The little kobold stomps up with a confident, if somewhat hilarious swagger and puffs out her chest at the captured human. "Yeah, these orcs are mean! I would know! Better talk or else!"
Bitey prowls, bored at her side.
The prisoner is more intimidated by Gorthug than he is of Rauusk. "I don't have anything to say. I've been sent to scout out positions, that's all," he says.
The Warpriest looked over at the human and said matter of factly (in orcish) ”Find out what he knows of our objective. If he speaks quickly, give him a quick death.”
The prisoner is more intimidated by Gorthug than he is of Rauusk. "I don't have anything to say. I've been sent to scout out positions, that's all," he says.
"Who sent you to scout? What is their name and where are they now? How many others scouting?"
"Why were you scouting our positions? You plan to attack us?" Rauusk snarled in the man's face.
"Talk, or we will make it known that you were killed by a kobold." He gestured at Ak'iss with a grin. Who could withstand such torture? Hah! The human would be terrified.
"Setting up a defence for our nation," he weakly said.
"If he won't give us any useful information let's split open his belly and drag him behind the wargs. Which way is your encampment and how many are there?!"
"Sixty of us."
"Talk, or we will make it known that you were killed by a kobold." He gestured at Ak'iss with a grin. Who could withstand such torture? Hah! The human would be terrified.
Not understanding the conversation but noticing the orc gesturing at her while terrorizing the human, Ak'iss puffs her chest out again and prances around in what she estimates to be an intimidating fashion.
She rather reminds you of a chicken. You know... the animal that humans raise for food.
Bitey, by this point is taking a nap nearby.
Rauusk frowned. If the humans knew they were coming, the raids might not prove successful. They might have laid ambushes for the orc raiders.
Echoing Thorjo's thoughts, he said, "You don't get to pick and choose what you answer, human. Not if you want mercy. Maybe we should set you on fire, and see what spills out of you then. We can always drag you after the wargs afterwards."
He glanced at Ak'iss, and suppressed a sigh. If the human wasn't worried about his legacy if a kobold killed him, he must have a legacy worse than any orc Rauusk had ever heard of. These scouts must just be human scum, not warriors.
"You see our friend with the axe? He likes to keep it whetted on human bones. You have a lot of bones, meat. Which do you want cleaved first? Who is your leader, and where is he now? Where are the other scouts? Where is your encampment?"
The human weakly points in the direction of the signal towers. He's breathing hard and unable to speak. Too afraid to talk.
"He's given us all the information he is going to I think. Let us give him a quick death for being cooperative." Grumbar is eager to get moving again.
Rauusk grunted. He was dissatisfied with the results of the interrogation, but he had to admit that Grumbar was right.
"You are doing well, human. Tell me how you knew about our plans."
Clapping a hand on the man's shoulder, he said, "You have earned our mercy. Be at peace. ...We won't let the kobold kill you," he added, allowing the human to keep whatever honor a human could possibly have.
Standing back, he nodded at Gorthug. "Grant him his peace. Gruumsh's axe will stand for our honor in allowing it." he said in their own tongue.
Once it was done, he set about looting from the human and whichever of his friends the others hadn't done yet, leaving the bodies for the wargs.
Gorthug nodded. In orcish he said "A warrior is only measured by the strength of his foes. Die with honor, may Gruumsh devour your soul."
The warpriest strode forward, his bloody axe in hand. He swung it like an executioner would, aiming on taking the human's head off in one swift blow.
Thorjo watches impassively as they execute the human, and then gathers any worgs that have wandered off.
The human has two pouches full of ten gold each, and has two daggers. One of which is magic. But it will take a detect magic spell to identify which one is magic.
Gorthug executes the human, and then holds up the magical dagger. "Looks like this human really was in charge. This dagger is magical. Any of you want a new throat-slicer?"
Rauusk grunted. "Give it to the small one. Maybe it will be more useful." The gods knew the kobold could use something to appear more threatening.
Pulling his warg from its meal, he mounted up. "Agatha is right. Let's go."
Ak'iss jumps up and down in excitement at the idea that she might get a magic sword.
Bitey opens his eyes briefly, yawns and goes back to sleep.
Grumbar mounts his warg once more and turns toward the signal towers ready to move on.
The signal towers are just an hour's ride. Leaving the decapitated human behind (), your intrepid band of orcs continue on their way using wargs and a warcat. The wooden towers are coming up, and they have Machalations!!! Or however you spell that. They look similarly to this, but they are made of wood.
