With a faint rush of wind and a momentary feeling of disorientation and nausea Team Arda-Nuff materialises in front of a pair of barred gates (each gate consists of horizontal and vertical iron bars about 4 inches apart in a heavy wooden frame) that guard the entrance to a tunnel at the foot of a cliff. The gate is secured by a chain lock. The tunnel is dark and you see no signs of movement there but you faintly hear distant sounds from the tunnel that might be metal striking rock, rock banging against rock; it is obviously quite a long way away. The tunnel stretches into the cliff further than the 60 feet that darkvision can reach, although there is an opening or alcove on the right side about 40 feet from the gate.

It is a moonlit night and you can see the cliff stretching up high above you, further than the 60 feet your darkvision can see in detail. Behind you, you are able to see a two-storey stone building about 60 feet away, at the limit of your darkvision, and you can make out the silhouettes of several other buildings gathered in a group beyond it. You hear a rough orcish voice shout from that direction. It is difficult to make out the words at that distance but it was probably some sort of crude joke as several others laugh loudly in response.

OOC: Main game map updated. Everyone (except Arlein, of course) is heavily loaded at present with extra sacks, packs and bundles of loot that can be dropped as a free action if you need to move quickly.

Minmorc will point his spear at the gate and laugh. "Looks like dey ain't goin nowhere. Gunna go talk ter my cuzzins. " with that Minmorc will start walking towards the Orcish laughter.

Jurz looks at the gates, and he starts to frown.  "Dats not for keepings people out of a dwarves house.  Dat looks likes a prison for keeping people in." he says thinking aloud.  "What if dat's an orcses prison mine?" he asks with a note of concern in his voice.

"Hur, hur hur, yep looks like dat ter me! Must be a big boss in charge, can't wait ter meet im. And fellas, don't piss im off, some Orcs ain't as patient as me."

 "Ders gards up der! Youz wanta fightz wit dem? Wich wayz duz we go?"

 She looked around at the building behind them and the other buildings, especially where the guards are. She wondered if this was a friendly town or just an enemy stronghold.

 "Wer iz we? Iz dis a town or iz dis enemy plaze? Can wez sells our lootz here?"

"I'se don't feel good about dis ..." Jurz almost groans.  But then he never feels good in a town anyway.

Arlein defiantly sniffs, then wrinkles her nose, staring at the tunnel before slinking towards the wall.

The little goblin priest eyes the forbidding buildings and then what he is now fearfully certain is a slave mine.  With a deep foreboding, he raises the Magic Stick waiting to see which direction it suggests.

"Ise got a bad feelin' about dis," he echoes Jurz sentiment.

Much to Dregz's surprise, the black rod points straight upwards.

Dregz is surprised, nearly falling over as he tilts his head back to stare straight up, pointing the Magic Stick at the skies as if to convince himself that he's understanding what it, and thereby Bargrivyek is telling him, correctly.

"Der next bit iz up der," he announces, uncertainly.

Dregz is perhaps a little bit relieved that he can vaguely discern the darker mass of the cliff looming high in front and above him, stretching even higher than the 60ft height that his darkvision can make out.

 She looked confused, not understanding what was going on. The darkness was a bit disconcerting after the light they just left. She looked at the others to try to figure out what they was planning on doing.

 "Thez guardz, duz we wan to get em upsetz?"

Moffdust's gaze is drawn up the cliff where Dregz is pointing. "But we's cant gets up dere. So I is goin ter looks in here ter see what de dwarfses is doin." She takes a scroll and casts a spell to shrink herself to only 18 inches tall then slips through the bars and skips off into the dark of the tunnel with Cat flying on ahead like a bat.

"I'se can get up dere." Jurz says with a grin as he climbs off Rog.  "If'n I'se don't get back before dey come for you'se look after Rog for me." he says looking first at Dregz and then Moffa.  "You'se be a good boy and do what Dregz and Moffa says," he half croons, while standing really close to the riding dog's head.

