The party felt particularly refreshed in the morning, having spent the night in luxury compared to sleeping out in the wilds like they had been for more than a tenday. They were bustled down to breakfast in quick order, though they noticed Elathan had mysteriously gone missing yet again. Concerned, but not overly, since they were inside the city limits, the group sat down to a relative feast in a small dining hall near to the kitchens with the Prince. It wasn't long before their sorcerer came into the room, bearing a heavy purse instead of the many weapons he had been carrying around with him for some time. He settled himself down next to his dwarf friend and politely set the bag beside her.
“The profit from selling the sword,” he said, earning a wide-eyed stare from the cleric.
“I'm not fer having all this,” said Kayla, weighing the purse in her hands and finding it to be even heavier than it looked. “What would I even do with it all?”
“Do what you like,” Elathan said with a shrug, helping himself to a bit of the lighter fare. “I bought what I needed and that is what was left. It's yours to do with as you will.”
The cleric frowned and stared at the bag long and hard for a minute before shaking her head again. She piled the money in front of her then and there, sorting into even piles and pushing it toward her other party members. Elathan's cat, Tasha, by name, lifted her head to regard the piles and if one were to have looked closely, they might have sworn they saw a look of disapproval on her face at her master's sudden generosity.
“I'm not fer keeping it all,” she said as she collected her own smaller share out of the pot. “We'll share it.”
“What a generous woman you are,” Farrln said, accepting a pitcher of milk from an ever-smiling Audria.
“Bah, yer the one what killed that orc and yer the one that let us keep the loot. No sense in not sharing a gift among friends.” The Prince canted his head slightly, considering the thought. With a slight nod, he went back to his breakfast and the others followed in kind after putting away their new wealth. The atmosphere continued to be genial (especially with Audria, who saw to it that Farrln had quite enough to eat), until Caraliss walked into the room, the light tap of her staff the only indication of her otherwise silent arrival. All eyes turned to her as she came to stand at the table.
“Do you have everything you require for your journey?”
“I'm ready,” Audria quickly piped up.
“We are prepared, Lady,” Farrln agreed.
“Very well.” The beautiful mage walked around the table, stopping beside Willem and presented the young man with an opaque orb which seemed to have a light glow about it. “I entrust this to you, child. Use it to return when your task is done.”
He looked between the artifact and the woman's eyes, oblivious to the remains of a third helping of food that clung to his face.
“Mmm hmm,” he offered as he accepted the orb and made sure he didn't get bits of food on it as he stored it in his knapsack. Caraliss gave him a gentle pat on the head before making her way back to the door that lead into the castle's hallways, bidding the party to follow.
Grabbing parting snacks, the group did so and they all soon found themselves once again in the main foyer of the castle, though this time, there weren't as many servants running around making preparations. In fact, the castle seemed to be completely decked in festival attire, the various magical illusions and decorations giving off a feeling of constant twilight. The group marveled for a minute before Caraliss began to nudge them to stand in a circle and told them to join hands. The mage began a chant and waved her staff about and soon, the group could feel an increase in magical pressure about them.
“Off we go,” Caraliss said as she joined hands with the rest of the party, and before they could blink, they found themselves seemingly floating through the air, the blur around them giving them no indication of where they were headed and how far from the ground they actually were. Gradually, the colors began to separate and shapes came together, and the group found themselves on a fairly open, if seemingly desolate and nearly barren, hill-filled plain.
“Well, that was a rare experience,” said Farrln, obviously a bit woozy on his feet from the journey. Audria shot him a concerned glance, but made no move toward him, as he seemed to recover fairly quickly.
“What a happy place,” Willem quipped as he turned around slowly to regard the small copses and scrub brushes that dotted the very brown landscape.
“That must be what we're looking for,” Kayla said pointing to a structure she spotted in the distance. “Probably not empty, though.”
The keep looked dark even from where they were standing and the faces of everyone present grew somber almost immediately. The crew knew that they were in for a hard fight even before Caraliss had transported them to the site, but actually looking at the stronghold made those thoughts come rushing to the surface.
“I have placed you a bit outside of the structure so that you may get your bearings and formulate a proper plan to investigate,” the archmage said to them, forcing them to turn their attention away from their goal. “I have no need to remind you of the danger. Choose your paths wisely. I shall await your return in Farrlmarr.”