Gorthug tosses the dagger to Ak'iss, and says "Every warrior needs a sword. Maybe this one will suit you."
---
Seeing the tower, the warpriest glares at it. When that fails to make it tumble into dust, he looks at his fellow orcs. "I only have one idea. And that is to run at it and chop that door down. Does anyone have a better plan?"
"Maybe we can throw the kobold over the top, and have her open it from within," Rauusk mused. He peered carefully at the tower, trying to spot any defenders. "It might work if we create a diversion to draw their attention from the side she goes up. Otherwise, we may need to draw them out of the tower, so that we can force our way in once they open the door."
The small kobold spends the ride excitedly waving her new sword around like a heroic champion, swishing sword noises coming from her mouth and all. She has the human belt and scabbard strapped on like a sash that holds the weapon over her soldier.
I gotta practice with my new sword for fighting the humans!
When the group arrives at the tower, Ak'iss looks on with wide eyes. Gorthug's plan of chopping the door down would probably work just fine but...
"Humans are really bad at making locks and traps and things. I'll go open it!"
With that, she crouches low on Bitey and they slink off toward the tower.
Ak'iss the Witless is very stealthy, none of the humans see her as she crouches in for the door. The locks are exactly what Ak'iss imagined them to be -- poor.
The lock opens just fine.
The lock breaks open and the door can be opened.
The little kobold stands up on Bitey's back and with her tongue hanging from the side of her maw, goes to work on the lock.
Bitey gives an almost annoyed sigh.
With the door unlocked and the lock broken, Ak'iss nods to herself and hops back down on Bitey's back, leaving the door closed for now.
The pair slink back to the group and materialize out of the grass nearby.
"Done! Just gotta push the door open! I didn't want you guys to miss out on killing all the humans so I came back first!"
She brandishes her 'sword' menacingly.
"I only have one idea. And that is to run at it and chop that door down. Does anyone have a better plan?"
"We should spread kindling around the base of the tower, and set it alight. As the tower is consumed in flames, the humans will come rushing out--"
"Humans are really bad at making locks and traps and things. I'll go open it!"
With that, she crouches low on Bitey and they slink off toward the tower.
"Oh."
"That was... that was well done," Rauusk said, sounding amazed at this sudden evidence of competence from a creature he had thought inferior.
"It would seem you have earned your... sword. All right, do we sneak in, or charge in? If we charge, they may have time to light their signal fire."
"As a group, we will not sneak well. Let's be cautious going in, but once the alarm is raised, we should reach the top as soon as possible, while also making sure that none of the humans can escape to warn the other towers. Look out for where they stable their mounts."
You see humans walking on top of the tower. Some are not very watchful of the wilderness, and some are.
"That was... that was well done," Rauusk said, sounding amazed at this sudden evidence of competence from a creature he had thought inferior.
"It would seem you have earned your... sword."
"Yeah! Humans suck and Sword-fodder Ak'iss the Witless is awesome!"
She exclaims this while waving her sword around excitedly.
Bitey yawns.
"Sounds like the path is open. Gorthug, how about you and I rush to the top to keep them from lighting the signal while the rest of you pick off the ones left behind in the confusion."
”That is the best plan I have heard all day! Let us paint this tower red.”
The people in the tower are oblivious to your approach so far. You'll need stealth.
Grumbar comes crashing out of the woods in a sprint heading straight for the recently unlocked door.
Disgruntled at not being chosen to lead the charge, Thorjo waits for Grumbar and Gorthug to head for the door before he follows.
Disgruntled for the same reason as Thorjo, Rauusk consoled himself with the thought of all the humans he'd kill as he crept forward toward the tower.
Two Sembians are eating apples as they see Grumbar lumber after them. However, a quick intelligence check will see if they sound the alarm.
They aren't stupid and they sound the alarm for the tower. Poor Grumbar. It looks like grumbar is going to face more than one human.
Grumbar is confident that Gruumsh will watch over him and grins at the sound of the alarm. "Yes! Gather your weapons! Slaughtering unarmed sheep is no fun!
Two humans come out of the door that Ak'iss has unlocked and they run towards Grumbar brandishing their swords to cross swords with Grumbar. They figure that Grumbar is one orc, and it would take two men to put him down.
"Yeargh!" they yell.
A1. You weren't all seen because Grumbar was seen. They just see Grumbar.
A2. You can get a +2 bonus to your first attack if you assist him.
A3. You have the option of running past him into the tower unobserved. So yes.