Ganthanor replies, "Yes M' Lady. But this question is to the group. I think it wise that we determine our 'mission' in the orc lands. Imagine after teleporting there that we encounter a large group of orcs that ask us what we are doing. We need a story, a cover. Any suggestions folks? I hope we can come up with something convincing for all occasions. I am not much of a liar at heart and prefer the direct approach. As for the money. Depending on our cover maybe only 1 of us will get the money. As for me, I do not require any."

Adriena replies to Ganthanor, "If you like the idea of being the Priestess' retinue, perhaps our mission was to pass blessings on the troops and 'having done that' we are returning to the city to pray for more guidance and blessings and such. If Malis agrees to take up the roll of 'leader' then she may be asked to bestow blessings on those who question us. Can you do that Malis?? I know so little about orc religion and rituals...."

Malis states, "Well I hadn't considered playing the role of leader, but I guess that the orcs might respect a high priestess as leader more than anyone else. Besides, Adriena's story makes plenty of sense. We're just here to bless the troops."

"Yes," Garth says, "The plan sounds good, responding to the idea of Malis being the priestess leader. "As an aside, can all of us speak the Orcish tongue? And it would perhaps be prudent to decide on our roles before we head out. I, for one, feel I would best be employed as a scout to the group..."

Ganthanor's impish grin forms and looks at Garth. "Agreed. Garth, you said employed. You're not by chance trying to get the group to pay you for scouting? If you are, we'll double what we're already paying you if you make it back. Just kidding my friend."

Garth then bares his porcine teeth, gives a pained look, and says, reluctantly, "I suppose that as our leader-apparent, Malis would be the most logical to carry the, the, the, ah... money. For myself, I feel that infravision or improved invisibility spell would be most useful and complementary to my skills..."

Adriena responds to Garth's suggestion, " I would pose as Malis' acolyte. As far as my position in the group, well, I'll use my magic skills where ever I can. I have memorized Sleep, Shield, and Comprehend languages -although I can speak Orcish, we may run up against other humanoids or possibly written material, however unlikely - such as a map with encrypted messages or even road signs."

Gregory responds, "I agree with Adriena's idea...Malis would have the highest respect of any of us. The rest of us are just here to defend the priestess." Gregory gives a little shrug of his shoulders as he glances around the room to see everyone's faces, and then, a light appears to go off in his head. He looks to Lady Otasura and asks, "Upon completion of the mission, will we be teleported back or do we have to bring the items across the land?"

The Lady smiles and says, "That is a very good question. You will have no troubles crossing back into HonShar lines with Lord Herpein with you to vouch for you."

Aanparon butts in and says, "Maybe it's just me, but I don't like the blessing the troops bit. If they want us to start blessing them we may never get there. Perhaps Malis could say she was sent to check on troops by some High Priestess. Lady Otasura, do you know the names of a sufficiently High Orc Priestess to back such a story?"

The Lady shakes her head and says, "The High Priest or Priestess changes almost daily with all of the backstabing and maneuvering that occurs. I could not give you a name that would be believable to any orc patrols that you encountered."

Aanparon replies, "We might be able to use that to our advantage. Just make up an orcish female name and bluff our way past. If they challenge us just tell them she's the new High Priestess."

Aanparon continues, "Malis probably should take most of the money, but I think all of us should take a small portion, at least a couple of silver and copper. Never know when a bribe can come in handy. Or a distraction, and copper coins make for a cheap distraction. Let Garth have the invisibility. If he was spotted at Lord Whosits last week he probably needs it. I don't. I have some skills with reading and languages. Before burning your spells let me look at whatever it is and I'll see if I can decipher it. I guess that makes me some sort of servant of the Priestess. We may not have any problems getting back once we're OUT of orcish territory, but we might want a story for why we're traveling with a human prisoner towards the front if we're spotted IN orcish territory. Any ideas?"

Ganthanor responds, "I need no spells to aid me in my quest. I've depended on my sword arm to keep me alive for many years. Although I dare say that in my present situation, the invisibility was heavily considered. I think I'll just stick with my own resources. Thank you lady Otasura for your offer of assistance." Ganthanor then moves to pick up one of the brooches and puts it on, pulls his sword out and stands within the circle, "I am ready milady."

"I see your point, Aan, " says Adriena, "We may be asked to impart blessings, but we - the priestesses, that is -can feign exhaustion of spells as well as strength and demand to be left alone. Of course, I don't know if the orcs respect their religious leaders that much. It will be up to our _Intimidating_ bodyguards to make sure no one taxes our resources."