The group gave a collective nod and watched as Caraliss began her chanting once more and was gone from sight not long after. They looked to one another and back to the keep, then determined that they indeed needed a plan, and soon.
“I'm still not used to her,” Willem said at length, more to break the silence than anything. Farrln turned a curious look on him, canting his ears.
“Is she not one of your leaders?”
“She is, but we don't really see her often,” Elathan said, shuffling Tasha back into the safety of his unused hood. The cat settled half in the garment and half on Elathan's shoulder to get a better view of the surroundings and provide a second set of eyes to her master.
“We should scout a bit and then get started,” Kayla said, getting the group back on track. Farrln took a moment more to consider what the sorcerer had told him before nodding.
“I believe your cleric has the right idea.”
“It's Kayla, if you prefer, Your Highness,” the dwarf said over her shoulder as she began walking over the terrain. The rest of the group followed behind.
“I would call you Kayla if you would call me Farrln,” the prince replied, taking an outside point. “We're far from the castle. There's no need for titles and other things.”
“My thoughts exactly. Deal.”
“It's a deal, then. So, how shall we approach this? Do we move as a group or in teams?”
“We could separate briefly to check in each direction for a quick look and then come back and decide,” said Elathan.
“A brief bout of reconnaissance can go a long way,” Farrln said nodding. “I agree. Shall we split into two and meet up at the large tree there?”
Willem looked at the tree that the prince had indicated, which was not so far away, but fixed the man with a frown.
“We're still a ways from the keep, there,” he said. “We should probably get closer to it before doing any serious searching.”
“Simply because we are far from the keep does not mean patrols do not wander here,” Farrln rebutted.
“Aye, which is why we'll just take a quick look to see if anyone is about,” Kayla said, drawing her crossbow. Still, Willem shook his head.
“If we run into anything out here, we can kill it faster as one group and not risk having it flee and alert more. And this is fairly open ground. If there are lookouts, we're bound to be spotted, regardless.” Farrln flicked his ears at the crusader's evaluation and Willem didn't miss the minor gesture. He shuffled a bit on his feet and readjusted his grip on his shield. “I meant no offense. It's only that this is how my order trains us to think.”
“I concede your point,” the prince said with a slight nod.
“Then let us get closer,” Elathan said, ending the minor quibble at that as he started to move to get closer to the orc keep. The others began to follow in short order.
“Still, the tree may serve us well,” Farrln said as they neared it.
“I agree. It's hot.”
Farrln chuckled at the crusader's joke, unbuckling his sword belt and setting it among the roots of the tree as he gazed up into its branches.
“Perhaps it will as more than just shade,” he said. The others were about to question his interest in the canopy when he suddenly sprang up and latched onto the trunk, scaling it as though he had been climbing all his life.
“Oh,” said Willem. “Right.”
Audria closely tracked the catfolk's movement up the tree and looked as though she would begin to take off her own equipment to follow, but she felt a hand on her arm, holding her back. She looked and saw Kayla fixing her with a stare.
“Let him handle it, lass,” she said with a knowing smile.
“If you say so,” came the fighter's slightly dejected response. The rest of the party shook their heads as they began to scan the landscape for any signs of movement, wondering just how far Audria's tunnel vision could go. The lighthearted event quickly faded from their minds when both Willem and Kayla spoke up, having spotted some forms milling about near the keep.
“They appear to be orcs and some dog-like creatures,” Elathan said, being able to make out the shapes more distinctly with his fine elven eyes.
“More hell dogs?” Kayla asked, remembering the group's last encounter with the flying yeth hounds.
“I thought those things only came out at night and had to be summoned,” the sorcerer replied.
“Oh, right,” the dwarf said, scratching at her head. “Some type of watchdogs, I guess.” Farrln dropped down nimbly beside her and moved to recollect his swords, buckling them back in short order.
“I saw the orcs as well,” he said. “Worgs are natural to the woodlands, though. They've no need to be summoned.”
“Still annoying to deal with, I'm sure. Do you know how keen their senses are?”
“Very. The pose more of a threat than the orcs themselves.”
“Fast, too,” Willem added.
“Well, that's just great.” Everyone agreed with Elathan's sarcastic quip, though no one mentioned it out loud.
“When we engage them, we would be better served to deal with them first,” Farrln said, gazing in the direction of the spotted patrols.
“So noted,” Kayla replied, nodding grimly.
