The sorcerer mused as he sat there silently reflecting his magenta eyes into the pyre. Moonshade's neck twisted and turned as if listening for sounds outside the firelight. The cleric continued " But still there is one thing that doesn't add up. If, in fact, these orcs were hired by someone at the counsel to hinder and mangle our party, why would the orcs fight with such ferocity even when grossly outnumbered? I assume that if confronted with an unfeasible battle, they would have retreated. Yet, they fought to the death."

The monk watched Gulius kick at the dummy again in frustration. He then countered " These orcs couldn't have stolen an artifact from its' guardians. They didn't have the finesse necessary. Why light a fire the size of a village square if you were trying to get away with something you stole? No, they were probably threatened with a fate worse than death if they had failed their assignment. Something easy to believe if the return of this great evil is true. We haven't seen any signs that they were paid to indicate otherwise." Torynth paused and looked around expectantly at the others with a raised eyebrow. He then turned to the dummy "So, who sent the orcs here?" The ragged mandoll stared blankly up at the nightsky with dull, coal eyes as the cleric declared angrily " Well, you all may think what you want. Why would the orcs ambush us if they were not a part of the theft? Surely not to steal our gold or for kicks!!" He looked straight at the monk " The ambush might have been an attempt to eliminate their threat. It seems crystal clear they are a part of this theft, in one way or the other."

  Leah regarded Torynth with a raised eyebrow. Her voice carried a hint of surprise " Indeed, if these scourge and a score of their kind managed to steal a starpoint from right under the feet of the good king's 'elite' guards..." her mouth twisted into a wry smile "...then this land is in greater peril than we could have imagined." The druid lifted a section of the intestines out of the tarp waist-high with the flat of her dagger.
" In any event, it would appear that these abominations slaughtered horses about a week ago."

  Aramil spoke up suddenly " If the leader was the only orc not of this area, then perhaps someone is trying to insert figures in different locations to try and get that group to work for them. In this case, it was these orcs, but perhaps there are other clans around here. I hope our warriors get back soon."
As if cued, the trio returned to the firelight entering from the north. Splendor stood slowly as if in greeting
" Have you found anything? A foul camp or den?"