Leah accepted her appointment and crept north of the group looking for signs of the enemy.
The fellowship traveled further toward the township as the wind whipped by their faces in a shifty caress.
4 AM: Flames flickered in the distance and the belltower continued to ring its' alarm; chaos was in full swing. Shouts of various sort mixed with angry howls while the village was being attacked by humanoids.
Salimen and Leah returned to the group citing that nothing extraordinary was happening near them. Teflar commanded the group " Stay to the shadows. We must find out who is attacking Airrdale and get an estimate of their strength and numbers." The ranger pierced his eyes through the gloom " We need to scout closer. There will be no rest for us this night. We should continue this inch-worm movement until we can see what we can of this battle. Any suggestions?"
Aramil hunched down warning quietly " We will need to be extra cautious. Our mission depends on being alert. We may not be able to gain access into Airrdale if dark forces have already set upon it. We must determine if entering the city is even possible. We do not want to give away our position. There are sure to be scouts. Shall we risk a closer look?"
Torynth, his arm in a makeshift sling, blinked away the mist from his eyes " 'Raven' may be the only hope for some of Airrdale. Let's move." He easily fell into formation in the middle of the pack awaiting further command.
Teflar's face was grim as death while surveying the horrible scene. It was assured that orcs were to blame. A few of the beasts actually made it to the borders of the town carrying plundered items; their silhouettes bumbling back and forth past the numerous flames torching nearby houses.
Salimen counted out his score of arrows while the cleric grumbled to himself something about "from the fireplace to the frying pan."
The call was then made to step into the outer district and witness the raid for themselves.
4:15 AM: Starpoint Raven passed flaming homes along the dirt path as they continued cautiously onward. They came to a 3-story guardhouse on the village outskirts where unseen voices were heard from above. The team paused their advance to decide their next course.
Suddenly, orcs were seen! Not 100 yards from where the party stood, many monsters started accumulating from all directions at the western border of town and started marching slowly up the path in their direction!!