It was only three orcs that came around the corner, and they seemed more surprised than anything to see a bunch of humans, and one gnome, in their mine. That didn't stop them for long though, and one brandishing a large, two-handed axe charged forward while its companion pulled a bow off its shoulder and set an arrow. The third orc grunted something too softly to be heard, then turned and ran off out of sight.

Kazir met the orc with the axe mid charge, and he deflected the creature's attack with both blades. The orc was the stronger, and while Kazir managed to push the axe head to the side, it easily pulled him off balance and drove a knee up into his stomach. He hunched for a moment, then came back around, slipping his short sword free of the axe and slashing it across the orc's leg.

The axe wielder hopped back in pain, freeing Kazir's second weapon, but before he could retaliate, he was forced to spin aside to avoid an arrow from the archer. "Do something about that one!" he yelled towards Larsik.

Seraphina scrambled past the fight as she rushed towards the orc with the bow. It was the quicker, and sent another arrow flying. It hit her chest, but didn't penetrate the chainmail she wore. It still hurt though, and she expected to find a bruise there later. The orc got a second shot into the air, but Seraphina was too close at that point and forced the shot wide by stabbing her sword at the orc's hand.

The arrow bounced off the stone ceiling and fell harmlessly to the floor with a clatter. The orc abandoned the bow, pulled its own sword from its belt, and met the gnome head on. She was faster, but it was stronger and had better reach. It was also surprisingly good with its weapon, and they traded blows for several seconds without scoring a hit.

Then Raifex was next to her, and the orc had to work frantically to keep two swords from reaching it. It maintained its defenses for as long as it could, but eventually one slipped through. As soon as the first attack landed, the orc spun away and sprinted down the tunnel into the darkness, abandoning its companion.

Kazir worked the axe wielding orc up and down, forcing it to burn up its strength with its heavier weapon parrying attack after attack. The orc countered by stepping out of the range of most of Kazir's swipes and making great sweeping slashes with its axe. The ranger darted back and forth, and eventually slipped in behind a swipe to land two solid hits on the orc.

The first was repelled by the creature's armor, but the second slash scored a long line of blood across its face. The orc howled and released its axe with one hand, then grabbed hold of Kazir's cloak and dragged him in for a headbutt. The ranger tipped his own head down just in time to avoid having his face splattered, and both of them staggered backwards from the impact.

Larsik watched the fight intently, but didn't make a move to help. His magical strength was waning, and he suspected he'd need what he had left for more powerful adversaries later on. He unstrapped the light crossbow he carried from his hip, but didn't fire it. He wasn't a great shot, and he was worried that he'd do more harm than good if he fired into melee.

Kazir came out of the daze first and immediately tore the orc's throat out with one of his swords. The creature's axe tumbled to the floor as it clutched at the throat wound, then it toppled backwards when Kazir kicked it in the stomach. The ranger looked around for the other orc, but by then, the cowardly archer had already vanished.

Seraphina ran down the tunnel after it, but she simply didn't have the stride length of the orc, and it pulled away quickly. It might have escaped completely, but Raifex scooped up its bow and the arrow that had went wide. He lined up the shot and sunk the arrow into the orc's back just before it turned a bend. It went down with a surprised cry, and Seraphina caught it a few seconds later.

Before it could stand or bring its own blade around, she leaped onto its back and drove her heel down into the arrow wound. The orc screamed and thrashed, but she brought her sword down in a two-handed overhead chop, splitting its skull and silencing it. She wiped the gore off on the creature's clothes, then jogged back to where Raifex was talking to Kazir.

"One of them ran off. I'd say we've lost surprise and it's all about speed now," the thief reported.

"You should have stopped it!" the ranger growled at him.

"We were busy," Raifex said defensively. "I didn't see you chasing after it either."

"This was the entire reason I brought you along," Kazir spat out. "If you can't do your job, then you're worthless to me."

Raifex's hand clenched around his dagger, and Kazir's eyes narrowed as he saw the move. With a smirk, he gave the thief a look daring him to pull the weapon. Raifex's mouth tightened into an angry line, but he didn't rise to the bait.

"We don't have time for this now," Larsik broke in. "I don't have much magic left in me, and by my count, at least half of the orcs are still alive. Killing each other here isn't going to help anybody but them."

"We'll settle it later then," Kazir said.

"Count on it," Raifex muttered, still eyeing him angrily.

Seraphina shook her head as she watched them fight. No matter how many times she witnessed it, humans constantly amazed her with their inability to not fight each other. Even the easy going ones got riled far too easily. She remembered her own reaction to Larsik telling her that gnomes weren't real, and grimaced. She'd obviously spent too much time with the quarrelsome race.

She pulled the map out of her pocket and held it up to Larsik's light. "I think it went here," she said as she pointed towards a large cavern at the back of the mine. "At least, that was the direction it was heading when it disappeared. I guess it could have turned somewhere else along the way."

"It's as good a place to start as any," Kazir agreed. "I just don't like the idea of walking into an ambush."

"That was always a risk," Raifex said. "And we knew that they'd discover us soon enough anyway. This doesn't change anything."

"Keep your weapons out. I don't want any runners if you can stop it," the ranger ordered. "Let's move before more show up here."

Raifex's eyes promised murder, but he held his temper as Kazir marched away. They followed him down the tunnels, stopping occasionally to consult the map. It had proved to be accurate as far as they'd explored, and they had no reason to doubt the rest of it.

Their lack of the ability to see in the dark cost them. When they did run into another group of orcs, they were forced to scramble for cover as several arrows sailed out of the darkness towards them.

They took shelter behind a pile of overturned boxes of mining equipment. Kazir growled and cursed as he pulled an arrow out of his arm and peaked over the edge of the box he was crouched behind. "They're too far out. Throw the light towards them," he commanded Larsik.

The sorcerer exchanged a look with Raifex, then shrugged and chucked the piece of wood over the boxes towards the hidden archers. Seraphina looked out from between two boxes at the light and tried to count how many of the orcs there were.

"I think there are only two, maybe three," she reported.

"It's a good eighty feet to them," Raifex reasoned. "Even three archers could cut us down if we charged that."

"It's not like we can just sit here all day," Kazir said. "The longer we're here, the more likely it'll be we get ambushed from behind."

"Give me the map," Raifex told Seraphina. She handed it over, and he scanned it quickly before giving it back. "Wait here. You'll know when it's time to move."

"What are you-" Kazir started to say. "Damn it, come back here."

Raifex was already gone though. The ranger swore several more times, then looked over the box again. In the shadows at the edge of the light, several orcs could be seen moving, and occasionally, an arrow made a thunk as it lodged in the wooden boxes.

"Maybe there's something in here that could be useful," Larsik suggested, patting the box that he was crouched behind.

"By all means, abandon your cover and go rooting around inside," Kazir said scathingly. "If nothing else, I'll use your imminent demise as a distraction to get closer to them."

"I think you might be even more of a prick than Raifex is," Larsik told him.

Kazir reached out and grabbed Larsik's shoulder, then yanked him forward. Larsik yelped in surprise as the ranger shoved him out into the open. "Be a good distraction for me," he told Larsik, then darted out the other side. Larsik scrambled back towards the cover of the boxes as arrows bounced off the stone around him.

Seraphina watched it all, wide-eyed, and when Larsik made it back under cover, he glared over her head towards where Kazir had disappeared. "If he doesn't die out there, I swear I'll kill him myself," he muttered as he tried to locate the ranger over the box.