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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 1795640" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 236“They’re coming,” Mole said, jumping down from the house-sized boulder where she’d been looking out over the trail behind them.   “Damn,” Dannel said.  “How many?”“I only saw a few, but it sounds like a lot of them.”“Bah,” Hodge said, turning and hefting his spear.  “Let ‘em come, they’re just rabble.  Kill a few, and the rest will turn tail and run, sure enough.”“We’re too exposed here,” Dannel said.  “Orcs are stupid and not known for their discipline, but they’ll circle around us and overwhelm our flanks here, sure enough.”“So yer sayin’ that we should tuck our tails and run from them?  Good strategy for elves, mebbe, but dwarves don’t be runnin’ from no blasted bloomin’ orcs!”“This isn’t the time for a stupid argument!” Zenna said.  She looked at Arun. The paladin nodded.  “I’m sure there will be plenty of orcs to go around,” he said.  “Find us a good spot, Dannel, but you’d better make it quick.”Dannel led them quickly down a trail that was little more than an old animal path.  Soon they could all hear the sounds of pursuit; the orcs were not bothering to hide their approach, and the noise behind them drew steadily louder.  Finally the trail passed through a low defile that narrowed to maybe four paces across before opening onto a broad plateau.  The dominating feature here was a rocky outcropping perhaps eighty paces across, its summit a good thirty feet above the surrounding terrain.  Only one side was sheer enough to actually be called a cliff, but the other slopes were steep enough to offer a real hindrance to anyone seeking its summit, and rocky enough to provide good cover.  A ring of maybe fifteen huge boulders formed a circle at the top of the tor, like a jeweled crown on the brow of some great king.  “A respectable fortress,” Arun offered.“Why not just fight here?” Hodge asked, pointing to the defile.  “Arun and me could hold a hunnert orcs here, while the rest of you cast yer spells and fire yer bows over our heads.”Dannel pointed up, to the cliffs to either side, their tops about fifty feet up.  “It would only take a few up there to roll boulders down on you, and that would be that.  There’s too many approaches, and I’d bet that these orcs know every back trail and hidden path in these mountains.  They can surround us there, but at least we can see every approach, they can’t get above us, and we can defend from all directions.”“Of course, that doesn’t mean we need to just let them walk through this nice narrow space unopposed,” Mole said, darting into the rocks, gone in a flash. “Be careful!” Zenna cried after her, knowing it was useless; Mole was Mole, that’s all there was to it. “I’ll keep an eye out for them as well,” Dannel said, pulling out his magical slippers and putting them on.  “The rest of you had better get over there and get into position.”“Why don’t we all wait ‘ere, take a few down before fallin’ back?” Hodge suggested.“Because they’d run us down before we reached the outcropping,” Arun answered for him.  “Come on, let’s get going.”No sooner had they reached the outcropping, and started up its surface, than they heard Dannel’s cry of alarm.  The elf had descended the cliff and was running toward them at great speed, augmented by an expeditious retreat.  “What is it?” Arun yelled.“There’s a big party coming along a trail that runs up along the tops of the cliffs!” he said.  “And more approaching by the defile... they’ll be here in five minutes!”“Mole!” Zenna yelled.  “Get back here!” “I tried to warn her, but she didn’t show herself,” Dannel said.  “Blasted fool gnome,” Hodge grumbled. “She can handle herself,” Arun said.  “We’d better get into position.”The four companions scaled the rocky slope, all too aware of the growing intensity of the cries that sounded throughout the mountains behind them.</blockquote>

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