Norde quietly monitored his breathing and heartbeat while waiting for the enemy to emerge from the building. He could feel the bloodlust rising inside him, but he kept it well managed until he was ready to unleash his fury.
The orc's face filled with a sudden delight. "Ahah, I shall be there for the dividing of the spoils." He hurried to the door, where the goblins were hesitating.
"I don't know about this boss," said the first goblin, "something seems fishy about these two."
"Fish!" cried the second goblin. "Where?"
"Shut up both of you and get moving!"
They opened the door, shoved out by the orc.
Outside the lodge, the door opened. Two goblins were shoved outside by a burly orc with a pointy sword. "Ahah! I knew it boss," cried one of the goblins, pointing at Norde.
"Vuck," cursed the orc.
Zordt hummed in amusement. His voice dropped to a deep bass and the steady rhythm reverberated off the snow.
The orc turned around and stabbed furiously at Hedrak. He missed, landing only an ineffectual slash from his wrist which did nothing against the armored magus.
The two goblins were unable to circle around Norde, as he was positioned against the lodge, so they tried a frontal assault. One of them landed a solid thrust to the forearm, the other nearly tripped over his own feet.
Tom charged the orc from behind, while Willie fired an arrow at one of the goblins. The orc actually managed to get his left hand in front of Tom's blow, a moment before he realized he wasn't holding a shield in it. His blood painted the outside of the lodge red. Willie's arrow just grazed the goblin's head, not doing any significant damage.
Zordt's humming continued as he spaced himself away from the hostile orc. Two arrows were drawn and released in rapid succession from his quiver.
Norde grunted as he got stuck by the goblin's puny weapon, and he could no longer hold back his rage. He reared back with his sword and swung at the southernmost goblin...
x3
When Gitana heard the fight begin, she lifted her crossbow horizontal and stepped out from behind the tree until she had a clear shot at the southernmost goblin attack Norde.
She then dropped the crossbow and drew a card planning to use magic if necessary.
"You are weak and cowardly - you re no warrior, you are no more than a bully with a blade" - Hedrak snarled and swinged.
From Hedrak's backpack, green eyes peered out as Raziel pawed and hissed.
Zordt's arrows thudded into the orc's chest, piercing several inches into his armor and knocking him off balance. "Jiak'll bulpak lat, gism an orc" he cried out at Hedrak, recovering his posture. He looked like he was about to fall over.
"I'll bully you, half an orc."
He had easily dodged Hedrak's blow, but in doing so put himself too far away to counterattack.
The last remaining goblin threw down its weapon. "Mercy! Mercy!" it shrieked.
Tom tried a sweeping cut, but it didn't cut through the orc's mail.
Seeing that the goblin had surrendered, Willie shot the orc in the back. It bristled with feathered shafts.
Norde charged the remaining orc, running right by the cowardly weaponless goblin...
x3
Norde finished off the last orc with a heavy blow to the head. The last goblin didn't seem to realize that it was no longer surrounded and might be able to run away, instead continuing to cower spinelessly. Willie approached him, short sword drawn, and grabbed him by the hair, dragging him towards the lodge. Will rode his horse forward and dismounted in front of the lodge, offering the reins to Gitana. "Can you tie him somewhere for me?"
The interior of the lodge was warm and looked like it might have been neat, if not for it's recently deceased occupants. A once fine rug and two large bear pelts covered the floor, large green leaves, a dead chicken, and a squash strewn about on top of them. Two sturdy looking wooden tables each held a bound prisoner. Both had numerous bite marks on their left arms, which were slowly dripping blood onto the floor. The man on the far table had a bad burn mark on his cheek, as though someone had heated an iron and pressed it against his face. The woman on the table near the door had light brown bandages beneath her woolen tunic. The same color bandages were visible on a broad, powerfully built woman of impressive height, who held a kitchen knife out shakily at the snarling wolfdog you'd brought with you. She had a swollen, dark eye, and she rested all her weight on one leg. She relaxed a little when she saw you meant her no harm, and nearly fell down when she saw Tom.
"Elaine?" Said Tom, blinking.
