Eleanor crept down from the ledge, and followed the pathway down into the camp, doing her best to keep her head down as as she did so. Working her way through the outskirts, she drew a few momentary glances, but thankfully no one seemed to care enough to pay her any serious attention with all of the other activity going on. She was grateful. The anxiety the possibility of getting caught was making her tremble. She doubted very seriously she"d be able to talk her way out of it if someone confronted her in this state.It took her several long minutes before she was able to finally locate Marg"faz"s hut. She a.s.sumed it would be easier to find, but having only been there once, and not really able to look around the outside easily while slung on a guard"s back made things harder than expected. She was finally able to locate it not really by recognition, but rather by noticing that everyone in the camp seemed to give on particular hut a bit of a wider berth than normal, and seemed particularly averse to looking at it. That had to be it.
Getting closer proved her to be right. Quickly heading to the door, she rapped against it gently with the back of her hand, and then again a few moments later when no reply came. Finally, after the third attempt, she heard movement inside, and a few moments later, the door creaked open a crack, and a shining eye peeked at her from the darkness on the other side.
"Who is it? What do you want?" Marg"faz hissed.
Eleanor glanced around furtively, before leaning in closer.
"It"s Eleanor. The girl you helped." She whispered.
The eye studied her for a moment, then flickered in recognition.
"So it is. Come in. Quickly." The gnoll woman said.
The door swung open just long enough for Eleanor to duck inside the hut before it shut behind her with a click, followed by the metallic sc.r.a.pe of a bolt being fastened.
The room contained no light sources, so Eleanor could see perfectly fine, but only in black and white. The inside of the hut was disorganized, even messy, as if it had recently been turned over or ransacked. Marg"faz, for her part looked disheveled, and generally displeased as she returned and sat on the bed on the left side of the hovel.
"I see you"ve managed to get out." Marg"faz said, appraising Eleanor. "The Polymorph is well done."
She sighed, and sat silent for a long moment before continuing.
"Unfortunately, you"ve wasted your time coming to see me. The things I have been planning can no longer come to fruition as I have hoped." She said.
"What"s happening? It seems like everyone is getting ready for war." Eleanor said.
"They are. The camp will soon be under attack from an outside force. And my son, seeming to have known what I was planning, has ensured that every clan member who has privately declared their loyalty to me is now outside of the camp with some of the others, preparing for the attack. So, we are alone, my dear." She said.
"The camp is under attack? From whom? Who is the attacking force?" Eleanor asked.
"The only information I have is that there are a large group of adventurers coming for the camp. All human, it would seem, except for some humanoid woman that one of my eyes tells me has orange hair and skin red as a cherry." She said.
Eleanor"s eyes shot wide. She couldn"t believe what she was hearing.
"Wait, you said this woman had red skin and orange hair? Was she wearing armor and carrying a sword?" Eleanor asked, her body suddenly tense with excitement.
Marg"faz looked at Eleanor with a puzzled expression.
"...Yes? Why? Do you know someone by that description?" She asked.
"Yes!" Eleanor said, beaming. "That"s my sister Rose!"
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