Sixth Entry

Do we have the means to defeat the Spheres and discover what they guard? Or should we continue exploring elsewhere in the dungeon?

The party elects to do some further exploration in the short term. Eventually, other Orcs will come upon the bodies we have left in our wake. For now, we will explore a little further into the cavern whilst we still have the advantage of surprise.

I assume the role of mapmaker for the time being. I skulk ahead, attempting to move silently amongst the shadows, and discover a room laden with hoarded provisions. Ropes, leather, and meat. Shipped by "Fhash Multor" according to script on the crates. Stepping further north (through an oil slick laid by my comrades), I come upon the water room and a kitchen. Judging by the fire in the hearth, there are orcs nearby. Coming back to inform the party, we then decide to explore westward. Scouting ahead again, I find a dead-end chamber containing a statue, and what looks like a sacrificial altar. There is a tapestry along the north wall. It depicts Orcish victory in battle, but is much to fine to be of Orcish manufacture.

Joined again by some of my party, I search behind the tapestry, and am gratified to detect the latch for a secret portal. It is good to be an Elf. Behind it lies a narrow corridor. The party elects to explore this passageway, leaving untouched a levering device which they have discovered in the sacrificial altar. The passageway turns eastward up ahead of us, and ends in a blank wall, but there is a door at the corner where the passage turns. Using my thieving abilities, I listen intently at the door.

My hearing is particularly sharp today. Not only do I detect the voices of discernably female orcish concubines from behind the door, I am also able to hear more orcish noises from behind another concealed door at the end of the passage. Judging from our map, this must be the dining hall or some other room connected to the kitchen we visited earlier.

Our fighting force can wait no longer to feel the sensation of blades slicing Orcflesh. We agree upon a hurriedly whispered two-pronged battle plan. The magic-user and the two rangers will circle back through the kitchen and attack. Once the Orcs are engaged, Krog-gor and I will enter surreptitiously, and attack from behind. "As if there were any other way!", I recall thinking to myself.

The plan works perfectly, save for the fact that Krog and I get temporarily entangled in another tapestry which covers the secret entrance from which we are emerging. Krog, attempting to slice through the material, falters - I am able to slide around and execute my backstab. As my lifeless victim falls to the ground, I see that my friends are making short work of this group of Orcs. Unfortunately, the noise has attracted more Orcs from beyond the kitchen. As the fighters turn to battle them, I ready my sling. We are taking some punishment but giving out significantly more. I loose two bullets, missing with one and felling an Orc with another straight through the eye socket. The last remaining Orc runs, and we give chase. By the time we catch and kill the retreating Orc we are engaged by more in a corridor. I retreat to the rear of the party, and peer from behind a corner, waiting for another opportunity to strike. It occurs to me that this may be a good opportunity to use my Sleep spell. Our party has taken some hits. However, if the number of opponents is manageable, I would prefer to save it in case we face a larger horde, where it will have the greatest use. Sidonia has already loosed her "Magic Missile" (felling an Orc in the process) and I do not want to waste our only remaining enchantment now, only to be later trapped in this godforsaken hole by an army of the foul creatures.

Suddenly I am aware of motion behind me. As I turn, I am struck by the hurled spear of the largest Orc I have ever seen, scowling at me from across the chamber! Fortunately for me, the damage is minimal and the pain is bearable. At first, the Orc chieftain appears ready to charge and tear me to bits. However, he sees that our party is hacking the last of his minions to the ground, and thinks better of engaging us. He turns and retreats, and we give chase through the maze of corridors, hurling missiles as we go. As I am unencumbered and fleet of foot, I know that I could probably catch him without too much difficulty and tackle him myself, but I elect to keep the pace of the slower members of my party. I have occasionally been accused of having excess bravado, but never excess stupidity!

The chieftain hurtles through the another passageway, and finally up a ladder into the darkness, taking the steps three at a time. I follow Krog up the ladder in pursuit, with dwarf behind me. Below, I see that Bingle and Sidonia have been attacked from behind by five female Orcs. Never have I been so glad to have a mighty Ranger taking up the rearguard. However, with Bingle engaged, we have a weaker force in pursuit of the chieftain, who has now burst through a trapdoor above and emerged into the starlight outdoors. We chase him eastward down the hillside, but he is fast. He may yet escape. Worse, he may turn and slaughter us. With that thought in mind, I finally decide to pull the trigger.

"Zzzzippity Zap, it's time for a Nap", I incant. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. The snores are audible from 40 yards away.

Never have I felled so powerful a creature with my magic. Later, when we come upon the gutted carcasses of unfortunate elves, hung as meat in the Orcish curing chamber, I will regret not having the privilege of slitting the beast's throat while he dozed. However, for now I am most satisfied. For now, we decide to bind the creature and Krog-gor ensures the knots are tight.

Although we don't know it yet, the rest is merely clean-up. The chieftain has a key, a scimitar, and some parchment with a map of the eastern mountains. It is inscripted with some markings and some sort of encrypted message. Later, we will find what appears to be a key to this encoded script. Re-uniting the party in the caverns below, we find valuable silks, boots, gold chains, rings, and fine clothing in the chieftain's locked chest. Wrapped in the silks is a chalice engraved with runes, later determined to have magical properties - questionable ones, at that. A false bottom reveals Potions of Orcish Healing. I take a chain, a ring, and a potion.

We map out the remainder of the cavern, and discuss our next steps. The Sphere-Chamber seems insurmountable right now, so we decide to return to Imperial Ward. But what to do with the Orc chieftain? Bingle settles the debate by driving his sword through the chieftain's heart.

Back at Imperial Ward, the party rests for a while, then takes some time for training and study. Sidonia and I use some of our spare time to exchange spells. I am entrusted with the task of decoding the encrypted map we obtained from the chieftain. I am cloistered in seclusion for a full week. This code is too complex to have been created by anyone of Orcish blood! Eventually, my mind is so pre-occupied with the matrices that the answer comes to me in a dream. The inscription reads: "Main force splits day before Mage's Day - 2/3 Imperial Ward and 1/3 Castle Xaceos".

Training complete, we decide to set out the next day, a stronger fighting force, to plunder another one of the Orc outposts noted on the map. Before leaving, we note the arrival of a caravan bearing the standard of Anarchy - it is the entourage of Chai Khon - a warlord on the fringe who calls himself "Master of Chaos". I scoff that his orderly, uniformed entourage gives lie to his self-proclaimed title. The thought of it - trying to "master" Chaos! I am sure that my deity Dou would be as amused as I am.

Our venture to the Orc outpost is shortlived. The cavern has been ransacked and deserted for many days, judging by the state of the carcasses inside. There are many others out hunting Orc, it seems. We even meet some of them - Elves led by one "Deltham". The area having been cleared, we return to Imperial Ward to rest and plan our next journey.