-Chapter Six:
The group left early in the morning; Rurik leading the way -clad in large metal plates decorated with the emblem of Moradin and wearing a spike helmet over his recently re-done hair- brandishing a large war hammer. Felosial came next, dressed in her Wizard Guild robes and in her belt was tucked a rapier and many scrolls; a mahogany wand was in her hand. Eldon was beside her and still wore his vest of pockets -which bulged even more with hidden rogue tools- but was all dressed in black for added camouflage. Finally Hrimfaxi came last with Cleon by her side. Hrimfaxi wore her shoulder pads and leather bands; she had also braided her mane and tail so it would stay out of her way. She hefted her spear and shield.
"Now make sure you stay close to us," Felosial was telling Cleon. "And if we meet the orcs stay out in a safe place."
"Stop worrying over the colt," Hrimfaxi told the elf. "If he's gonna be helping me he'll have to get used to battle. Cleon, just stay by mew and I'll take care of you."
Eldon held the map and was leading to the orc den while Felosial read off the king's instructions.
"The boy has nothing to worry about," Rurik said, limbering his arms and fingers. "Orcs sleep all day, we'll surprise them."
"The instructions say that we're to rescue the prince, perhaps we can find him without having to kill them."
"Perhaps," Eldon said in answer to Felosial. "But orcs aren't that idiotic and there'll might be a few sentries to pick off."
Cleon looked at the eagerness in the halfling's pointy face. "You guys actually like doing this?" he asked Hrimfaxi.
"It's what we were trained to do," she answered. "And yes, we like doing this."
"You like killing?" He asked this softly. The centaur looked down at the boy.
"Of course we don't like killing. We're used to it, I suppose. But Rurik likes doing this because he know he's getting rid of some evil and hopefully gaining some favor from that god he serves. Felosial does this to test and improve her magic while Eldon looks at every challenge as one he has to solve; he likes the excitement."
"Don't you get nervous?"
"Why? Are you?" Cleon didn't answer but Hrimfaxi continued. "No. As Rurik said the orcs will be sleeping -their nocturnal you know- , not expecting us and we're a well-trained group -much better trained then any army soldier- which is probably why Lord Swill hired us instead of sending his own troops. Besides, I wouldn't take you here if I thought there was that much danger. I want you to experience battle, not die in it."
They walked through the town, past manor houses, the market place, and Lord Swill's own tower palace. The farther they went from the city, the thicker the forest became; perfect orc habitat. It was a long walk.
'Why are we following this stream?" Rurik complained, shaking mud form the stream bank off his boots. "All these twists and turns are getting me dizzy and wouldn't it be easier if we just walked in a straight line?"
"The king said this stream leads into the orc cave," Felosial answered. "This was the stream that once made the caves that the orcs now live in."
"This trickle?" Rurik asked pointing to the little flow of water that barely made its way past leaf and mud barriers.
"Centuries ago this stream was a river," explained the wizard elf.
It was obvious to see when they had finally entered orc territory by the piles of gnawed-on bones, uprooted plants, and the abundance of garbage. The orcs took no pains for secrecy but there were several crude pit and snare traps for them to avoid. As promised there was no sign of orc activity.
"Wait here," Eldon ordered. They were at the entrance of the cave, creeping vines covering most of it. They had approached silently, Hrimfaxi making it very clear to Cleon that if he made any noise she would be very angry.
"Just think of it as training," she answered when he protested.
"But Eldon crept up to the cave entrance even more silently, his tiny feet avoiding every pile of dry leaves, brittle sticks, or sticky mud. The halfling edged up to the entrance and slipped through. There were a few moments after they lost sight of him where Cleon suddenly realized he had been holding his breath. Neither Hrimfaxi nor the others seemed worried about the seconds of silence that passed. Rurik was busy swinging his war- hammer experimentally. Finally Eldon re-appeared looking disappointed.
"I expected there would be at least some sentries to get rid of. But the coast is clear and it's quiet as if this was a home for mice instead of smelly orcs. Looks like this will be another easy mission, mates." The other four started forward. "But wait!" he called. "There's an arrow trap set off by a pressure spot right there!" He pointed to a spot right below Hrimfaxi's raised hoof. Slightly miffed, the centaur stopped and leaped over grabbing Cleon's hand and dragging him over. Rurik entere first while the centaur bard lit a torch.
"The tunnel slopes down pretty steeply," he called -his voice booming- from within the depths of the cave.
"Shut up, Rurik!" Hrimfaxi told the dwarf. "You want to wake up all the orcs? Or only the non-dead ones?" When she had the torch lit they all went inside.
The tunnel sloped down, meandering just like the stream that had made it. Water still trickled down the side, forming stalagmites where it reached the floor, dried, and deposited mineral sediment eroded from the walls. They continued down, steps muffled on the hard-packed dirt floor. There were several tunnels that lead to roomy dead-ends. Several of these appeared to be sleeping areas -with blankets, pillows, and utensils thrown around- but the rooms were empty.
"I don't like this," Hrimfaxi said, rubbing her spear nervously.
"I'm sure they came back from a hunt all riled up, got drunk, started fighting and knocked each other unconscious," Rurik said with a chuckle; he was the only one laughing.
"They're here," Felosial said, sending out a sensing spell. "There's a big group of them in what seems to be a big cavern." She seemed puzzled but Rurik had already gone ahead, not needing the torch Hrimfaxi held. They ran to catch up with the dwarf who was just about to turn a curve in the tunnel.
The curve led into a large, smelly cavern that was pitch black. The only sound beside Hrimfaxi's hoof scattering some gravel was the regulated sound of dripping water. The light of the torch cast flickering shadows off the cavern walls; in some places rock was peeling off where a harder layer was underneath a softer one. The torch did not give adequate lighting, but it was enough to light up forms of a band of orcs, sitting on a ledge against the cavern wall. The light barely touched them, but Cleon could still see their readied weapons -an assortment of bone clubs and crude bows- and their already donned armor. Rurik -who could see in the dark- was able to see their expectant sharp-toothed grins and glittering beady, animal eyes.
"We've been waiting for you," the chief orc said, wearing and elaborate tribal head-dress. With a yell all 20 orcs leaped down from the ledge onto the dwarf, centaur, elf and young boy.