"Tom," she said back at him, smiling with bloody teeth. "Thank the gods." Then she sat heavily at the table. The woman looked up at you, straining against her bonds, which were nearly broken.
"A little help here?" Said the man in the back.
Tom ignored him, sitting next to Elaine and putting an arm around her shoulder. "They're married," explained Willie, who thrust the goblin before him. Will brushed past them both, intent on the fire. He stood as close as he could to the fire and leaned over it. He pulled off his gloves and stretched his fingers towards the flames. It looked like he was going to burn himself.
Zordt dropped his intimidating demeanor, adopting a much softer expression. He walked up behind Will and gently pulled him just a hair further from the fire, and gave a reassuring grip on his shoulder before making his way to the man in the back. "We're sorry this has been done to you. It's awful." He did not attempt to trivialize the pain or make any grand gestures about saving them; their suffering was too serious. He helped the man to his feet. "Gitana! They could use your healing."
With their captors slain and some of their wounds healed, Zordt offered water to the former captives and gave a sympathetic look. "What can you tell us about the raiders? We want to know what kind of numbers and danger we're dealing with."
"Stay!" - Hedrak grunted at the dog/wolf.
With but a few words he released the other captives - "You are safe now. And will be healed soon" - the half-orc did not pretend to be a diplomat, or tried to use kind words - he simply stated things as they were - "I am Hedrak" - he added, then moved to the stairs leading down.
"I am going to search the cellar for any supplies or whatever. We should probably not stay here for long Zordt..."
"Come!" - he called the beast to follow him, and also allowed Raziel out from the bag, and on to his shoulder.
While the others were caring for the folks inside the place, Norde looked around outside to see if he could determine if there might be any more orcs, goblins, or other monsters unaccounted for.
"Stay," cried Hedrak, and the snarling creature backed down. It hadn't attacked anyone since you'd had it with you, perhaps it wasn't so vicious after all. Will blinked up at Zordt as he was pulled away from the fire, looking half like he'd just been startled awake.
Hedrak untied the captives while Gitana touched each one, healing them in turn.
The bite marks on the man's left arm smoothed over, the burn mark on his cheek fading away like an old scar. He hopped off the table nimbly, rolling his shoulders. The smaller woman's bite marks also disappeared, though when she stood up she winced slightly. The wound to her torso must still have been troubling her. Elaine breathed a sigh of relief as Gitana's magic washed over her, and stood up to take a few experimental steps around the table. Her limp had disappeared, and the swelling around her eye had gone down, but she still looked pained. She touched her chest gingerly, then sat back down with a sigh. Gitana touched her with her wand.
The rest of the swelling around her eye disappeared, and she touched her chest again. "That's enough, I think," she said, "thank you for saving us."
"We really can't thank you enough," echoed the man,
"Yes, we owe you our lives," added the other woman.
With their captors slain and some of their wounds healed, Zordt offered water to the former captives and gave a sympathetic look. "What can you tell us about the raiders? We want to know what kind of numbers and danger we're dealing with."
They each took a long drink from your waterskin, so that it was nearly emptied. You'd have to pack it full of snow again and wait for it to melt. "We were gathered at my house when the alarm was raised," said the small woman, "though there were more than just the three of us then." She looked down sadly. "We waited until they attacked the house across the street, then charged them from behind. There must have been twenty orcs, and nearly a hundred goblins, and the ten of us just ran straight at them." She laughed at that, a heavy relieved laugh. The other captives and the goblin whose fortunes had turned so sharply joined her. You even noticed a smile creep across Will's face.
"You wouldn't believe it," said the man, "but they ran away from us." He shrugged, "I guess I'm just that terrifying," he said in mock arrogance. "We pursued them and did much execution, until they realized how few we were. Then a huge ogre attacked us, and we fled." He shook his head sadly, "lucky ogre." Everyone laughed again.
"The goblins had pots of fire," said Elaine, "which did much when they struck groups of us. For the most part, small numbers of orcs acted individually, leading groups of goblins as they pleased. They were all mixed and muddled together, with no clear structure of command and little in the way of organization."
