| The former prisoners almost literally stumble across an orcen unit
preparing to dig in to ambush some Aquilarian troops. Since the orcs lack
radio communications, they do not yet know that their leader and shaman
have been incapacitated and that the former dwarves have defected. [9566]
The last they heard, their side was winning, so they are still a motivated
and well-disciplined force (by orcen standards, if not by human ones).
From the way that the orcs are concealing themselves beside the road,
which here leads through a valley with thickly wooded slopes, it is obvious
that they intend to ambush someone, though of course the adventurers don't
know who. Nor do they realise that these orcs are not allied to the ones
they escaped from. Luckily the adventurers' combination of magic and stealth
has prevented the orcs from detecting them. They draw back a little and
debate what to do. There are too many orcs for the adventurers to take
them on in open combat. This is fortunate, because the orcs have rifles
and the adventurers do not know that these are deadly weapons. Indeed,
they don't know what the metal tubes are for at all.
Our heroes come up with three options. They could simply go on their
way, and leave the orcs' intended victims to their fate. They are naturally
reluctant to do this. Or they could try to somehow warn them about the
ambush. Or they could try to find some way of taking on the orcs that doesn't
involve head-to-head combat.
Meanwhile, some distance away a rescue party from Aquilaria [9478] and
led by Probe has been landed from the air - since the distance involved
would have been too great overland even had there not still been fighting
going on. That the prisoners have escaped is unknown to them, for the combination
of unicorn magic and the counter-tracking skills of some of the others
has done its job.
Probe's party is met by the undercover Alliance soldier, one of Probe's
own people, who had first reported the analogs' capture and with whom Murt
has been in contact. [9566] They make their way to the spot a few miles
from the dwarves' HQ where they have agreed that the negotiations for the
prisoners' release will take place.
Murt knows he is in big trouble. His bargaining counters have somehow
escaped, leaving several orcen bodies as the only evidence that they were
there.
-
 He and his
ex-dwarves have the three options of fighting, fleeing or of somehow hoodwinking
Probe and co. (A fourth option, telling the truth, doesn't even occur to
him.)
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