War: The saga continues....

The Spy

          An advanced regiment of orc soldiers had slipped past the allied army and entered deep into allied territory. Their purpose was to strike at one of the major allied towns in a hit and run attack to force the allies to recall their army into a defensive position further south.

          Unfortunately for them the elven mage Torana was prepared for an orc attack. And a spell designed to activate when a large mass of Orcs neared its perimeter flared to life. The barrier protecting the allied lands spanned for miles in either direction as well as above and below. But it is a double-edged sword. Orc- forces cannot penetrate the barrier to enter allied territory but then, neither can allied forces leave nor can allied forces in orc territory return home. The spell was quickly determined by the orc magi to be centered upon the mage's tower and the Orcs quickly set up a siege.

          Early attempts to use magic and brute force to break down the barrier have failed. Routinely the Orcs have probed the shield to check for weaknesses, but more often than not the border is silent. It has quickly become procedure, if not custom, for the orc regiment to muster near the barrier around noon and prepare for the latest attempt to penetrate the shield.

          Another effect of the spell was to activate key message stones in the council chambers of various cities with a message recorded by the mage, warning them of the current situation. After a brief period of celebration, reality set in as the threat of an orc buildup along the barrier settled in along with the realization that most of the allied army was trapped on the other side of the barrier.

          The council has sent the last of the able-bodied men, who are not directly defending the cities, to the tower. The crime rate drops to an all-time low as even the thieves are rounded up and drafted to be sent to the tower. Few thieves are willing to risk the untamed wilderness to which they are so unaccustomed to, so there are remarkably few desertions. Within a short time a tent city springs up near the tower. With the drop in the influx of wounded the Temples have been able to get a handle on the problem. Day by day more able-bodied warriors leave, healthy in body, if not in spirit. All too many of the newly restored soldiers vanish into the wilderness afraid to return to the cities for fear of the draft. A few of the temples send priests and priestesses to the tower to help in anyway they can. The Universal Harmony Church experiences a dramatic increase in worshipers.

          Torana's tower becomes a focal point for both the Council of War meetings as well as a much whispered about Council of Magi. Rangers slip in an out of the forest for miles along both sides of barrier looking for holes in the defense as well as enemy forces that may have slipped though.

          With all contact lost from their comrades, many pray for the safety of the allied army behind enemy lines.