"Easy prey," said Willie, frowning down at the captive goblin, who looked back up at him with wide eyes.
"Preausan?" he asked, blinking at Willie.
This means prey.
"Except," continued Elaine, "there was a troop of goblin archers around the ogre, and he had several orcs under his close command who fought with huge shields."
Willie glanced around the room momentarily.
The smaller woman began gathering up the spilled food, carrying it into the kitchen. Downstairs, Hedrak found a chair with some loose ropes scattered about beside it. There were a few bloodstains on the dirt floor nearby. There was a huge pile of firewood along one wall, a splitting maul resting against it. Two chests lined another wall, one full of arrows of various sizes and types. None of them seemed particularly remarkable. The other contained a few odd articles of clothing, many socks, an old waterskin, and a few other spare things of little value.
Upstairs, you found three rooms, each filled with several unmade beds. The packs of the orcs and goblins lay about the floor, containing water, dried meat, and some dry rounds of bread. It seemed odd that this group would have bread when the other did not, perhaps indicating that they had gotten their food from different sources. There were assorted weapons and other supplies, and a few small, crude figurines in roughly humanoid shape. On the freshly killed corpse of the orc, you found twenty five platinum pieces, and another two were on the dead goblin. A fair price for five lives, few could dispute. In the pantry you found a little food, including more squashes and a few cabbages.
"You going to keep lugging that dog around with you forever?" Willie asked Zordt.
As you searched the house, Elaine and Tom sat by the fire, talking quietly. They kept an eye on Will and the goblin, who still stayed by the fire.
The other two prisoners gathered up the food that had been scattered on the floor, hastily preparing a fast meal. The man leaned out of the kitchen from one hand, "Will you stay and enjoy my famous...uh..." he shook his head, "chicken and stuff?"
"You going to keep lugging that dog around with you forever?" Willie asked Zordt.
"Are you talking to me?" - Hedrak inquired as he returned with all the food and water he could find, setting it on the table.
"Here, eat and drink. You will need to recover your strength" - he grunted at the former prisoners - "There is also a stash of weapons downstairs"
He did take some of the dried meat, feeding it to Raziel and Dog - "Zordt, you want to interrogate this wretch, or shall I?" - he looked at the captive goblin.
Gitana was thankful the battle ended quickly. She ventured into the lodge, fearful of what she would find. When the prisoners turned out to be alive, she delivered healing through hexes and the wand and then helped search the house for useful items.
"Keep those platinum pieces if they belong to you or anyone in the village. You'll need them. I'd take what you can and head for Gringham, unless you think you can rescue others. We have an urgent mission that requires we move on, but we're glad we could help."
She did not make eye contact with Zordt or Hedrak, feeling embarrassed to have argued against the rescue mission earlier.
She ate some food when it was offered, careful not to eat much so the others had enough.
"I got it." He replied to Hedrak. Although he knew Hedrak was far deadlier in the thick of combat, Zordt was much better at getting under people's skin. He grabbed the goblin by the nape of the neck and hauled him outside.
Once outside Zordt plopped the goblin down in the snow. He stared at the little green creature for a moment, then exhaled through his nose with amusement. He addressed the creature in its own tongue. "Alright listen, this ends one of two ways. Either you tell us everything you can about the goblins, orcs, and ogres in the area, and we will let you go on your merry way. Or you try not to tell us, I let my two large friends in there carve you up until you tell us anyways, and then you may or may not bleed to death in the snow depending on how bad they cut you." Zordt held up a dagger in one hand and a strip of dried meat in the other with a confident, lopsided grin. "So, help me help you out, buddy. Tell us what we want to know. Especially about this ogre."
"You going to keep lugging that dog around with you forever?" Willie asked Zordt."Are you talking to me?" - Hedrak inquired as he returned with all the food and water he could find, setting it on the table.
"No," replied Willie, "just about you. And that dog you seem...overly fond of."
"Keep those platinum pieces if they belong to you or anyone in the village. You'll need them."
Willie stepped forward with a broad smile on his face, "why thank you," he said happily, holding his hands out together to accept the coins. Tom gave him a strange look but said nothing.