“Agreed,” Willem said, coming to stand beside the prince. “And it would be prudent to stick close. That will make it harder for them to flank us, since they hunt in packs. Could you see how close to the keep they were?”
“There are two patrols making their way around the base of the hill,” Farrln replied, pointing in an arc. “Given the assumed circumference, it will take them some time to come back around to their starting point. It seems as though there are guards posted at the entrance. If we manage to get close enough undetected, we'll need a way to pull them from the doors so they don't shout an alert into the keep.”
“Time to do some slashing,” Audria said with a grin.
“Can we catch the patrols on the sides?” Willem asked as he looked in the direction of the keep. “Deal with them individually?”
“Aye, would be bad to have them come back around while we're dealing with the guards at the entrance.” Farrln nodded at Kayla's added comment and began to go into a more detailed strategy when the dwarf suddenly pointed out on the field.
“Is that a dog?” The others looked in the direction she'd indicated and saw that it was a dog, crawling along the hills toward the direction of one of the patrols. “Does that mean someone else is here, or is it lost?”
“That thing can't possibly win against those worgs,” Elathan said, shaking his head. Tasha mewled something in his ear and he pushed her gently back inside his hood.
“No, it can't,” said the prince, an increasingly concerned look coming on his face. “What on Toril is it trying to do?”
Kayla put her chin in the palm of her hand, seeming to mull over the situation quite hard. “If someone is with it, the worgs will be smart enough to track it back to its owner, yes?”
“They will. And you're likely right that it's not alone. We should help it.”
“I suppose it's better than letting it create a fuss,” the sorcerer said with a sigh and a shake of his head. “We'd end up with more of them sent out from the castle. We need to take out the worg, anyway.”
Willem nodded in agreement and traced a simple outline in the ground with a stick. “We might be able to ambush the patrol, as well. If some of us aid the dog, and one or two come up from behind...”
“If we wait for them to spot the dog, we can choose that moment to move in and take them by surprise,” Elathan contended. Willem brushed the plan away with his boot and sighed.
“Whatever we choose, we need to decide before the worgs scent the dog. Do we split or no?”
“We split,” Farrln said finally, drawing out his longswords.
“Good. I will take point on the front charge.”
“I'll take point on the ambush party.”
The dwarf pushed Audria along quickly to stand with Willem, and the trio took off to get into position for a full frontal charge. Farrln and Elathan, meanwhile, made their way into a small copse started to scout for a good place to lay an ambush. As they moved, though, Farrln came to a sudden stop, nearly causing the elf to run straight into him.
“What is it?”
“A dark elf?” Farrln asked quietly.
*
Beromff was not happy to be on patrol. He walked along with Grenan, one of the few orcs in the entire complex that he could call a friend (and even then, only barely, since orcs held little loyalty to one another), as they and their worg allies circled around the base of the stronghold. He was only taking the task half-seriously, idly dragging his worn sword along the ground, sulking and sighing with every step.
“Why Beromff always get stuck on watch? Beromff want to go and kill the humans, too.”
“Castle need guarding.” Beromff fixed his companion with a sour look, which only made his pig-like face all the more ugly.
“Orcs lesser than Beromff can guard castle! Beromff deserve chance to fight. Beromff beat many other orcs, hundreds upon hundreds before coming here, and now Beromff is watchman. How that fair, Grenan?”
“Gruumsh will Beromff be watchman, so Beromff be watchman,” the other orc said with a shrug, referring to the chaotic god of orcs. The irate Beromff gave a growl and waved his sword in the air.
“Damn Gruumsh, then! It not fair, not fair at all!”
Grenan looked at the childish orc, shocked he would say anything about their mighty god. He began to advise his friend to take back the insult, but his attention was caught by a sudden bit of barking he heard off to the side. When he looked, he found a black and white dog to be the source, carrying on loudly and quite viciously. The worgs that had been patrolling with the two began to growl back.
“Friend of worgs?” Grenan asked one of the large creatures.
“Enemy,” it replied in the common language, the word coming out hard and rough. It looked to its other worg companion and the two took off at full speed heading straight for the animal, who turned and fled. Beromff gave a howl and charged after, yelling at how he would take out his anger on the seemingly stray animal.
“Grenan have bad feeling,” the orc muttered as chased after the lot of them.
*
“We don't have time for this,” Elathan said, glancing in the same direction Farrln was looking, but still seeing nothing. “Can we go around?”