With that, he steps back and changes into a large owl, before taking off and flying upwards.

Moffa shrinks down to half her normal goblin size (but still twice as big as Arlein the cat or Cat the bat) and squeezes through the bars of the gates to explore down the tunnel in the cliff  while Jurz surprises everyone by transforming into a large owl and flying up into the darkness.

 Looking up at the owl as he flew up, she saw him land, staring at something sticking out of the dirt. She looked over at Moffdust and asked her the question on her mind.

 "Wot he luking at? Dat a stik?"

Dregz relief at seeing an overhanging cliff above him instead of the sky is not altogether complete.  "I don' think it should stick out like dat," he mutters worriedly, sidling towards the base of the rock wall for safety.

With Moffa and Jurz pulling surprises of their own, the little goblin priest is happy to look after Rog the dog.  "Youse come over here," he asks Rog, thinking to protect the druid's steed from the dangerous cliff.

"Der Magic stick bit ?" Raven's comments do pique Dregz's interest and he risks looking back up again at Jurz.

"I don' think der guards wan' to upset Minmorc !" he replies belatedly to the Kenku's earlier concern.

"First Raven, den poor Jurzie ... soon we'll all be birds!"  Bulldust shakes his head.  He can think of nothing useful to do so he sits down by the gate and waits for Moffa and Jurz to come back.  He looks up where Raven is looking.  "Maybe its a worm.  Worms look like sticks when yer pull em out straight."  Thinking of bugs he remembers something and starts looking along the cliff for small bugs to catch.

With hardly a thought the Jurz Owl swoops in to grab the thing in his claws and try to pull it away from the cliff.

Dregz brushes his long hair away from his eyes and continues to watch, listening out for any informative hoots.

Minmorc will continue towards the Orcish laughter.

"Hey! Day ain't nuttin wrong wit birds! Birds be bestest! Awk!"

 She tried to think of ways to go help Jurz but she couldn't actually fly UP! And going above would likely get the guards alerted to their presence.

 "Needz rop trik er sumthin."

The Jurz-owl is 80 feet up the cliff, so he is out of sight of those with darkvision. Only Raven and Riza can see Jurz-owl land on the small object sticking out of the rock of the cliff wall. He grips it tightly in his claws and flaps his wings as though trying to break free but it remains firmly embedded in the rock.

Midget-Moffa turns the corner into the small alcove on the right hand side 40 feet down the tunnel and moves out of sight.

Minmorc walks over to the corner of the closest building where he can clearly see the western tower of the structure.

OOC: Main game map updated.

Failing to retrieve the disk, Jurz flies upwards again.

Minmorc will confidently stride 40ft South West.

Bulldust stands by waiting for the explorers to return or for Min to start a fight.  It would be funny if that was the magic stick just up there, so near yet so far.  He rattles at the chain lock on the gate to see if it is secure then holds out the lock for Raven or Riza to have a look, maybe they can pick the lock?

 fumbled around in her pack for her lock pick kit and attempted to open the rusty lock. She wasn't having a lot of success. She wondered if there was some oil in her pack.

21:16, Today: Raven rolled 13 using 1d20+10.  open lock.

Oopses sits down along the wall(west) as his party seems content to stand around.

Riza is non plussed as the group seem to wander about in different directions. Raven seems to have the right idea but looks to be having some trouble with the rusty lock. She steps up with her tools in hand Here let me try Raven, we probably got to head in this direction anyways and I want an escape path when Minmorc starts the fun

18:57, Today: Riza rolled 31 using 1d20+14.  Open lock.

 She let Riza have it with relief. She wasn't having any luck herself, not at all!

 "Youz got it! Youz da man! Err, da woman."

Minmorc continues on his walk to visit his cousins ('cause all orcs are family, right?)

Riza and Raven pick the lock on the chain that secures the two barred gates at the entrance to the tunnel in the cliff. They catch the lock and chain without a sound. The gates remain closed but look like they would be easy enough to open now.