"I'd take what you can and head for Gringham, unless you think you can rescue others. We have an urgent mission that requires we move on, but we're glad we could help."
"We can save others!" Proclaimed Tom, "as they march back home, they will surely not always all be together. Perhaps small groups will break off now and then, or all but a few will get roaring drunk. And when they're not ready, we'll strike, then melt back into the woods." He swept a hand through the air boldly. "They shall rue the day they set foot in our town!" The others looked less than impressed, but they seemed to agree that this was more or less the only reasonable thing to do. No one wanted to think what would happen to the survivors should the orcs carry them all the way back home.
The goblin considered his options. "Grik is...smart!" He snatched for the meat slyly.
"Ogre...named Bolg. Very...big. Yes, big!" He stretched his hands out wide as they could go, then considered them with his head cocked. After a moment, he stood and traced a line in the snow, then walked a short distance away and made another line. "Big, like lines. Wide!" He jumped up and down, reaching towards the sky, "Tall. Three Griks tall. And mean...nine Griks mean." He nodded, proud to be able to make such complicated calculations.
Most goblins you had met weren't like this. Clearly this one had some mental deficiency, and it was just your luck that you had killed the other one.
"Not old. Bolg not old. Very new here. South!" He looked excited to be speaking so much, and kept licking his lips nervously. He thought for a long time. "Killed Unkful and Blog and Loll, and ate them whole." That left him nearly breathless, and he paused for another long moment. Finally, he added, "whole," just in case you hadn't heard the first time. "Some like him. But he's mean. Some don't." He looked left to right.
"Cold. Spoils?" He looked up at you hopefully, then added hastily. "Before he was here, Grik was here. Grik was strong. Master of goblins and orcs and Gorp!" He shrieked the name of his dead companion, moving towards the corpse as if to kick it. "I hate Gorp!"
He turned away from the corpse, looking down at the snow. "Unkful and Blog and Loll. Real masters. Not Grik." He kicked a pile of snow up into the air futilely. "Three people. Three hills. Hills! Ravens!" He pointed off to the north, towards the White Mountains. "Now just one. Hard. No one friends. Too mean. We marched...to...stop...killing...us." He smiled up at you.
"Spoils?" He asked again.
"No," replied Willie, "just about you. And that dog you seem...overly fond of.""You going to keep lugging that dog around with you forever?" Willie asked Zordt."Are you talking to me?" - Hedrak inquired as he returned with all the food and water he could find, setting it on the table.
"I am fond of him, that is true" - Hedrak shrugged - "I got the impression he disliked being beaten into submission, or bossed around, or robbed of his freedom. I am sure you can understand, no?"
Just my luck. Zordt carefully listened to the goblins words. He couldn't imagine how much harder this would be if he had to converse in orc or common as opposed to goblin. "Ok...a young ogre named Bolg came from the south, killed the orcs Unkful and Blog and Loll and took over. What do you mean by hills and ravens? Did Unkful and Blog and Loll each control a hill? Now Bolg made all the hills work together? And you are raiding so you don't kill each other?" Zordt spoke slowly and carefully, wanting the goblin to confirm the dots he was connecting.
"Where is Bolg now?"
"Ok...a young ogre named Bolg came from the south, killed the orcs Unkful and Blog and Loll and took over."
"And whole!" Grik reminded you.
"What do you mean by hills and ravens? Did Unkful and Blog and Loll each control a hill? Now Bolg made all the hills work together?"
He nodded in confirmation of both conclusions. "Big hills...many Bolgs tall!"
"And you are raiding so you don't kill each other?"
"Yes," he said excitedly, "not kill us."
"Where is Bolg now?"
Grik shrugged. "Village? Getting spoils." That remined him of something else. "My spoils?"
"I got the impression he disliked being beaten into submission, or bossed around, or robbed of his freedom. I am sure you can understand, no?"
"He's pitiable, to be sure, as are many who live with the orcs. But are you really going to keep him forever?" Willie looked down a the creature, now curled by the fire. "I could end his troubles, if you're too squeamish," he offered, not maliciously.
