In the morning, the party meets up at the Wall Café and sets out. They pass outside the great triple walls of Fandelose and down the roadway that stretches to the south. Just a few hundred yards away, the Black Gorge runs perpendicular to the road, a gash in the earth extending off to the right. This is the first time that any of these people have descended into it; as they do, they are covered by cool shadows.
“I heard that the entrance is held by dwarves,” Praxis remarks as the group descends. In the dimness, several figures stand near the entrance. “But those are orcs!”
“What’s going on here?” Haji calls out. After all, there is a tribe of orcs in the gorge who are loosely allied to the city. But even as he speaks, he spies the bodies of several dwarves, and the orcs hurl javelins at the party. There will be no parley here.
Battle is joined.
Vee and Haji both leap into the battle, trying to outdo each other and thus bring honor to their own school. Praxis follows on their heels, while Danielle hangs back in the rear of the group and fires a small crossbow. The two half-elves and Edward stay just in front of her; Kevan calls out mocking barbs, while Lavendoula unleashes a chromatic orb and Edward casts chill touch.
The orcs are more primitive and unsophisticated- they rush the front rank and try to cut them to pieces with their greataxes. And here the lack of experience of our heroes comes into play. None of them are yet savvy enough to turn a lethal blow into a glancing one, to dodge the worst of what might be a deadly attack. A single blow from one of the orcs nearly disembowels Praxis, and two more drop Vee.
But Edward is more than a necromancer. He is also a skilled doctor, having picked up significant surgical and first aid skills at the Institute for Study of the Mind. He scurries forward and quickly bandages his friend, then waves a vial of smelling salts under her nose. Vee’s eyes blink open and she surges to her feet.
Meanwhile, one orc (already wounded by Edward’s spell) falls to Praxis, and the elf swings the short sword in his off hand at another. It lunges in at him, but drops wailing with one of Danielle’s quarrels in its eye. The remaining ones roar and score another hit, this time on Haji, but quickly fall under the party’s now-superior numbers.
The group pauses to bind their wounds and check the bodies for loot. The orcs each have a few guineas, so that’s something.
“Do you think these are the orcs of the gorge? Those guys aren’t usually hostile,” says Kevan.
“They’re orcs,” Haji replies.
But Edward shakes his head. “No. Look at the sign they bear. I don’t know what clan the orcs of the gorge are led by, but it’s not this one.”
Indeed, now that he points it out, the others take a moment to stare at the weird symbol that the orcs wear. “Is that… a butterfly?” asks Praxis.
“Or a moth, maybe,” answers Edward. “Note that it’s gray.”
“It’s not the gorge orcs.” Danielle pokes one of the dwarven bodies with the toe of her boot. “They have a truce with the dwarves. It’s actually usually the dwarves who start trouble with the orcs instead of the other way around.”
“Whoever they are,” Praxis says, “there are more of them inside.” He is kneeling at the edge of the ruined marble flagstones surrounding the entrance. There are a few footprints obvious to the rest of the group, but he adds, “There are at least a dozen of them in there.”
“Those six were a pretty tough fight,” Vee says hesitantly.
“I’m not afraid,” Haji declares.
“I didn’t say I’m afraid!” She glares at him.
“Then it’s settled,” Danielle interjects. “You two lead the way.”
Without hesitation, Haji steps up to the entrance. Vee hurries to join him.
***
The stairs lead down, then turn 90 degrees as they enter the dungeon’s first room. The monks hurry down- and there are three more orcs below. Haji hurls himself off the edge of the stairs, leaping on the closest orc from above.
Vee growls as a crossbow bolt shoots past her and Praxis vaults over the other edge of the stair. She rushes to the bottom to engage the third orc. Once more, they are backed up from the rear by vicious mockeries, chill touches, and flame bolts from the spellcasters. Danielle’s bolts continue to find their targets, hitting necks, kneecaps, and other especially painful areas. The battle lasts only a few moments; with the advantage of numbers, the party quickly overcomes the orcs.
After going through the orcs’ pockets, Danielle scampers after the others.
***
The party’s inexperience shows itself again shortly, when, after a little exploration and another encounter with orcs, the party realizes that they have managed to get turned around and disoriented. They try to backtrack but find themselves in an area they haven’t seen before, and soon stumble into another group of orcs.
This time, however, when they are mid-battle, they are joined by a pair of warriors- a human and a dragonborn. The two charge in from behind them and help them quickly dispatch the orcs. Afterward, they introduce themselves. The human is Axius; the dragonborn calls himself Serge. They tell the party that, although off-duty at the moment, the two of them are soldiers from the army.
“What are you doing here?” asks Lavendoula.
“We’re off-duty,” Serge repeats.
Axius says, “We thought we might be able to find a little extra scrilla down here, you know?”
“And who’s going to miss a few orcs, anyway?” Serge adds.
“Certainly not these orcs.” Edward hoists one of their shields and gestures at the symbol. “Do you recognize this?”
Both newcomers shake their heads and Axius quips, “It looks orcish to me.”
“We should take one alive,” the wizard states.
“Hmph,” grumbles Praxis.
“How did you find us?” Vee asks Serge.
“We followed the piles of bodies.”
“Ah. I guess that would work.”
“And bloody footprints,” Axius adds.
Next Time: Our new band of heroes learns the secret of the orcish symbol!