Down in the tunnel Cat the bat flies away down the tunnel and out of sight in the distance. Shortly afterwards there is a very, very faint muffled thud (like something small and hard hitting something soft) from the side passage where Moffa has gone.

Those that can see him in the darkness (Raven and Riza in between taking turns picking the lock) see the Jurz-owl fly up to the top of the cliff and vanish from sight.

OOC: Main game map updated.

Bulldust opens the gate and moves down to the side passage to see what Moffa is doing.

Jurz turns and dives down the side of the mountain, screeching as he passes his companions  on his way to find Minmorc.

Oopses squeals and throws up his hands to protect him while scraunching down into his pack(s) as owl-jurz scream pierces the night above him.

"Oh! Wate! Let me oils dem hinges! Mite skweek!"

 She got out some oil and climbed up to oil the hinges.

"Okz, dat beter."

She listened to see if the gate squeaked and heard a thud from a distance.

"Wat dat sownd?"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:34, Tue 01 Nov 2016.

Minmorc will frown, sigh, turn around and head back to the rest of the party.

Arlein Darts into the tunnel and stares out with curious eyes like cats will.

The sound of the Jurz-Owl returning so noisily and at speed is of great concern to Dregz. "P'raps 'e thinks dat Minmorc is a mouse ?" the little goblin suggests, very tentatively, his gaze flicking between the buildings and the tunnel, fearing the response that might come from either direction.

 She ducked down at the sounds and the flight and thuds. She looked for a place to hide until she knew what was what, but only the bugbear seemed to provide something to hide behind. She quickly hopped/sidled over by Bulldust to use him as a hidey spot.

A tiny Moffdust pops out of the side passage off the tunnel to see what all the fuss and screeching is about. "Deres a doors here in dis passages. I got de keys out of its lockses, dats wot der 'clunks' was, hehehe. Hey Birdie Girls, can youse come ter dis doors an oils its hinges? An maybes youse can peeks in de keyholes ter sees if deres any dwarfses in dere? If deys looking straight back at youse through de keyholes... den pecks dem in dere eyeses, hehehe."

 She jumped a bit as Moffdust pops out from where ever she'd been. She hopped forward, looking at her with one eye, then the other as she considers going to help. It only took a few seconds, then she nodded.

 "Awk, Iz helpz wid whad I can. Showz me da way."

 She threw her head back and ruffled her feathers laughing at da peckin o da eyes. Heh heh. She liked Moff more alla time!

 She followed Moffdust, strutting along in her bird like walk, eyes swinging this way and that, checking out the area, even throwing an eye to the sky now and then, and eyeing the floor if something catches her eyes.

 "Leadz on MkDuffz!"

As he see's Minmorc returning Jurz banks around and flies back to the group.  When he lands he scratches around for  an area of loose earth that will allow him to draw with his claws.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:31, Thu 03 Nov 2016.

Riza follows Raven in but sticks close to the far side of the tunnel, with her bow drawn and a drow poison arrow selected she will square up with a clear shot once the door is opened.

OOC: To see what Jurz-owl scratches in the dirt, see the Game Map for Group M.

Bulldust marvels at the ease with which Riza picked to lock and how silently the gate swings after Raven oiled the hinges.  He was about to go on down the tunnel to see what Moffa was doing but then Jurz swooped down and started scratching in the dirt.  That is much too interesting and he has to go see.  "You girls have fun wiv da dwarfs in da tunnel, I'm gonna see wot da Jurzie-bird is scratching out ere."

He stoops down over the scratchings and applies logic.  "Ten hobgoblins wiv bows up on da cliff!  Ya can tell dey are hobs cos dey are smilin.  Its good ter be a gob, an der bigger da better.  If dey was bugs dey would be laughin.  An deres somefing else up dere wiv em.  Its not a bug cos den da hobs wouldn't be smilin.  An four of em have spears?  One scratch fer 'yes', cross it fer 'no', or circle for 'you know nuffing Bully'.  Or is dey coming down ter talk wiv Min?  Is dere any way ter get up dere Jurzie?  Any stairs or somefing?"

