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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quasqueton" data-source="post: 857559" data-attributes="member: 3854">The Fiendish Oerth Game Story - part 2fThe orc chief was waiting right beside the doorway with his axe raised to strike down the first enemy to enter. Lorgard parried the axe blow and Simon rushed in as the large orc recovered from his swing. The ranger and dwarf fighter/mage tried to flank the big orc, obviously more fiendish than the others they had seen, but the chief was wily to that tactic and kept his back to a wall.Ranger and dwarf exchange a couple blows with the chief until Simon took a serious axe cut across his chest. The ranger was forced to fall back out of the orc's reach. Salem moved into the room snapping his whip at the orc to draw attention away from his wounded comrade. The whip wrapped around the chief's greataxe, and with all the strength the little halfling could muster, he snatched the axe right out of the big orc's hands. The axe fell to the floor with a clatter.Lorgard smacked the orc with his warhammer when the chief picked his weapon back up. Simon pulled himself together and rejoined the fight. Salem's whip was driving the chief mad. Salem snaked the whip through the orc's legs and yanked him off his feet. Dwarf and ranger took advantage of the chief's problems and soon pounded and stabbed the big orc to death.Cedrin hadn't entered the already crowded room. He stayed at the door watching and listening down the guard hall. When the battle ended, he looked in to make sure his friends were still standing. They were, and Salem had used his magic to heal the grievous wound Simon had taken. They then checked out the chief's den.The room had been a barracks for four soldiers, but two of the beds had been overturned and pushed against a wall. The sheets and blankets for those beds were piled up on the floor. Signs of something having used them for a bed were evident. The chief obviously was using another bed for his own, and the fourth bed was used as a treasure trove. A pile of gold coins, silver coins, and a collection of valuable odds and ends scavenged from around the upper fort were laid on that fourth bed. Salem used a orison to detect for magic on the bed, but there was nothing radiating an enchantment. He used the bed sheets to wrap up the items in a make-shift bag.Lorgard used a cantrip to examine the chief's body. He found some coins in his purse, and an earring of mundane creation, but a pair of bronze bracers were revealed to be magical. They added the chief's personal belongings to Salem's sheet sack. They then walked back out to the guard area to discuss what to do next."So, do we go back to the village now?" asked Simon. "We haven't finished with first floor yet," said Salem."My spells are pretty much used up for the day," added Lorgard.They were pumped up mentally to take on more action, especially after the victory against the orc chief. But they were almost exhausted physically and magically, especially after the battle with the chief. Before they could come to a consensus, a secret door opened in the brick wall beside them.All four companions jumped to their guard against whatever might come out of the door, but it turned out to be human soldiers."Thank gods," one of the two soldiers said, "someone finally came back."The second soldier stepped into the room and looked at the two dead orc guards. "Have you killed them all?""No," answered Salem, "just some. Most are out of the fort somewhere.""We killed the chief," said Lorgard."We've been hiding in this secret corridor for a while now," said the soldier. "We retreated down here with our wounded when the orcs took the keep.""Did Oswal find you," asked the other soldier."Who's Oswal?""He's a halfling who fought with us. He's the only one who could get out to look for help."A quick discussion explained that the secret passage lead to the basement of the tower at the corner of the outer wall. But the interior of the tower had collapsed in the siege, and only the halfling could work his way out of the rubble. The orcs had been constantly guarding the room where they now talked, so the soldiers dared not open the door and reveal their location. There were wounded men down the secret hall; some who were unconscious. Twelve men in all, six wounded.The companions told the soldiers to go back into the tower and wait. They'd be back later to help bring them out. But right now the orcs who lived in the barracks would be back sometime, and they had to take them on before risking to bring wounded men up through the fort halls. The soldiers agreed, and went back in and closed the secret door.Simon, Salem, Lorgard, and Cedrin hurriedly went back up to the first level.To be continued . . .</blockquote>

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