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Message: <blockquote data-quote="seasong" data-source="post: 495612" data-attributes="member: 5137">The First Battle of Eastpass, pt III, continued...No one knew that Hurath would not return, of course. Two days were spent watching the valley, and seeing no orcs. That they had been chased off seemed evident, they merely had to wait on Hurath's return.The night following that second day, orcs quietly walked up the mountainside to attack. Warning was short, and the perceptive young woman who had spotted the orcs and cried warning was run through by several orc spears for her reward.The battle was brutal and nasty. Thirty of the three hundred odd defenders died, to two of the orcs, before the orcs retreated, running swiftly and surely down the unlit slope.When a new warband came upslope to attack, less than an hour later, the soldiers were ready. Gone were the youthful men and women of a few days ago, replaced by dark circled eyes, hard-lined mouths, quiet determination. Spear work became almost mechanical, as tired limbs were forced to continue pushing through gaps in the shield wall, seeking soft flesh.Athan, particularly, was actively angry. The first fight had been almost cathartic, and he'd killed a few orcs, even. Now, they retreated before wearing down enough for him to punch through their defenses. And he was getting tired, but each fight was a new set of orcs. This wasn't heroic warfare... it was a battle of attrition, between under 350 youths and twice that in veteran orcs.Merideth had learned a hard lesson as well. She stopped healing as best as she could for each soldier, and instead channeled only just enough to stop their bleeding and keep them alive. She also grabbed a few soldiers who were milling around in the back, unsure of what to do, and told them to start slipping through the ranks and dragging the wounded back to her.Startled by the new iron in her voice, they did as commanded.Greppa, in a fit of inspiration, began making mud. When he'd finished, he began looking for the most dangerous orcs, and began casting. "El gan kinos" - a weaker form of shielding energy, reshaped to mimic the motions of his left hand over a distance. Carefully, he scooped up a glob of mud with the mage hand, and then sent it flying over the heads of the soldiers, and plopped it in the face of one of the orcs, smearing it as much into the eyes as he could.The orc yelled, swung wildly, and fell back, trying to clear its eyes. Ignoring it, Greppa began carrying a glob of mud to the next one.Swiftly, the orcs fell back. Their best warriors kept faltering, flailing wildly and yelling about the attacking murkh. The fight was no good, so they retreated, once again taking no losses.Merideth hooted, "Greppa! Good one!"He just grinned in reply. He was finally going to be useful on the battlefield.The drums continued to beat, and another warband began jogging up the mountainside to the pass...</blockquote>

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