Jurz scratches a cross and shakes his head, moving it almost round in a full circle when bully asks his first question and then shakes his head again when he asks about a way up there.

Dregz joins Bully in staring at the rough map, nodding his head in agreement at the bugbear's interpretation and then shaking it in firm denial as he sees Jurz-owl's response.

"More dan ten of dem wid bows ?" the priest suggests, pointing a finger at the question mark, "an' ... an' ... four of dem headin' down here, mebbee ?" he sounds very uncertain at this leap of faith.

Jurz-owl swivels his head up and down at Dregz's first guess and swivels side to side at his second.

OOC:don't you just love 20 questions  :)

"Dese four arrow marks Jurzie-bird... does dey mean more people?  Or does dey mean somefing else?"  Bulldust thinks hard and tries to narrow down the options.

 Follows Moffdust and does whatever she does.

Jurz scratches around in the dirt a bit more.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:55, Sun 06 Nov 2016.

OOC: To see Jurz-owl's revised scratches in the dirt, see the Game Map for Group M.

"Dat looks like someone's shootin' arrows down at ..." Dregz suddenly breaks off his study of the Jurz-owl drawings to look fixedly ahead, not even daring to look up, nor bothering to hang around to see if that interpretation merits a nod or a shake.

"RUN !" he calls out the warning, taking his own advice and hurriedly heading towards the open tunnel gate.

Jurz owl nods once, and then touches the tip of his wing to his beak, before stepping into the tunnel after Dregz.

Minmorc will rejoin the party. While he stows his bow and great spear in his haversack he will carefully study the parties aerial surveillance. Showing his vast tactical acumen Minmorc will point out "pffft, is all gud, all der archers is scared of us and is throwing demselves off der cliff. A dwarf is gunna see der boss at sun up so ise gunna ave sum fun til den. Yer gunna stand ere all night or wot?" Minmorc will draw his great axe and head into the tunnel.

Riza and Raven open the gates at the entrance to the tunnel and manage to do it silently, thanks to Raven's generous oiling of the hinges. Midget Moffa calls softly from down the tunnel and Raven and Riza head down the tunnel to help her with the door she has found down there. Ironically, it is quite dark in the tunnel by the time they travel the 40 feet to where Moffa is, so they can't really see well enough to help anyway, except to lift Moffa up to the keyhole so she can peek through to see what is on the other side.

Meanwhile Jurz-owl has flown back down the cliff screeching in warning. He swoops after Minmorc and quickly turns him round to hustle back to the tunnel entrance. Jurz lands among the crowd at the gates and scratches a rough diagram in the dirt. Finally the message starts to get through and something about the thought of a squad of archers up at the top of the cliff raining arrows down on them sets Team Arda-Nuff scurrying for the tunnel.

OOC: Main game map updated.

 She held Moffdust up to the keyhole, really unable to see more than the very faintest ghost of Moff, from the far far away source of light coming from the gates way back. She didn't know if Moff could see anything at all unless there was light coming through the keyhole. If there was, she couldn't see it for Moffdust's head in the way.

 "Wat you see?"

No light shines through the keyhole, so the room beyond it must be in darkness.

Bulldust grins as Jurz scratches his likeness in the dirt - obviously the tall one with the cool hair.  When the arrows are drawn in and the message is all too clear he flinches and looks up into the darkness expecting arrows to suddenly materialise at the limit of his darkvision.  Who he looks back down Dregz has already left.  He shuffles his taloned feet expecting the owl to say 'made yer look!'  He hurries into the tunnel after the others and silently swings the gate closed.  The owl can find its own way in.

"Jus a rooms wid a big tables an two zombieses standing by another doors at de far sides. I has de keys so lets us go in an say boo!" She pokes a key into the lock and turns it, then squirms for Raven to put her down so she can push open the door.

