They ventured deeper into the Wailing Wetlands. Crude structures began to appear amidst the swamp, the remnants of a civilization, but clearly not one built by refined hands or keen intellects. These were the outposts of Gnolls.
Shacks cobbled together from rotting wood, mud, and scavenged bones leaned at precarious angles. Some were little more than lean-tos, while others were more substantial, with crude attempts at thatched roofs.
Tattered banners, displaying crudely painted symbols of skulls and crossed bones, hung limply from poles. Weapon racks, fashioned from lashed-together branches, held rusty spears, axes, and clubs.
Cooking fires, long extinguished, left behind blackened circles of earth and the lingering stench of burnt meat—a smell distinctly different from the general decay of the swamp. Skulls, both animal and… 'otherwise,' were used as crude decorations, adorning doorways and strung together on lengths of sinew.
