-----Rinda rolls her eyes and smiles wearily. "As I said, orcs are an evil blight of this world. If they are ignored, they will try to enslave and kill all creatures."
-----"Save philosophy for mealtimes." Sarah cautions her friends. "Right now we have other things to worry about." In truth Sarah does not agree with Rinda or with Lovan, but she makes her best effort to act mature and not say it out loud.
-----Sol turns away from the ridge and heads back down, a large frown dominating his face, "We're in luck. Sort of. I think the orcs are preparing t'leave. Raven an' Garrison are still watching from their spot further down th' hill. Just one thing t'watch fer . . . t'th' east is an advance group, probably scouts, advance troops or a patrol that have headed up east where we first came from. We'll have t'keep an eye out an' make sure we're not seen."
-----"So we simply hide here until the orcs move off?" Lovan asks. The storm priest then shrugs, saying, "We can then attack the keep like we did when we were after that Krondor fellow."
-----"Attack a keep?" Strolum suddenly asks, looking at Lovan. "How in t'th world we gonna get in through th' gate without th' guards closin' it a'fore we be gettin' near enuff?"
-----The storm priest immediately begins the telling of the taking of Krondor's keep in Redmarsh. The story seems a bit hard to follow as Lovan skips to different events out of sequence. The story is also heavily leaden with the point of view of one who follows the Rager.
-----"We should wait for Raven to return before we make any plans." Sarah admonishes the troops. She glances sadly at her summoned beasts, realizing that their time cannot be much longer now. With a wave of her hands the gnolls disappear into thin air. "I'll use more foresight next time." She promises herself, as she waits for Raven to return.
-----Sol nods at Sarah's announcement of waiting for Raven. All he adds for now is, "We've done it on a number o' times . . . This place'll fall like th' rest."
-----Caranip looks sad as her mistress dispels the gnoll gang away. "I am so sorry, MiLady," she says in her tiny voice. "I so much wanted to see what the gnolls would do." She then brightens and adds, "The good thing is I got to see what the gnolls look like up close! That way if I need to make illusions of them I know how they look and act!"
-----"Yer certainly a great lady wizard, ye are!" Dilton croaks out, speaking to Sarah. He and the other two warriors look a bit relieved that the humanoids are no longer in their midst.
-----"I'll go and see how Raven and Garrison are doing," Rinda suddenly says and with that the huntress moves quietly up the hill and vanishes over the top.
-----"How much longer do we wait?" Lovan asks impatiently. "Attack or move on, I say."
-----"I said we wait fer Raven. That's all, Lovan. Relax. . . th' time t'storm th' keep will come soon enough." Sol said as he nodded to Rinda's departing form.
-----"Good for you, Caranip." Sarah is pleased with her apprentice for paying such close attention. "If you do not have cause to cast your spell today I wish to see it when we make camp." She grins encouragingly at the gnome.
-----"Thank you." She says and bows her head to return the compliment of being called a great lady wizard. She wonders idly if there is a difference between a 'great wizard' and a 'great lady wizard' but either way she will certainly take the compliment.
-----Within an hour's time, Raven is suddenly seen coming back over the hill with Rinda and Garrison behind him. As soon as he is hidden from the orcs' sight on the other side of the hill, he stands more upright and charges down the hill. However, it is not toward Sol, Sarah and the others that he runs. The ranger quickly heads off to the right, heading to the small hill that separates the hillock the adventurers hide behind and the ridge where the adventurers first saw the orcs.
-----Raven and Rinda run almost silently with intense grim expressions. As Garrison runs behind them, he looks at Sol, Sarah and the others, placing a finger to his mouth as an indication to remain quiet.
-----"And to think I was worried." Sarah says, crossing her arms a bit petulantly. She sighs and stares at the running hunters. She turns to her apprentice. "You know Caranip, if spellcasting doesn't work out for you there are plenty of other careers available. Pretty much any other job you take lets you run off on your own and cause trouble while your friends sit around braiding their hair out of boredom. Of course when wizards try that we usually end up unconscious." Sarah says a bit bitterly, remembering that the few times she was on her own she inevitably needed to be rescued. It's a familiar gripe from Ms. Night's mouth, but this time she has a new audience.