Once they made within the outskirts of town, Rose signaled for them to slow, and held her finger to her lips to signal them to be quiet. She led them slowly and carefully from behind one piece of cover to the next, this one a cart, this one a small garden wall, the next a few barrels beside a larger building. After flitting from spot to spot, they finally got close enough to peer into the village square.All of the buildings surrounding the square on the other three sides from theirs were on fire, and even at a decent distance, the heat was almost too intense for Jack to bear. Standing in the middle of the square were about a dozen humanoid shapes, decidedly taller and larger than a human, with one standing significantly taller than the rest. While it wasn"t possible to make out all of the details, the creatures had hunched postures and hyenlike faces, the tips of their hands and feet ending in powerful claws. They all held weapons of some variety and wore armor, with the exception of the largest, which was draped in long robes and held what looked like the trunk of a small tree, roots up, as a staff.
Jack recognized the species immediately, and Rose confirmed he was right.
"Gnolls. And led by a pack shaman, by the looks of things." She said. She motioned for everyone to take cover back behind the barricade they were peering around.
"There are 10 of the fighters, plus the big one who"s definitely a spellcaster. How do we want to do this?" She asked.
"Well, I think you and I can take the fighters, if Ellie can handle the shaman." Jack said.
"I agree. Do you think you can handle the big one, El?" Rose asked.
Eleanor nodded, although Jack noted a vague sense of unease she was trying very hard to hide. "I think so. I can certainly try."
"Be careful. Don"t be stupid and get yourself killed. If you need help, call for it." Rose said, and Jack nodded in agreement.
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"There"s no reason to act tough if you can"t do it alone. I"m scared s.h.i.tless, but I won"t let anything happen to you if I can help it" He said.
"I"ll help with the big one." Madeleine spoke up.
"No, no you will not. You"re not a fighter. You stay here and hide." Rose said, shaking her head.
"I wasn"t asking for permission. I was telling you what I am going to do." Madeleine said simply, and looked at Rose with a flat expression that seemed to unnerve the larger sister.
"You could get seriously hurt, Maddy. We can"t keep you safe if you won"t stay out of sight." Eleanor said.
"No one will see me. I promise." Madeleine said, her face still a blank mask. For some strange reason, Jack absolutely believed her.
"I say let her. I believe in her. She"s a smart girl. Smart enough not to do anything stupid, anyways." Jack said, causing Eleanor and Rose to both give him looks that indicated he clearly wasn"t helping right now.
"What? I"m not wrong." He said.
Finally, after a long sigh, Rose relented, and shrugged.
"Fine. Do whatever you want, Maddy. Just be careful, okay? I can"t promise you we can keep you safe if you"re out there." She said.
"I know." Madeleine said.
"Okay, so we know who is doing what. What"s our actual plan?" Jack asked.
"We need to get the jump on them. Kill as many of them as we can before the fight starts. Otherwise this could go very badly for us."
"I think I"ve got an idea..." Jack said, motioning the other three closer.
After a few moments of explanation, Rose nodded and turned towards Madeleine.
"Are you sure you"d be okay with doing this? It"ll be dangerous, and you could get seriously hurt if something goes wrong", she said, looking at her sister with a mixture of uncertainty and concern.
"I"ll be fine." Madeleine said simply. "They won"t be able to catch me."
"Are you sure? If they do..."
Madeleine grabbed Rose"s hand and leaned in towards her, her face intense. "That won"t happen. Trust me."
"Okay. If you"re certain." Rose said. She turned to Jack.
"Let"s do it."
Jack nodded.
"Alright then. Places, everyone!"