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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rel" data-source="post: 996328" data-attributes="member: 99">In the morning, they felt better rested and ready to move on.  As they traveled, they made it a point to use another of the spells to conceal their tracks whenever they crossed a stream.  This, they felt, would further confound any attempts to pursue them.They soon came across one of the northern Nervii villages.  Unsurprisingly it was abandoned as it had been on their way north.  The group continued south.  As they traveled, they began to cross tracks in the snow indicating orcs had been in the area.  It appeared that they were moving in groups of 12-20.  The implications of this were dire.As they stopped by a rock outcropping for yet another cold lunch of venison jerky and barley cakes, the group noticed a dark shape circling overhead.  It seemed that another raven had found them."That can't be a good sign!" said Krase.The raven was well out of bowshot.  But it was acknowledged that the last raven had been the harbinger of an orcish patrol.  It was decided that Ilrath should climb a tree to look around."But we're in the middle of a forest." Replied Ilrath."Just climb the tree." Krase said.Ilrath dutifully climbed the nearest tree.  Then, he began hastily began descending again.  "That was a good idea.  There are a score of orcs heading this way."Glancing once more at the raven above, Krase indicated that he didn't think the party could run this time.  Plans were hastily made as the sound of the approaching orcs began to echo out of the snowy forest.Ilrath positioned himself in front of the rock formation to insure that no orcs could get behind him.  Krase and Speaks (along with Arc) stood by the edge of the rocks.  Krase readied his bow.  Rhys took time to cast his mystical armor spell on Arc before he climbed atop the rock formation.  This put him about ten feet above the battlefield where he could employ his various wands and his crossbow.Krase and Rhys took aim toward the woods and waited for the orcs to approach.  The trees were dense enough that they would have to wait until the orcs were uncomfortable close to start sending arrows and bolts into their midst.  Finally, through the snowy haze, the shapes of the orcs began to resolve themselves.One thing that was apparent was that the lead orcs were different than those the party had previously encountered.  They were very squat and broad in the shoulders.  They also wore no armor and were armed with what were effectively giant cleavers.  Behind them came other orcs that looked similar to those the party had already encountered including the outlandish feathers they now knew came from the City of Endless Summer.As Ilrath braced himself for the coming charge, Rhys reached down off the rock to cast the Shield scroll that he had been saving.  With close to twenty orcs bearing down on them, now seemed as good a time as any.The "bulldog" orcs led the charge and Krase and Rhys fired at one of them.  Krase's arrow found its mark but the orc didn't even stumble.  Speaks with Stone cast a Flaming Sphere into the midst of the charging orcs but it was sidestepped.  In moments, the frontrunners came into contact with Ilrath and Krase and the battle was joined.Ilrath swung Slashbane at its intended foe for the first time ever and with devastating effect.  He cleaved right through one of the orcish warriors into one of the "bulldogs".  Krase wielded Heartneedle to similar effect, driving it deep into one of the "bulldog" orcs.The orcs attacked in turn and with great ferocity.  Krase and Ilrath both felt the bite of one of the oversized cleavers their squat opponents used.  Other orcish warriors maneuvered to fill the gaps left by fallen companions near Ilrath.  A third group of orcs formed into a line and fired arrows at Rhys who was perched atop the rock formation and made a juicy target.  Rhys took a pair of arrows that wore him down.Near the line of archers, Speaks identified an orc in a large yellow feathered headdress.  He steered his ball of fire at that orc but it was dodged again.  Ilrath sliced through another orc and into the same bulldog as before, this time killing the barrel chested monster.  Krase drove his sword in again and felled a bulldog of his own.Rhys picked up his wand of Color Spray and lined up a shot that included the last bulldog attacking Krase and two other orcish warriors closing on him.  All of them succumbed to the dazzling lights of the spell.  The two warriors collapsed to the snowy ground, unconscious.  The bulldog appeared stunned by the spell.Ilrath suffered a series of blows that somehow found their way past his considerable defenses.  He was wounded but still fought his orcish foes as intelligently as possible.  But it was becoming harder to contain the fires of rage that built within his breast.Even as he gloated over the effectiveness of his recently found wand, Rhys was snapped from his glee by another arrow that headed straight for his heart.  The sturdy mithril chainmail turned what would surely have been a fatal wound into a bad bruise and small cut (Rhys spent a Fate Chip to reroll a critical).  Still, although he had avoided death, he had little fight left in him.As Rhys considered how narrowly he had avoided death from the arrow, he looked up to find the orcish shaman pointing at him and Commanding him to drop his wand.  He felt his fingers begin to loosen his hold on the wand before getting control of himself and tightening his grip.Krase struck at his disoriented orcish foe, wounding him badly with a vicious thrust from Heartneedle.  Meanwhile, Speaks once again rolled his fiery sphere at the orcish shaman.  But once again, the shaman stepped deftly out of the way.  Ilrath continued to visit nightmarish damage upon his hapless foes (Incidentally his attack bonus was +12 and he inflicted 1d8+2d6+8 damage on each successful hit, which was usually 2 per round thanks to his Cleave feat).Rhys found himself on the horns of a dilemma.  Before him, most of the orcs had been slain, except for the archers, all of whom were in a nice tight cluster.  To get within range to use his wand, he would have to leap off the rocks and get past a pair of orcs pressing in on Ilrath.  He figured his ability at tumbling would do the trick if he could get a bit lucky.  Ah well, he figured, victory to the bold and all of that.  He leapt from atop the rock formation…(Rolls a 2 on his first Tumble check)…and hit the ground with a resounding thud, knocking himself unconscious.Moments later, the archer line broke anyway, three of them drawing their axes and charging into melee.  It mattered little, however.  Within moments, Ilrath had killed another two and Speaks had released Arc to attack the shaman.  The remaining orcs broke and ran only to be cut down by Ilrath as they turned to run or chased down by Arc.When all was said and done, fifteen orcs lay dead and the ground was wet with blood melted snow.  Overhead, the raven flew back to the west.NEXT:  Homecoming</blockquote>

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