Chapter 2: The Crucible of Freya

Datura whispers to the guardsmen,

"If we all shoot at the same time surely one of us will be able to take the tower guard down... What say you?"

"Trust your judgement!" Ryenne responds, waiting for the others to take their shot. At the same time, on the first floor, she will ready her weapons and take up a position to try and block attackers from reaching the stairs.

When the guards are ready, all three fire in unison...

A volley of arrows are loosed and whistle through the air. Come slam into the side of the tower, but four land squarely into the orc guard. As one naturally does when struck by four arrows at once, it dies immediately and without an opportunity to cry out.

"Is it done?" Ryenne calls up the stairs, careful not to shout too loudly for fear of alerting other guards.

One of the guards moves back to the stairs and says, "The pig-faced orc is dead. If you want to move forward, we will cover you from up here."

Galdar approaches the door leading further into the keep, but waits for Ryenne and Nebbleshuven to join him. Corian moves to follow, as well as Kariantha and Faionn. All three spellcasters recognize that while they are of little use in melee, they are of even less use at such a distance.

Nebbleshuven joins Galdar, his sword at the ready, and hopes the dwarves don't disappoint.

Ryenne nods her understanding, and then readies herself to move onwards. A thought strikes her then; captives…

If the pig faced orcs had captives, they may try to barter their way out, if sensible, or simply kill them if so inclined.

"Let’s proceed. Carefully." she warns. She’ll go first, if others seem hesitant, though she’d happy to follow Galdar!

The door opens to a courtyard with the remains of several wooden structures, burnt to the ground. There is also a well here that remains serviceable. A structure remains with the damaged belltower on top. The northeast tower appears to be locked from the outside. Two orcs stand guard at the base of a wooden palisade to the south, itself looking in good repair. The orcs are facing each other and talking amongst one another.

Nebbleshuven moves as quietly as he can up to the base of the belltower (#8), trying to remain out of sight. He tries to listen in on the orc conversation once he reaches the corner of the building.

Neither Datura nor Nebbleshuven notice anything as they observe and listen, respectively. Datura finds that the structure blocks most of her vision further into the keep, and there does not seem to be any movement where she can see. Nebbleshuven finds that he is too far to hear the conversation of the orcs.

"I can't see anything from here, I'm going to try the other side."

The gnome sneaks back to the tower and goes out the other rampart door to see if she can get a better vantage. She opens the door slowly and stays low as she eases out onto the walkway...

"We may be relying on the archers again." Ryenne curses, eyeing the distance between her and the orcs. They’d have time to shout most likely, and raise the entire alarm.

She sits in place, waiting for something to give and the tension to snap.

The two guards follow Datura's example and move to the walkway approaching the gatehouse. From there they are able to see the two orcs about sixty feet away. Close enough for some arrows.

"That's fine. Better for them to take out those orcs with stealth than risk the orcs calling for reinforcements after spotting us running across the courtyard."