“Double back and come in from the side,” the catfolk said, giving the spot a last fleeting glance. “Let's move.”
He lead the sorcerer around in a wide half-circuit to avoid the drow, but when he looked to the rapidly approaching dog with two worgs and a pair of orcs not that far behind, not to mention Willem and the others charging hard for the lot, he was shocked when he saw the same drow dart quickly on the field and engage one of the orcs. The orc managed to dodge the first swing the dark elf launched at him, but the swordsman, obviously no novice, wound up catching the orc's sword that was flailing around off the miss with the tip of his thin rapier and turned it wide, then followed it up with a cruel slash across the throat with the dagger he held in his off hand. The charging orc hit the ground hard and clutched at his wound, trying to stem the flow of blood, but even from the vantage point Farrln had, he knew the orc's attempt was futile.
The prince had no time to focus on the orc's death throes, though, as he found himself faced with a still charging worg once the dog ran past him. Farrln ran straight out to meet it, feinting a slash from the left. The worg took the bait and snapped at the blade, leaving itself open to the true strike from the right. Farrln dug his blade deeply in the worg's wide, but the beast managed to draw itself away from the longsword's keen sting, badly injured, but still able to fight and now even more enraged that the feline had scored such a vicious hit. The second worg began to set itself to retaliate as its companion backed off, but Audria, blade drawn, rushed the creature, working her longsword in a swift double-strike routine that left the creature with deep wounds of its own. Willem quickly followed up before it had a chance to fall back, sinking his own sword deep into the dog's neck, giving a primal roar as he drove the killing strike home in the beast's side.
Kayla, hearing Willem's victory shout, went after the remaining worg, determined the finish the creature quickly as her friend had. She swung her warhammer hard and hit home, the sound of cracking bone audible on impact. The worg flew a short way and writhed in agony for a a moment before a final gurgling breath left its muzzle.
Grenan, who had witnessed all of this take place in such a short amount of time. Knowing he was sorely over-matched by this group, he took the only logical recourse and quickly turned about, running from the scene for his very life, hoping that Gruumsh would look kindly on him in his time of desperate need. And Gruumsh was kind when he left Grenan die quickly and painlessly, his neck and spine snapped in several places by the barrage of magic missiles Elathan sent at his back.
The group had the battle won, or so they believed, but Farrln held himself at the ready, staring at the unexpected helping hand they had received in the random darf elf. The drow gazed back at him, holding his own weapons to bare, with the dog that had instigated the entire affair standing close and growling at the prince. The drow gave a short whistle and the dog stopped, tilting its head toward the drow, who gave it a sharp nod in the direction of Grenan's corpse. The dog suddenly took off in that direction and while Farrln glanced after it, slightly confused by the interaction, he held himself poised to strike. They stood in silence as Elathan began to check the orc bodies, keeping an eye on the dark elf, who was not so much a stranger to him.
“It seems we meet again,” the drow said when he caught the sorcerer staring. Elathan only offered a slight narrowing of his eyes in response as he went to distribute the small amount of coins he found on the orcs among his companions.
“What in the world are ye doing out here?” Kayla asked, sidling right up to the drow, unafraid in the least. He merely gave a small shrug.
“I could ask the same of you.”
“You could,” Willem said from the side. “But there are more of us. I'd hazard that means we're better prepared.”
“Indeed,” said Farrln, tightening his grip on his swords. The drow gave a silent snort and closed his eyes, seeming to muse on the situation.
“I see you are of mind as your mage friend.”
“I didn't say anything,” the sorcerer replied, a frown deepening on his face for even having been personally mentioned by the drow.
“You didn't have to.”
Kayla, fed up with the growing hostility of the conversation, set herself in between all of the participants, sending a disapproving look to her companions. “Why not let him answer instead of being threatening? He did take care of the orc, after all.” Willem gave a conceding nod and lowered his own sword.
“I see no reason to bandy words when we all appear to be in the same side.”
“I came to investigate why the orcs are moving on Silvershore,” the dark elf said. “They may not know of me, or if they do, not like me, but I have made that area my home, nonetheless.”
“They're moving on more places than that.”
The drow glanced at the young crusader for a moment before completely sliding away his own weapons, though he rested his hands visibly on their hilts. “I see. Then it would seem that our goals are indeed the same.”