"You're almost to spoils Grik. We just need to know where Bolg is. If you can help us find Bolg, you get spoils. Deal?"
"He's pitiable, to be sure, as are many who live with the orcs. But are you really going to keep him forever?" Willie looked down a the creature, now curled by the fire.
"I do not find him pitiable at all - he is a survivor, and he did a great job at it" - Hedrak looks at Dog - "He will stay with me for as long as he wishes"
"I could end his troubles, if you're too squeamish," he offered, not maliciously.
"You are assuming too much about me, and wrongly" - Hedrak´s mood changed - "You do not know me, so measure your words when you qualify my actions, or those with me. It is no more and no less than we have done, aiding you and yours without judgement. As for Dog, unlike you, he has no troubles - he is protected by me and mine" - he growled back - "Squeamish and pitiable... Have you looked at yourselves recently?"
"You're almost to spoils Grik. We just need to know where Bolg is. If you can help us find Bolg, you get spoils. Deal?"
"Deal." He offered a hand to shake. He didn't seem to have any more insight on Bolg's location other than that he was probably at the village.
"It is no more and no less than we have done, aiding you and yours without judgement..."
"Hmmph," said Willie after a momentary pause. He looked at the dog. "Strange that you should offer the same to a human and a dog. Still, I suppose you are being noble enough, in your own way." He reached a hand out towards the dog slowly, scratching its ears.
"There are many stories of a simple act of kindness that leads to unexpected good fortune. Likewise, a single missed opportunity to help someone can lead to calamity. I benefited from such an act and am here to help you. So do not underestimate the value of a good deed which provides no immediate reward. We cannot see the ripples that radiate from our choices."
"Deal!" Zordt confirmed enthusiastically. He clapped the goblin on the back and brought him inside.
Zordt entered the room and raised an arm with announcement. "Good news everybody! I've identified the ogre in charge, a controversial figure who has united three separate tribes by the name of Bolg. Grik here can help us find him. What say you all, one last battle to crush this raid? We cut off the head of the raiders and the rest of the tribes are sure to scatter, especially since their ogre leader is a controversial one anyways."
Norde nods his approval at the plan. "I do not remember ever killing an ogre, although I seem to know what they are. Not surprising, I guess. When do we go?"
"What say you all, one last battle to crush this raid?"
"You would do that?" Asked Tom, taken aback. "That would be a truly heroic deed."
The man and woman brought out the food they'd been making, a huge bowl of salad with roasted squash and cubes of chicken. They set it on the table and bustled out serving bowls while everyone took a seat.
"That sounds dangerous," said Will, looking up at Tom and Elaine. Maybe it would be better to leave instead."
Willie nodded in agreement, "It would be dangerous, and we might all die. But if we strike before sundown, they won't be prepared. We might avoid any other groups that are in the village and make it to this ogre undetected, and then, well...then it wouldn't be a fair fight. I like fights that aren't fair." He filled his bowl and began chewing noisily.
Elaine leaned back from her bowl. "I think I counted four of the orcs with their big shields, and there were at least a dozen archers."
"I thought there were fifteen archers myself," said the man you'd just freed, who was named Robert. "That would make twenty foes, and only nine of us. I suppose goblins don't count for much, though."
Tom glanced at his blade, which he'd left in the corner of the room. "When do we leave? If we go after sundown, more of them will be awake, and on their guard. Though I suppose they're like as not to spend another day in the village, making sure to search for hidden treasures and enjoy plenty of beer. Then again, over the next night all the scattered parties that chased us down will be returning, so the longer we wait the harder it will be to sneak in, and the more of them there will be if they do raise the alarm."
Zordt laughed and held his hands up. "Oh please, don't misunderstand my intentions! It's only laziness making us go for the ogre. Much less time consuming than going around and fighting all the little bands of orcs and goblins."
He flashed a grin to Willie. "Aye, that's my thinking exactly."
He pondered the question of when. "We could strike now, but my companions and I have burned a fair amount of resources fighting these last few bands of enemies, and this sounds like a tough fight we're going into. They have been mostly nocturnal you say? It may be best to find a well-hidden spot to get some rest, then attack them fresh once daylight is out."
