Captain Kayden laid out the plan for the next day and Zin nodded his agreement. It seemed pretty straightforward, but he knew that things were unlikely to go as planned. For now, he would withhold his judgment of the group until after tomorrow. If at the conclusion he was not satisfied, he would simply walk away.
 
For a short moment, he watched the Drabarian. Zin spied which leg the man put most his weight. Zin watched how he gestured with his hands.  Zin hoped to glean some information about the man before heading into combat with him.
 
Captain Kayden dismissed them when all was said and done.
 
Zin pushed himself up off the wall he leaned against. He made sure to catch the Captain’s eye before bowing his head and pounding a fist to his chest.  “On the Morrow.” He paused. “Captain.”
 
He then exited the crumbling tower before it could collapse.

****
Two hours before dawn Zin found himself once again at the delapitated guard tower. Jex stood guard from up above and Captain Kayden was close by. There wasn’t much conversation being made as they readied themselves. It wasn’t long before the groups assembled and were ready to go their separate ways.
 
With Jex at the forefront, Zin took on the task of watching their flank. They all walked in relative silence for a fair distance before Zin smelled something odd. He was unable to identify it before Jex came to a stop. Jex turned to the group and warned them, with an intimidating glare, that there was trouble up ahead.  
 
Zin quickly dashed to the cover of the trees and pulled the bola from his belt.  Graystone had a similar Idea and hid a few trees over. Zin took a moment to listen. His ears twitched as he picked out the position of Arassel and Regeland. Zin distinctly heard the pull of Arassel’s bowstring. On top of that, Zin heard the footfalls of 6 strangers.  He could also smell them.
 
Zin signaled to Graystone the number 6 and then looked up to where Jex hid in the trees. He spun the bola once. He hoped that Jex would understand that he wanted to use it as a distraction. Zin would wait until the group entered the clearing and at an unexpected time catch one of the creatures. It wouldn’t hurt the Gnoll, but it would certainly distract them long enough to gain the advantage.
 
Just then the creatures entered the clearing. They were just as disgusting looking as they smelled.
 
Zin began to spin the Bola rapidly  with as much momentum he thought he needed. The only warning it made was the whistle as Zin let it go.