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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gina" data-source="post: 1640493" data-attributes="member: 10990">Q: How many Orcs can there possibly be? A: A lot.August 2nd We had paused a moment to gather our thoughts as Thaile and Torsten prepared to loot the bodies of the fallen orcs.  The surviving Legionnaire’s name was Larissa. She was badly injured, so I healed her while the others moved toward the bodies of the slain orcs. Our moment was indeed just that though, I had scarcely had time to cast a healing spell on Larissa when we heard running feet and a familiar voice calling “Keep running!”. Moving to the road Torsten and I saw Mor’Elandi and two legionnaires running toward us, fast, pursued by four more orcs. Mor’Elandi and the soldiers ran right past us, stopping somewhere behind Torsten and me, in the brush. The orcs charged up to attack us. Backed up by our archers and Tieran’s spells, Torsten and I acquitted ourselves well in the battle, and soon these four orcs were dead as well. We left Kytum-up with the three Legionnaires while the rest of us moved up the road to see the aftermath of the battle Mor’Elandi told of about. It was a scene of carnage. Twenty or thirty bodies lay around the clearing where they had been ambushed. After a few moments, we realized that these were the very same soldiers who had left the Longwood’s not far ahead of us. All of the bodies had been stripped of valuables, weapons, and armor. A few dead horses lay about as well. After a quick search, we realized that the Captain and the Wizard were gone. The clerics who had traveled with the patrol were dead and all were accounted for except the Captain and Wizard. We assumed that they were taken by the orcs for some purpose.Mor’Elandi found a trail indicating which way the orcs had gone, but after a bit of debate, we decided that we needed to get the soldiers to the Longwood’s and take care of the bodies before following the trail. The dead orcs were all of the Bloody Spear clan. They are ranging farther from Alder’s Look, moving closer to Three Oaks. Either there are many more of them than we thought or Alder’s Look will be sparsely defended with their forces so divided. The former would be very bad, the latter, very good for our mission. We divided the bodies into two groups, orcs and humans for burning. Burning the bodies took a long time and by the time we were finished the forest was beginning to fade into the semidarkness of late afternoon, orange sunlight filtering through the trees. The forest is truly beautiful at this time of day and I would normally have taken time to admire it, but this day, I worried more about reaching the farm before another attack. So, we moved as rapidly as we could manage toward the Longwood farm. Torsten and Kytum-up took the lead this time and led our little column resolutely toward our destination. Suddenly, we spotted an orc standing at attention on the side of the road, partially hidden in brush. He did not seem to have noticed us yet. Kytum-up moved to the side as Torsten charged forward. Both came to a sudden and awkward stop. We all paused, unable to see anything that might have stopped them.  After a moment, we realized that the reason for the sudden stop was that they had both run directly into the web of a big spider. A second later, we noted that the big spider was home and seemed to think Torsten a tastier meal than Kytum-up, since it chose him to bite first. He let out a cry as the spider bit him, then, working his way out of the web, Torsten killed it. We cut Kytum-up out of the web. His dignity seemed wounded but he was otherwise intact. Torsten required a bit of healing, but was mostly fine. The orc ahead had not moved at all. We moved forward, cautiously, and found that he was dead, probably killed by the spider, held in place by the web wrapped around his body. He was, as the other orcs had been, of the Bloody Spear clan. We arrived at the farm at nightfall. We set up our watches, prepared to set out in the morning to seek the Captain and Wizard from the legion. During second watch, a commotion was heard at the gate. Thaile and Mor’Elandi were on watch at the time. A farmer burst into the compound, injured, screaming that his wife had been taken by orcs. He was hysterical.Mor’Elandi thought to calm him by smacking him. Thaile helped by joining Mor’Elandi and together they chased the hysterical, wounded man around the compound for quite some time, two of the farm boys joining in to subdue him. Eventually, they subdued the farmer and upon rendering him unconscious took him to one of the bedrooms and tied him to the bed. When I asked them later why they had chased him, their answer was that he wouldn't answer their quesitons and they were trying to "calm him down". I am continually amazed at the clear thinking and wisdom of those around me. Having awakened enough to see the last of the “fight”, I took over from there, tending to his wounds and untying the poor man. He awakened an hour or so later and was able to tell me a little about what had happened. He and his wife were asleep in their house. They had been warned to leave, but had chosen to stay. The orcs had come and taken his wife. He had tried to stop them, but had been wounded in the process and had then come for help. He then told me of being attacked by “crazy people” upon his arrival here. I gave him my word that we would recover his wife for him, backed up by Thaile who came in to check on him. He wasn’t all that happy to see her, and given the circumstances, I understood why. We all went back to sleep, getting a little rest before first light.</blockquote>

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