Gitana looked uneasy when the suggestion is made to continue the attacks in defense of the village. But she raised no objection.
"Hmmph," said Willie after a momentary pause. He looked at the dog. "Strange that you should offer the same to a human and a dog. Still, I suppose you are being noble enough, in your own way." He reached a hand out towards the dog slowly, scratching its ears.
"No pretense for nobility here - I do what I think is right" - Hedrak grunted, and let the matter drop there.
"We are risking it, if we wait until tomorrow - they are bound to start finding some of the corpses we have been leaving strewn all over the area" - the half-orc replied to Zordt - "If they come looking for us it is not too bad, but it will be worse if they reinforce their defenses" - he added - "But I guess it makes more sense to pause and recover now - I can keep watch during the whole night, and you can rest"
"You make a good point...perhaps we should hide the bodies, lower our chances of raising alarms."
"I believe I saw Willie hiding some of them earlier, didn't I?"
"I believe I saw Willie hiding some of them earlier, didn't I?"
"Indeed," said Willie, "the ones from the recent ambush are hidden. But the ones from the camp you rescued me from are still out in the open, anyone could see them. It's not far, only 30 minutes away, we could easily go hide them."
"It may be best to find a well-hidden spot to get some rest, then attack them fresh once daylight is out."
"What about here, the lodge?" Asked Tom. "It would be protected from the wind and comfortable, though I will concede that anyone who would walk by would probably see the tracks in the snow and investigate. Then again, that could be seen as an opportunity to kill even more of them." He rolled his brawny shoulders.
"Or we could try to find a nice secluded spot out in the woods to pitch tents," said the small woman you'd freed, whose name was Jane.
------
The group rested the rest of the day and all through the night. Elaine and Robert picked a sword and shield, as Tom had, while Jane found a bow and wore fewer layers of armor. You ate more of the food that had been on hand at the lodge. It wasn't so cold when the sun was up. At night, the temperature dropped, and you sat around shivering and blowing out puffs of steaming breath. Will seemed happy for a chance to rest, and was certainly glad you were helping the villagers. It was nice to accompany salvation rather than damnation.
In the morning, you marched on Durham. The stench of burning meat still lingered in the air, growing stronger as you got close. The village had two main streets that both led to a wide open square, another lane leading away from that square towards the river. It was surrounded by wooden walls with three sturdy gatehouses, although there were a pair of small holes in the walls.
The walls were wide enough to walk on, although the battlements had mostly fallen away, so that anyone on top of the wall was exposed. There were alarm bells at each entrance. Willie guessed the ogre was probably in one of the large buildings on the town square, though which one he could not say.
You approached from a safe distance, observing pairs of goblins patrolling the walls every few minutes. You counted 5 columns of smoke streaming into the sky.
Zordt considered the village. "Well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Bait the ogre to come out into an ambush?" Zordt suggested.
Norde nodded, "you have more names of orcs and tribes to back up your story now, right?"
Zordt considered the village. "Well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Bait the ogre to come out into an ambush?" Zordt suggested.
”I’m not so sure that same tactic will work against much more disciplined opponents,” said Elaine. ”What reason would they have for following you out of their position? Especially when Bolg has reason to fear some of the Orcs under his command, and when there are others who might follow you instead.”
”And we’d give up any chance at surprising them completely,” added Willie. ”I don’t love that plan. No matter what, I will follow you.”
The others all murmured their agreement. They trusted you.
"I don't know Zordt..." - Hedrak reacted - "It may help in thinning their ranks, but I doubt the ogre will follow us... Do we know where exactly this Bolg may be inside the village?"
"I doubt we can risk an attack inside, else we attract the attention of every orc and goblin at once."
Gitana woke a bit early, as usual, and mediated on her cards, both preparing spells and performing her celestial obedience.
The Brass Dwarf Constitution LN
The Courtesan Charisma CN
Benefit: +4 bonus against spells cast from scrolls.
The Carnival Wisdom CN
Benefit: 1 bonus of +2 on Will save or a wisdom based skill check.