In response to Ganthanor, she says, "You really don't want her to cast a spell on you? It should not be a matter of pride, friend Ganthanor. Rather, it would benefit us all if you were to be rendered untouchable by weapons or have the strength of a giant. Quite frankly, I am eager to see how all of these spells function; in their casting , in their duration, in the effects on each of us." Turning to Lady Otasura ,"Would you think ill of me if I were to suggest placing more than one spell on some of us if others insist on going without?"

The Lady shakes her head and replies, "The spells are for you to use as you see fit. If you wish for them all to be cast upon only one of you, then so be it. I would think that it would be a bad tactical move, but it is your mission."

As she asks the last question , Adriena goes to the brooches and selects two that look as similar as possible, and carries one back to Malis. "Here you go, Malis. OH ! Perhaps we will need Orcish names??..... I would like to be called... Von'ner.. Yes, I like that. Does it sound Orcish enough?"

She then turns to the Lady Otasura, "And while we are on the subject of names, do you know the name of the orc god / goddess? Or their king, if they have one? Or a High Priestess, as Aan suggested? Our cover would be blown immediately if we did not know who our power comes from. I may look like a stupid orc , but I don't fancy sounding like one."

"There I can help," The Lady says, "They do not have a king, but rather a group of chieftains and warriors that have complete control over the military, consider them to control the "body" of the orc city. The priests function as the politicians and the secret police, think of them as controlling the "mind and soul" of the orc city. They have a wide variety of gods, but there is one that is always the most prevalent. His name is Gruumish. However, only the priesthood calls him by his name, all others refer to him as either 'He- Who-Watches' or 'He-Who-Never-Sleeps'."

Adriena says to Lady Otasura, "I'm glad you feel my costume may suffice, my Lady. But I feel it is not yet complete. Do these 'priestesses' carry or wear holy.... um, UNholy... symbols like our priests do? I don't recall seeing any in the changing room, but I was preoccupied with the other... aspects.. of my disguise."

The Lady replies, "I did not give you any religious symbols because only the most powerful wear them. If you were to wear them, you would be challenged by others of the priesthood in the efforts to gain the item and the support of Gruumish. It would be detrimental to your mission. Besides, it may not be wise to carry the token of an Orc God..."

After receiving her answer, Adriena turns to the others and says, "Ganthanor, didn't you suggest we be merchants? I wonder, if we portrayed ourselves as a couple of Priestesses and their retinue, maybe we would be left alone. Being merchants, we would expect to have dealings with orcs, even if for our wares - of which we are in short supply . Malis, I mean no offense to you, but perhaps if you were to be the lead Priestess you would have more faith in the outcome of this mission. You certainly know more about religious rituals and such than any of us here. You know, you could boss us around and look unapproachable to 'commoners'. It may give the orcs pause to deal with us.... I am not concerned who carries the money . I just ask to be given a small amount in the event - gods forbid - we get separated. Say, 5 silver and 10 copper? As far as the assistance of spells from The Lady, I would not presume to speak for the others, but I for one would be very grateful for any help. It is hard to decide which spell would be more suitable for each of us. I think it would be more beneficial for me to posses the protection from missiles, as I intend to stay away from any ....close... confrontations." She waits expectantly for the others to reply before turning her attention to the map.

Ganthanor responds to Adriena, "Adriena, my honor is extremely important to me. Although, I welcome anyone's offer of assistance, it's just at this time, I do not feel it is needed. I feel the others may be better suited for those spells. My well being is not as important to me as that of my companions. Please take advantage of the Lady's offer, I will fare well without it."

Adriena's eyes half close and color (other than puke green) comes to her face as she says, " You must be the most unselfish man I have ever met. " She then turns away, feeling a little self conscious.

Aanparon asks, "Milady, I'm only vaguely familiar with the spells you've mentioned. Could you give me a brief description of a few of them. What exactly is Stoneskin, what will strength do for you, and what is enchanted weapon?"

Otasura smiles and says, "They are quite powerful spells. Stoneskin gives your flesh the semblance of stone, you will not take any amount of damage from edged attacks. Strength will increase your personal strength for a few hours. Enchant a weapon will turn your weapon into a magical one for a few minutes, this might be useful if you teleport into a scene of orcs."

Gregory looks to Lady Otasura and says, "I have traveled the land most of my life and have never worn armour. I can not function properly with it on, so any spells the aid in defense would help me greatly." He gets up and walks over to the brooches and picks one up and attaches it to his shirt. He continues to the group, "I figure these creatures' society is based on mainly violence so as long as you show no fear and don't back down when they approach, we should be all right. As far as the money goes, I'll take what no one wants, I don't need it to survive."

