Hogg had been poisoned.
It was a terrifyingly potent poison. If he didn't get an antidote within seven days, he'd be a goner.
He'd thought he would be so devastated by the news that he'd cry, but in reality, Hogg found himself remarkably calm. Maybe it was because he'd already expected that he wouldn't get such a high-level psychic item so easily.
They said you had to give to receive.
Wait, had he been spending too much time around those heroes?
This was definitely not how gnolls traditionally thought! Hogg slammed the table!
"Don't worry. It's only a vampire heart."
Murphy reminded Hogg in his mind:
"It's nothing rare. To get these command scepters that can instantly raise an army, my heroes would find a way to tie up a live vampire and bring it to you, let alone bring you a vampire heart.
"And I have a suggestion, Hogg. Look, taking one poisons you, and taking ten poisons you too. You're already poisoned anyway.
"Why not get a few more from Lameclaw?
"After all, you might not get another chance."
"Hey, we're talking about the hearts of your own kind, Lord Murphy. Is it really appropriate to talk about vampire hearts like they're pig offal?"
Hogg grumbled furiously.
But he realized Murphy's reminder had come at just the right time.
His scouting mission was already complete. There was no way he'd risk his neck by coming back to this dangerous place, where he could lose his life at any moment. Since this was a one-time deal, he might as well get as much as he could.
The Bloodclaw chieftain rolled his eyes, stuffed the more than twenty shoddy command scepters scattered across the table—each of which could control only ten to twenty skeletons—into his bag, then wagged his tail