The appearance of The Carnival had special significance to her since it reminded her of her happy childhood, traveling with her tribe's caravan. But it also suggested the value of illusion and subtrafuge.
She focused her spell prep on more offensive spells and did not prepare mount or nature's path. She prepared two spells for use in deceiving enemies about her identity.
"I can alter may appearance to look like a goblin or an orc. I can also be very charming, if you know what I mean," at this last, she wiggled her fingers in stereotypic image of a person casting spells. "I also speak orc. It might help us get past sentries or get an enemy to open the door of a strong house for us."
” Do we know where exactly this Bolg may be inside the village?"
”The buildings on the town square are the largest and nicest,” said Robert.
”And they give you the best seat to watch over comings and goings,” added Elaine. ”I’d bet he’s in one of them.
"I doubt we can risk an attack inside, else we attract the attention of every orc and goblin at once."
”I fear the same,” said Tom. ”But perhaps they are not sleeping in armor, as is the Orcish custom, now that they believe we pose no threat to them.”
Willie looked around at each of them. ”Perhaps now they are more afraid than ever...of one another.”
”Either way,” said Robert in an easy voice, ”perhaps if they don’t know where the fighting is they won’t know where to go. We could attack in two places at once-perhaps near the entrances with their alarms.”
Tom and Elaine frowned but said nothing.
”Whatever our plan,” said Willie, ”this will be no easy task.”
"It's an old trick, but maybe they won't know it: I alter my appearance to that of a full orc. Zordt, Herak, and I pretend to have captured some human prisoners and approach the gate, requesting entrance. That could get us inside and perhaps we could request to deliver the prisoners to the head ogre."
For the most part, Norde stayed quiet during the strategy discussion, however he did interject things from time to time:
"Norde just needs to get close to take them down."
"Norde is too pretty to act like an orc."
"Norde is too fearsome to be believed as a captive."
"I like Gitana's plan. As many of us use the orc facade as possible, and we bring in everybody else as captives. Hopefully if we kill the ogre quick enough we can get the rest to scatter."
"Hopefully if we kill the ogre quick enough we can get the rest to scatter."
Willie nodded. "Not a forlorn hope, I think. But what about our weapons and armor?" He patted the short sword and quiver of arrows at his hip. Tom fingered his chainmail, loath to give up his main source of protection.
"And how will we introduce ourselves?" Asked Elaine. "Should we seek for someone to lead us to Bolg or should we just try to sneak in, only relying on the ruse if we are challenged?" She surveyed the motley crew of villagers and adventurers, driven together by circumstance. "There are as like to be sentries watching the entrances from within as not, I would wager."
Jane shook her head. "I'm not sure I like this plan. How could just the three of you have taken so many captives?"
"It's not impossible," answered Willie. "We might have fled unarmed when the alarm rang, and bumped right into one another."
"No one would ever believe I'm that kind of coward," said Robert, joking, of course. He really was persistent, and he had a certain charm to him that some might find appealing.
"You know your own town better than we do. Is there a weak spot in the stockade or a place the wall could be scaled in an out of the way place? I've got a backpack that can hold a lot of weapons, even one's that would not seem to fit, and they can be retrieved easily."
Gitana demonstrated her handy haversack's features, putting her crossbow into it and pulling it out again. "And if you lack armor, I can give you something that's about equal to a chain shirt." She drew one of her wands to indicate how that could work. "We could use a rope and make it look like your hands all tied together. Zordt and Hedrak are the one's who will need to do the fast talk when it comes time for that, so I'd let them decide the rest."
"Is there a weak spot in the stockade or a place the wall could be scaled in an out of the way place?"
"Yes," said Willie, "there are holes in the wall on the north and southwest ends. Although if the plan is to introduce ourselves and ask for directions, I think we had better try one of the gatehouses, perhaps the east one, as they seem to have a fire inside it."
"Norde does not like any idea that doesn't have his sword! Choosing to disarm seems a dumb idea." Norde tapped his chainmail, "if Gitana can replace this with magic, that may be ok, but not as good I bet. Or she would have said so before."