-----"MiLady!" Strolum calls excitedly with his sword in front of him, "Are these . . . I mean, . . ." The warrior struggles with his words as he and his two companions position themselves between Sarah and the summoned monsters.
-----The hyena-headed humanoids squint at the warriors and begin growling viciously. They heft crude axes and swords as a wild gleam comes to their eyes. They pause somewhat as they look upon Sarah.
-----The horses make nervous sounds and Thunder rumbles in his throat as the stallion threatens to attack.
-----Sarah covers her nose with one hand to fend off the stench. "I'm sorry about this." She says indicating the smell of the gnolls. "But we need reinforcements against these orcs."
-----Sarah calls up to Sol and Raven. "Are we attacking yet? Because I summoned some reinforcements." She says with a tone of pride in her voice.
-----To the gnolls she says, "Orcs." And points over the ledge, then she holds up a hand to indicate not to attack yet.
-----Raven's wolf growls at the gnolls and Rinda reaches down to it warding off any chance the animal could spring at the summoned newcomers. "Six gnolls against all of those orcs?" she says with dread in her voice, before continuing, "Sarah, is this wise?"
-----The humanoids keep their place for now, glaring and snarling at the various members in the party.
-----Caranip suddenly blossoms with excitement. "MiLady!" she squeals with delight to Sarah, "You summoned real gnolls here and I can make illusions of others to make it seem like a whole army! Can I try?!"
-----"I was under the impression the plan was to attack the leaders. Where have our men gotten off to?" Sarah asks the huntress.
-----"Yes of course you may try, but let us wait until we know what is going on." Sarah hopes that Sol and Raven haven't charged off and left her behind....again.
-----Just then, Sol appears back at the top of the hill; the whole time the young warrior keeping low so the orcish army doesn't see him.
-----At that moment, Sol sees the six well armed and well armored, but grimy gnolls standing just across from Dilton, Strolum and Pil. The trio of warriors stands in defensive positions in front of Sarah. Though the gnolls make no aggressive movement, they continue to growl.
-----Rinda and Lovan stand to either side uneasily watching the hyena-headed humanoids. The huntress keeps one hand on Raven's wolf as the animal growls lowly.
-----Sol's eyes widen in shock. How on earth had such creatures approached the group unseen? No wonder Sarah had called reinforcements, the enemy had already found them. The only chance was to wipe out the patrol before they could alert the main force.
-----In the blink of an eye, Sol's blade is free of its scabbard, and the warrior charges the closest gnoll, seeking to end its miserable existence as soon as possible.
-----"Sol, stop!" Sarah screams. The young mage spurs Marlexana to a quick gallop and places the magical horse between Sol and the gnolls. "Control yourself and listen to me for once!" The mage snaps. "I summoned these gnolls to assist us against the leaders. Have you and Raven found them yet?" The young sorceress is breathing hard, clearly excited or agitated depending on how one wishes to look at it.
-----"Ye summoned THEM?" Sol hisses angrily in reply, as he has to pull up to avoid running the mage's horse through, "Bloody . . . Damn. What are ye . . . Ferget it." The blade stays out as he eyes the evil humanoids warily. The Gorian's gaze doesn't leave the gnolls as he answers Sarah, "We've found the orc leaders, but that's not who we're after now. It's whatever controls them from the keep that we want, an' we're going t'have t'work out how t'get in first."
-----Sarah meets Sol's angry stare with her own burning eyes. "Yes, I figured with an army of orcs around us we could use some help." She says in an even tone. "As long as nobody runs me through they are controllable."
-----She continues in an even voice. "Now, may the rest of us join you two and find out what the situation is?" Sarah asks.
-----"Couldn't ye summon something that wouldn't be likely t'eat us or slit our throats if it had half th' chance?" Sol mutters before addressing Sarah's last concern, "If ye believe th' enemy should have every chance o' seeing us, then by all means we should all stick our heads o'er th' hilltop. Nothing like a ridgeline t'illuminate a group."
-----Something seems to fade in the warrior's eyes as he slowly rises from his ready stance, though his blade is still held forward. In a more amenable tone, Sol adds, "I told you what I've seen as far as th' orcs go. Th' keep has several towers, most likely manned. Th' gates face t'orc camp but th' portcullius is raised. Once Raven an' Garrison come back, they'll be able t'tell us more."