Elathan merely folded his arms and snorted, obviously completely unwilling to trust anything that came out of the drow's mouth. Willem nodded in respect at the gesture of neutrality, but held his sword out easily at length. “I believe you should keep those handy, though. The other patrol will be around shortly and I would rather them not catch us idly talking.”
The dark elf nodded, but he hadn't miss the jibe at his words from the sorcerer and he turned his gaze to him.
“Let my actions speak louder than my heritage, mage.”
“I didn't do anything last time, did I?” Elathan answered snidely, not evening deigning to look at the other elf. “Same goal or not, I don't have to like you.”
Kayla elbowed her elf friend hard in the hip, drawing a quiet cry of pain and a scowl from the mage, but the cleric scowled right back, clearly upset at how poorly Elathan was treating their new apparent ally. Elathan offered no apologies, however, and simply chose to ignore the drow's presence completely, turning his attention toward the keep. In truth, Farrln was also not so fond of their mysterious new “friend”, if only because of what he had been taught of the drow and their ways, but he determined they would be better suited in moving things along as Willem suggested.
“Quibbling will not get us anywhere. If you would help us, then you are welcome. If you turn on us, you will be dealt with. That's all there is.”
“Fair enough. I am called Reldaerqel, but you may call me Rel if you find it too difficult. Well met to you all. And this is Bramble.” The dog sat and gave a bark, bringing a small smile to everyone. The group made their introductions to their new companion and a fresh start, if a slightly uneasy one, began.
“Now that we're past introductions, we've orcs to dispatch,” said Farrln when all was said and done.
“Which way will the second patrol be coming from?” Willem inquired, grabbing his sword fully again.
“Directly ahead. We'd be better served to get under cover and lay a proper ambush.”
“Same as before?” Kayla asked. “It did work out rather well.”
“I can send Bramble again,” Rel offered.
“Let's do it, then, provided you all agree.”
Willem shook his head, suddenly looking a bit pensive. “It's the worgs' noses I'm worried about,” he said when he saw the questioning look the cleric was giving him.
“You have a point,” said Farrln. “Even I can scent the dog's trail out as far as it went.
“We can still set the ambush.” Everyone looked to the dark elf as he reached down and gave his animal companion a scratch behind the ears. “Let the worgs find the trail. They will investigate and we shall be waiting for them.”
“As long as it is enough to focus their attention in one place so two can strike from elsewhere,” Willem said with a nod. “Can you have the dog be chased into us?”
“He excels at the tactic,” Rel replied with a slightly wicked grin, though it faded slightly when he saw Willem's eyebrow raise in suspicion. “You would be surprised how many vermin are so easily tricked.”
“Good,” the crusaders said after he spent a moment to regard the elf. “Then if you would have him do so, we set the ambush and two will flank from the side. If luck is with us they will be so intent on his scent that they will ignore ours until we are upon them.”
The group broke to get into their positions, with Rel giving some instructions to Bramble before rejoining the main body. They decided that Farrln and Rel would act as the flankers on the sides with the rest acting as a forward charging unit to take on the enemies directly and Elathan would use his magic to attack anything that got away from the assault. They took their positions and waited, and soon enough, Bramble's bark heralded the arrival of the second patrol.
As the dog lead the creatures into the clearing, Elathan again release a barrage of missiles, aimed at the orc farthest from them. It took the shots hard to the chest and neck and fell hard from its injuries, never to rise again. Willem met one of the worgs head on and swiped at the creature, only scoring a minor hit on its muzzle. It seemed to sneer condescendingly until Willem brought the longsword back on a reverse swing, catching the creature with a deep slash across its collarbone. The worg scrambled back to recover from the blow, wise enough not to press the assault since its partner could handle the counter. But that counter never came as Farrln and Reldaerqel sprang from their hidden positions and fell upon the second worg, their blades slashing and stabbing in concert to bring the creature down in short order. The first worg had turned itself enough to see its companion fall, but in the process, it didn't notice Kayla come up in front of Willem, warhammer brought to bear for a swung. The creature started to turn its attention back, but met the full force of Kayla's strength behind her swing. The worg's head parted company from its body, landing out of sight, and Kayla gave a grim nod of satisfaction.
The remaining orc didn't even have a chance to flee as Audria rushed in from the side, picking away the meager defense the creature had with its falchion and thrusting her own blade hard into its belly. It fell as she pulled away, clutching at its mortal wound and soon lay very still. The group made a final check to ensure there were no more enemies about and finally relaxed when they saw none. Willem glanced over to the corpse of the headless worg and shook his head in wonder.