The Lady replies, "It is up to the group to decide who gets which spell, I do not think that it would be fair for me to decide." She then reaches into her robes and pulls out a small hourglass, looking at it for a moment, she then places it back inside her robes, "We are losing precious time. I need a decision on the spells and answer any final questions; then I must transport you."

Adriena asks the group," Malis should have the Protection from Missiles. I can protect myself with a shield spell. Garth would be a very affective scout with invisibility and infravision. Gregory can function well with the armour, and Aanparon would become a good fighter with strength and enchanted weapon. If I were to have the stoneskin then I could study spells tomorrow that would be more beneficial to the whole group. What say you all?"

"The only spell I ask for is armour or even stoneskin, that is if the rest of the group does not object." Gregory says while looking around the group. "As for the rest, and this is only my opinion, give infravision to a human, strength and enchanted weapon to someone who is a fighter, protection from normal missiles to either Adriena or Malis, and improved invisibility to..." a pause as he gives a piercing look at Garth "...Garth 'the sneaky'. What do the rest of you think?"

Ganthanor says, in response to Adriena's suggestion, "Excellent notion! Who amongst us is a warrior at heart and profession? As I stated, magic and I do well not to mix. Magic is too undependable. Now that I think about it so is this sword, but it will have to do. Please decide as I feel the ready is about ready to teleport us."

A grin crosses Gregory's face as he addresses Ganthanor, "I suspect that you were born in a city possibly of noble blood. I was born in the forest and did not know of money until I left my village. I have always survived on my wits and knowledge alone." Gregory pauses and looks into Ganthanor's eyes, as if searching for something, "Are you a holy fighter, that is, do you fight for one supreme god?"

Ganthanor responds, "Nay Sir Gregory. I am not but I labor diligently each day." Ganthanor lowers his voice a bit and continues. "My purpose in life is the extermination of evil. To that end I do toil on." Ganthanor's voice returns to normal and he again continues. "Perhaps someday we can continue are conversation but for now I believe our dear Lady has need for our expediency."

At this point the Lady interrupts and addresses the group, "While you are thinking about the spells, let me give you a little more information, first off.." she trails off as she mumbles some words that you all strain to hear but they seem to slip away from you like a coy barmaid, leaving you with no recollection of what they were, she finishes mumbling and a man appears before you.

He is a human, perhaps in his early thirties, he has black hair (which is cut in a short military-style) and a long black mustache. He is wearing a set of armour that none of you have seen before but Malis recognizes it. "Golden Full Plate?" Malis whispers as she lets out a breath that is laced with envy. He has a scar on his left cheek that runs from the corner of his eye down to chin, but it does not seem to take away from his beauty, rather, it enhances it.

"This what Lord Herpein looks like," Otasura says, "I doubt if he still has the armour and more than likely he has a few more scars but I have been able to pinpoint both his living presence and the presence of the Ca'ega in Krimba-Hai. Unfortunately, the city is warded so I could not get an exact location.. Hmm, yes.." The Lady trails off with some more unhearable words and appearing next to the man, floating in the air, is a silver object that remotely resembles a key.

"This is what the Ca'ega looks like. It has magical powers so if you are able to reclaim it, do not tinker with it," She says the last looking at Garth with a stern eye, "Hmm, transport, yes.. If for some reason you do not feel like it is safe for you to return through enemy lines to HonShar after you have completed your mission, simply return to where I will be transporting you. Remain there for at least three days. If I have not teleported you back after three days, that means that you are stuck walking."

With a flick of her wrist the images disappear as she turns her attention to the back of the room and says, "Have I forgotten anything?" You all turn to see who she is talking to, and you see the old man standing there with the door closed behind him. "I could have sworn that he left the room and shut the door, I wish he would stop doing that," you think to yourself.

"He coughs delicately into his fist [Hurumpf], before venturing, "The change, M'Lady." Otasura nods and says to the group, "Oh yes, the change. The magic aura that normally surrounds such a polymorph has dissipated. There is no way of dispelling the magic except by me doing it or the use of one of the highest Mage spells in existence, Wish. This is to ensure that you do not have an aura in case you encounter any orc with 'the gift'. Not to fret though, I will change you back upon your return and successful completion of your mission."

"I believe that that is everything, now.. Gather up the coinage and decide who gets what spells, you do not have much longer..." Otasura concludes.

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