Fleas - Songs of the Gnolls I

SHATTERED TIES 6.8

Everyone at the gathering was very upset by what had happened. Kkrya's death had affected not only the first hyaenid tribe, but the Helirah tribe as well. And the recriminations had begun. Scourge feared that this event would once again fragment the species and undo all that had been done. Kkelea, for her part, seemed distant. Her reddened eyes were lowered, staring into the void. She had not yet processed what had happened. While the shouts and accusations covered the trilling of the carrion birds, Emperor Éwik remained silent, frightened, not knowing what to do. They needed a strong leader at this time, and he was not one. Scourge did not know whether to act or not.

Éwik approached his mother and whispered something into her ear. She nodded and let out a loud shout that silenced the voices. Then the little one looked at Scourge and motioned for him to come closer. He lifted him over his shoulder.

"We are all sad. I loved Kkrya, and now she is gone. I loved my brother, and he's gone too. We don't. But if we don't do something, it will be the same for us. Scourge told me the humans will attack soon. If they attack us like this, we won't be able to defend ourselves."

Eloquent words for a little cub like him. Most of them looked at each other doubtfully. The one who broke the silence was Kkelea.

"That is not how it works, Your Majesty," she said the last word angrily. "They killed my mother and I want justice. I want to know who killed her, and I want to eat it's heart, as the traditions say."

The little boy looked at her in confusion and replied:

"But you didn't want to follow the traditions. That's why you fought with your mother."

Kkelea didn't know what to say. She turned around and started banging on a wooden beam.

"Perhaps it is best to focus on the war," Fizkwik proclaimed. "We don't know which of us is a traitor, but we do know that the humans want us dead. Sooner or later the assassin will appear, in the meantime let's fight our greatest enemy."

"If we ignore him, any one of us could be next," shouted a gnome.

"We know that Kkrya was killed at night and from behind," Scourge explained. "Not to take anything away from that, but she was old. That means the killer does not have much physical ability. If we stay together, in groups of at least two or three, he won't be able to hurt us. That is, if Kkrya wasn't his only victim."

Scourge left Éwik on the ground and turned to Kkelea. She had retreated.

"So what do we do about the war?" Asked the avian in a high voice.

"In my opinion, we have three options," Zeppel replied. "Stay and defend this area, attack several nearby cities, or head straight for the capital. If we stay in this location, we can easily repel an attack, but then another will come, and another, and the war will stagnate here. If we march north or south, we will have the advantage that these cities will not be so fortified, and we will be able to destroy them. It will also bring us new allies..."

"But if we attack the capital directly," interrupted Helirah the Imposing, "we will destroy the head of the serpent. If the capital falls along with its largest forces, the rest will scatter and it will be very easy to wipe them out."

Although Scourge didn't like Helirah, he couldn't deny that she had a point.

"But big city be more difficult," protested Urkk, the orc commander, "lots of defenses, lots of armed humans."

"And lots of slaves, too," a gnome added. "If they join us from the inside, we will defeat them in a heartbeat."

Voices began to murmur. It was time for a decision. And one of the council members was absent. Fizkwik proposed a vote. They did so, choosing Zeppel for the war against the capital, Éwik for the defense, and Scourge for the war against the small towns. The three separated and each creature went to the one who represented his opinion. When they did the count, the march against Les Iuria won. They would leave at dawn, knowing that somewhere along the march they would have to resist the human forces, just as the rock resists the waves that batter it. Under that circumstances, Kkelea was going to be the key. Scourge hoped that when that time came, her mind would be at peace.