-----Caranip holds onto Sarah's waist, clinging on with an uncertain look. "Mistress!" Caranip squeaks below Sarah's arm, "should we not slow soon?"
-----Lovan charges forth on his own horse. A strange smile freezes on the storm priest's face as he rides into the light air.
-----A few yards ahead the land begins its slight incline into the small rises. Garrison rides with a determined expression. He then suddenly gives a cautious glance to Rinda and Raven beside him.
-----Up ahead, the smoke continues to ascend from behind the rise as if from numerous fires.
-----Sol spurs Thunder into a gallop, his face a strange mask of stone and his body bent low so that his head is near the stallion's. He directs the mount towards the midst of the rise.
-----The great stallion bolts forward as if feeling the challenge before him. Thunder's hooves pound the ground while his tail practically stands straight out in his flight. With nostrils flaring and a determined gleam in his eye, Thunder overtakes the magical horse within a few moments, bringing her and her riders to a stop.
-----Curiously, Sol is positioned so that he can see just over the edge of the rise.
-----Raven moves along side Sol and Sarah. Raven says, "Hold up. Let's scout this first. No sense moving head long into a host of monsters."
-----As soon as Raven begins to come up the rise towards Sol, the Gorian holds up a hand, indicating the hunter should stop. He begins to slowly back Thunder up, till he no longer looks over the rise, and says to the others with a wry grin, "Well, I don't think we actually need t'do that much scouting. Or at least, I scouted enough then t'know th' idea o' things. Raven, ye know I'm willing t'help ye in any battle, but I wouldn't want t'expose some o' our companions t'what will happen if we rode over that hill."
-----Sol's smile fades as he recounts what he saw, "We're up against at least several hundred orcs, an' they seem slightly more armed an' organized than any lot we've seen off before. More importantly, an' where I think we should start, is th' chimney smokin' keep. Or what's left of a keep. Stands t'reason after all. Yer average soldier gets th' tents, whilst whoever is in charge gets comfy. I say we just strike at th' leader an' work our way down."
-----"Sounds good to me, but where are the orcs in relation to the leaders?" Sarah asks as she had not seen over the ledge like Sol had. "Can we get there by normal means or shall we improvise?"
-----"Also what can we create in ways of a distraction so that the regular army does not come running when the leaders ring the alarm?" Sarah asks. Clearly the mage has a few tricks up her sleeves but she does not consider herself the tactical brains of the group in a battle situation. So she allows Sol to form a plan that she will add to as she can.
-----"We'll play it by ear now. Until we get a closer look at the keep, we can't make too many guesses. No idea about their leaders." Sol shrugs as he replies to Sarah's question.
-----Sarah glances back at Caranip, "Are you doing okay back there?" She asks her new apprentice.
-----When Sol says 'orcs', Raven's eyes flash with hatred. Raven growls, "I've got to see." Raven gets off his horse and goes over to the rise to what they are facing. Raven makes sure none below would be able to see him as he looks over the orc camp.
-----"I will go with you, my husband," Rinda says as she moves to catch up with the hunter.
-----"If only there were storm clouds this day," Lovan says frowning at the sky.
-----Caranip's eyes grow large and round. She puts her hands on her cheeks and squeaks, "Orcs! Great Grandmother Guzzle!"
-----Strolum, Dilton and Pil quickly draw their swords and look ready to move.
-----After a while Raven and Rinda return to group. Raven's face is grim. Raven says to Sol, "We just missed riding into certain death. Taking out whoever is in the keep would be our best move." Raven looks around the area, "We'll have to do some back tracking to avoid any wandering orcs and then come around the back of the keep. When we are working our way back to the keep we'll need to scout ahead to make sure we are not discovered." Raven shrugs, "That's all I got. Should we move out and get to killing orcs?"
-----"Sounds good t'me, Raven. Ye'd best take lead . . . yer our best bet t'make sure we get t'th' keep unseen." Sol smiles as he begins to really look forward to the coming day.
-----"We have the marsh land that seems to run along the north side," Garrison says, "if we want to risk taking the horses through that. If we circle the orcs on the south side, we'll have to look for small valleys or ridges to hide behind."
-----"Do ya wan' us t'be distractin' 'em?" Strolum quickly asks.
-----"We could be settin' a fire n'then fallin' back t'th woods when them orcs come spyin'," Dilton says, keeping his rough voice low.