“Heironeous' Fist, that worg is gone. I don't think there's a skull left.”
Kayla gave a wide grin and Willem shook his head at that, too.
“It landed back there,” Rel said after he replaced his weapons, pointing a thumb behind him.
“Whole?”
“Split at the jaw.” The crusader whistled.
“Thank you,” the dwarf said humbly.
“Enough flattery,” the prince interrupted and all three looked at him. “We haven't much time before the orcs at the gate begin to wonder what happened to the patrols.”
“Aye, we should get going,” Kayla agreed, replacing her warhammer on her back. “Getting past them won't be as easy.”
“So we go through them,” Willem said grimly. Rel put on a wry grin.
“Exactly.”
“We just need to keep them from alerting the others,” Elathan said, casting a slight glance the drow's way, but nothing more.
“Strike them hard and quickly,” the drow said. “Orcs are cowardly. They will run if we kill enough of them.”
“Let's get a closer look and see how many we need to deal with.”
The party made their way carefully around the base, taking care to use as much cover as possible to avoid detection through the windows in the keep. Eventually, they arrived at the front entrance where they saw four orc guards standing mostly at attention, though it was obvious the sentries were very much bored with the seemingly mundane task. Fortunately, the crew didn't see any more worgs, which would have been a severe damper to their plans with their superior sense of smell.
“Hmm,” Willem said as he regarded the positioning of the orcs. “Ideas?”
“I doubt they'd chase Bramble,” Kayla said doubtingly and the canine tilted its head at her.
“Wounded elk?” said Rel. Willem looked at him strangely.
“Uh. Animal call?” he responded, obviously not getting at what the drow was suggesting. Farrln looked at the pair with a slight frown.
“Either of you want to explain what you're on about?”
“I would like that, yes,” the crusader said, looking straight at Rel. The drow sighed.
“Predators strike at what they presume to be weak,” he explained. “If we present them with something they think is wounded or otherwise unable to put up a fight, they will chase it and try to kill it on their own.”
“Oh, well, yes,” Willem said, picking up on the idea. “But there weren't any elk around, so it wasn't completely clear...”
Reldaerqel looked to the sky briefly, as if asking for strength and turned his attention back to the orcs. “One of us needs to play bait.” Elathan nearly told the drow that he should do it himself, but he bit his tongue at the last moment.
“It should be fine,” Willem said. “Set it up how you wish.”
Kayla had started to ponder the situation on her own, but then she noticed that Audria was staring at her quite intently, a smile plastered on her face. The dwarf turned a wary look on her until she saw that Farrln was looking at her as well.
“Orcs and dwarves are sworn enemies,” he said. “You would be the most likely one they would chase, Kayla.” The cleric gave a light sigh and begin milling around in the dirt.
“Give me a moment to make meself look hurt.” She mixed together some dirt from the ground, food and water she created with a dweomer, and some red berries given to her by Rel, creating a poultice she smeared on her clothes, giving it the appearance of the site of a wound. She hunched over a bit and clutched at it, practicing her act for her friends. “That look convincing enough?”
“It should work well enough for our purposes,” Rel said, offering an approving nod. “We'll be right behind you.”
The group gathered themselves together to prepare for the fight as Kayla hobbled along toward the entrance of the complex. As predicted, the orcs caught bloodlust when they saw what they thought was a wounded dwarf and quickly abandoned their posts as much as to alleviate their boredom as to be the one to claim the kill for themselves. Kayla turned and ran back to the others when they had covered half the distance between them and she played her part perfectly, leading the duped creatures straight to their deaths. The battled ended as quickly as it started, though it ended badly for Audria, as a swing that missed badly ended up coming back on her, causing her to take a deep wound to her leg. Kayla tended to the self-inflicted gouge as the rest of the party piled the orc bodies out of immediate sight of any unseen patrols that could possibly come wandering back.
“Will she be all right,” asked Farrln, showing as much concern about the wound as he did wonder at how the fighter had managed it in the first place.
“Aye, she'll be fine,” Kayla said as she worked her healing magics. Audria looked a bit sheepish and pointedly didn't look in the prince's direction, clearly worried about the look she'd find there. Once all was said and done, the group steeled themselves and looked at the unguarded doors of the orc keep. It was time to head into the lion's den.
