kind of magic to create images of a crazy human over-throwing bear and creating a land filled with happiness and soul-crushing labor.

Bit of a contradiction but most legends were anyway. That was when Breanna fell flat on her face. The ground rushed towards her eyes and her nose broke the fall. Though it felt broken as she got up.

Shub was with her and both of them looked at the twelve gnolls surrounding them. The two quickly got up and drew their weapons.

Breanna her pistol, cloaked in draconic runes. And Shub with the massive ax on her back.

The first three gnolls in front of them instantly charged. Their spears held in front, Shub swung her ax straight at them. The weapon smashing straight into the helmeted head of the gnoll in the middle of the charging trio.

The ax shook in her grip as she stumbled back, the weapon having been blocked. The gnolls ran at Shub, her body thrown off by the weird durability of the helmet. But Breanna was more than ready to pick up the slack.

Her gun fired, with a bullet smashing into the gnoll on the left with extreme force. The bullet penetrated the helmet. Tearing through the gnoll with extreme force and crashing into the flesh of the gnolls head.

The bullet punched through the skin and muscle of the gnoll. But stopped at the skull. The runes on Breanna's gun suddenly flashed to like as the head of the gnoll exploded violently.

The cooked flesh of the gnoll's head struck the other two in the face. Causing the other two to trip and fall right at the feet of Shub.

Shub had regained her balance and quickly slammed her ax straight into the middle gnoll's back. The ax easily tearing through the flesh of the girl. The ax ripped out of the body, throwing the body on top of the last gnoll of the trio.

Blood splattered the ground and Shub smashed her foot straight into the last gnoll's head. The gnoll grunted in pain and Shub winced as her toes ached at the hard helmet of the gnoll.

Shub's eyes glanced at the bloody ax she had in her hand. Her body freezing as she saw the crimson painting it.

Breanna didn't waste any time and shot her second bullet straight into the third gnoll's head.

As the gnoll died. The rest of the pack fell on top of them instantly. Breanna dodged the stabbing spears of two additional gnolls. While four ganged up on Shub.

Breanna swung her pistol around and pistol-whipped the shit out of the gnoll to her right. The gnoll had a two on her helmet. With a purple chest band on. The band quickly turned red as the pistol whip crit and blew up the head of the gnoll.

The gnoll on Breanna's left widened her eyes as she saw the blood of her former partner splash her in the face and turned and ran. The gnoll didn't get far when a powerful Sorcourous Splash hit her in the back. The spell blowing a hole in the gnoll. Causing it to fall down.

The gnoll looked at the children listening to the story of the shaman. Her son in the crowd, and prayed for his safety. Before she died of blood loss.

Breanna turned around and saw Shub being pushed back, as several spears and a telekinetic arrow ripped through the orc's flesh.

Breanna quickly aimed her gun out. Her finger quickly pulling back the trigger as she aimed for the telekinetic. Who was holding her crystal ball in her hands as she said words in gnomish.

Breanna was thrown on her back when something hit her in the chest. Her breath caught in her throat as her back struck the rocky ground. Knocking the air out of her. The gnoll from before looked at Breanna with a sick grin. And then pulled another rock out of the earth and hurled.

Shub grunted as the spear struck her in the ribs. Slicing into her flesh and drawing blood, her blood. Her mind froze as the weapon came out of her body.

Her blood coating it.

Her blood spilling on her clothes.

Her blood spilled on the earth.

Her blood, which was now being looked at with crazed yellow eyes.

Shub's legs weren't moving, they weren't even getting air. It was her blood, but she had seen her ax. Would she coat it in their blood as well. Like everyone had told her to do? Like her father had done? Like her brother had tried to do?

She couldn't move her weapon.

The second gnoll on her left stabbed with its spear. The weapon stabbing and breaking off her skin. Shub wobbled back, the gnoll looked annoyed at its broken weapon. But she couldn't observe anything else when a metal covered arrow bit into her shoulder.

The weapon sliced through the clothes on her. Shub was only wearing some basic cloth clothes, the gnolls had stolen everything else.

Her ax had been too heavy and apparently too useless to the gnolls so they had left it with her. Thankfully in everyone else's eyes who could've been in her position than her.

As the arrow flew back to the gnoll in the back, she heard a crack and "oof" from Breanna. Shub turned to see her friend with her arm hanging limply by her side. The Dragonborn roaring loudly as she shot several bullets at the gnoll who had thrown that big rock at her.

That was when something snapped. For she could see the thing, the possibility that hung over Breanna's head as she fought for her life. The possibility of her friend having her blood spilled.

Shub's eyes saw red. Her ax swung back at the gnolls with full force. The blade stabbing deeply into the second gnoll on her right. Her boot kicked at the gnoll who had taken a stab at her side. The kick smashing the poor gnoll onto the ground.

Her eyes widened in fear as Shub's ax swung out and smashed the other end of its blade deep into the gnoll. Shub turned around and felt an arrow thunk into her chest. The arrow sinking its entire point deep into the orc. Shub felt her world darken, but she would not rest.

She hurled her ax straight at the telekinetic. The weapon smashing into the gnolls face. The gnoll being hit by the behind of the dead gnoll corpse on the ax.

The last gnoll that remained in front of her didn't for much longer. Turning tail and running to the forest. A hammer smashed into the gnoll with full force. The weapon breaking her entire back in an instant.

Shub turned her head behind her. Looking at a massive nine-foot-tall gnoll behind her. The orange warrior holding a sickle in her left hand. Its yellow eyes looking at Shub with full hatred.

"Stop, back away from the idiot!" Breanna yelled. Shub turned her eyes to see the gnoll who had attacked her dead. A bullet lodged straight into its half-melted skull.

"Even look at the idiot the wrong way and I pull the trigger on those little fuckers right over by that fire!" Breanna yelled.

Shub's eyes widened. Killing kids!? That was too far even for gnolls. Before the Dragonborn could anything further, a blast of red hit her in the back. Breanna was hurled on her back for the second time in a row these last few minutes. Her cloak now on fire.

Breanna quickly threw the cloak away. Revealing a wool pants and shirt that was both red. And a silver pendant wrapped around her neck. Hanging over the Dragonborn's chest.

"That's enough orphan making for one night," a voice rang out of the masked figure entertaining the children

The figure took off its, no, her mask. Two streaks of bright red hair came out of a legion of blue hair. Cold green emerald eyes looked at both Shub and Breanna with annoyance.

"I think we should talk. I'm Privy. Have you heard of our lord and savior Lenin?"