Rana isn't far behind her, her own crossbow drawn. "I'm here as well. How many do you guess?"

Kamil nocks an arrow to his bowstring. "Enough. If they're planning to attack a caravan, they'd send two groups, one for each flank. Trap us in the middle, hit us from both sides. They must realize we've spooked by now, but they're hoping we continue anyway. Standoff."

"If we go up the middle we're as good as dead, but we can't wheel the entire baggage train around them fast enough to catch them off guard. It's foolish to approach them when we don't know how many there are, even if they are separated into two groups, especially since it'll leave the baggage train undefended. Kamil, take Batul and circle right and see if you can pick off their leader or one of their officers. If they come at you retreat and try to pull them into crossbow range. Rana, protect the baggage train and be ready to channel your magic. Naila, you're leading the defense of the baggage train with me and Rana and all the common fighters. Make them come at us over crossbow range, most Gnolls are shit bowyers."

"Now go!"

Batul and Kamil fall back, splitting off from the main force to circle the dune that the suspected gnolls are hiding behind, keeping a good distance the whole time, Kamil with his bow at nock and Batul keeping her body between him and the dune. 

After a few moments, Kamil draws his bow, aims, and lets loose. 

There's an animal yelp from behind the dune, followed by a chorus of snarls. 

"Kill them!" roars a guttural voice. "For Grandmother Nightmare!"

And a full dozen gnolls get up out of the sand and start running towards Kamil and Batul, each one carrying a long wooden spear with a sharpened end. 

Kamil falls back towards the column and looses another arrow as he goes. It takes a gnoll in the throat and it goes down. 

Batul's not far behind him.

Layla aims the guards of the caravan towards the gnoll force. 

"Ready!" she calls. "Aim! Loose!" 

And -

- everyone - 

- in the convoy - 

- looses their crossbow. 

Many of the shots are not very good. Half the convoy is civilians, though ones who've had to hunt or fight before. And the gnolls aren't coming at them square on, they're going after Kamil and Batul who look like easy prey. 

Still, more than a few bolts land home. Gnolls stumble and yelp and their charge breaks up a little. 

"Ready!" calls Layla, and the trained fighters of the caravan drop their crossbows and draw their swords. 

The civilians reload. 

Yasmin's hands shake, but she doesn't fumble her bolt. Crank it back, crank it back - 

Kamil looses a third arrow and takes another gnoll in the shoulder as he rejoins the caravan.

Rana looses her own crossbow bolt and catches the leader in the chest, then draws her sword.

And then the remains of the charge are upon them. 

There's still a good half-dozen gnolls up and fighting, lead by a gnoll in black spiked armor that looks like it was custom-fit to his body. And they crash into the warriors of the caravan with their spears ahead of them. 

Naila leads the countercharge with a roar more guttural than any gnoll, her black claymore vicious in her hands. She strikes once, twice, and another gnoll is dead. 

But many of her warriors are not so strong. The gnollish spears are longer than her guard's swords, and many of them take serious wounds. A gap opens in their defenses, baring the reloading civilians inside the cordon. 

And that is when Layla spots the second group of a dozen gnolls coming up the sands in a headlong rush to reinforce their brethren. 

"Hold!" she calls, stepping inside a gnoll's spear range and striking with her claymore. "Hold!" 

And the battleground descends into delightful chaos as the gnolls rally, seeing reinforcements on the way. 

Foolish goddesses. Bet you wish you sent some combat spells now.

I did, actually. 

Layla releases the burst of Bless, and the fear that's fallen over the caravan falls away a little. They strike truer, fight fiercer. All twenty people in her caravan get the effects of the spell, and that matters.

"We aren't going down without a fucking fight!"

Naila strikes another heavy blow onto the gnoll lieutenant in the black armor... But many of the fighters around her are clutching wounds. 

A gnoll gets past her. It's pretty much inevitable. 

Victory and meat! 

The gnoll thrusts his spear at Hayat. 

(19+3 = 22.) 

He catches her in the side and digs his spear deep into her flesh.