 "Wot?! Wate! Zom-bees? Awk!"

 Drops Moffdust and backs way up...way way way up. Zom-bees were nasty creatures! She armed herself but considered running away.

 "Don get bit!"

Wa hey, Zombies! Minmorc will make his way to the action as fast as he can.

"Dese zombies will cower before Bargrivyek's power ..." Dregz manages before Minmorc races off.  The little priest shrugs.  Zombies might well bow to the sign of his god, but they'll probably fall over themselves to get away from Minmorc !

With a sigh he heads after the big Orc.

Tiny Moffdust bounces when Raven drops her and suddenly pops back up to her full towering 3' tall. "Nah! Zombies doesn't bites, dey jus pulls yer legses off." She pushes the door open when she hears Min hustling along the tunnel. "Dey can pull off de orcs legses first!" If she has time she will cast a spell on herself from a scroll - Mage Armour.

 "Awk! Ya be sure? Me legz be fragle, breakz eazy! Iz liken me legzes jus fin!"

 She looked through the door, turning first one eye then the other to look inside. She stepped hopped forward with a hesitant pause until she can get a look at what's inside.

Raven and Riza can't see anything in the tunnel or the room, because it is too dark. Moffa can't read from a scroll without light either (that is one of the limitations of darkvision).

 She backs out then kneels to dig in her pack for flint and steel searching by feel. When she finds it she pulls out a torch and tries to get a spark to take to light her torch. Then she remembers her rapier sometimes shined like a light. She dumped the other stuff back into her pack and drew the blade instead after warning Moffdust.

 "Clos yer eyes Moffie."
 She draws it and waves it around so she can see what's around them.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:49, Sat 12 Nov 2016.

As soon as the door is unlocked and pushed open, both of the zombies reach out one of their arms and knock loudly on the inner door where they are standing guard.

Bulldust hurries with Minmorc down the tunnel.  As he goes he asks "Wot did yer see in dat castle Min?"

OOC: GM, how high are the ceilings please? Wondering whether its a good time to big it up nor not.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:48, Sat 12 Nov 2016.

The entrance tunnel is 10ft wide and 10ft high.
The side tunnel is 5ft wide by 8ft high.
The room off the side tunnel is 10ft high.

"Thanks Birdie Girl."  By the light of Raven's sword Moffdust can complete her scroll spell. "Dey is very polite dese zombieses, perhaps dey is zombie butlers. She must be a grand ladies in dere past dose doors, perhaps another queens."

 She laughs with good humor at Moffy's comments about butlers and grand lady zombies. It was an amusing thought.

 "Herk herk herk! Funy!"

"I knew it, der butler did it, its alwayz der butler. Looks like Orcs is runnin der show, I heard em tellin sum stooopid bloody Dwarf ter come back an see der boss at sun up, which is weird so I wanna know wot der boss is. And... wots a butler?"

Riza unshutters her red cap lantern to let her see. The knocking on the door concerns her enough to wait to see who opens the doorbbefore firing

Still in Owl form Jurz lurks at the back, swivelling his head around as far as it can go one way and then as far as it can go the other way.  While it is new and weird to be able to do that  - it is also quite good fun (at the moment) and a good way of keeping watch all the way around.

"Butler, butler ..." Dregz ponders Minmorc's question.  "Isn't dat what der humies spread on der bread ?  Suppose it mus' taste good."

"My old boss new dis Ogre wot said ter a bunch a humies dat he would squeeze der jelly from dere eyes, dat it woz quite good on toast. Mebbe dey woz all butlers too."

"More orcs?"  Bulldust pails at the mention as he follows the orc down the tunnel.  "I only know one orc Min, an dats you.  An youre a murderin psycopaff wot can kill us all even wiv one leg chewed off by a zombie butler!  Is dey all like you?"  He readies his flail and looks around nervously, trying not to screw his head right off like an owl.

"Most Orcs ain't near as big as me, summa der bosses is bigger an meaner. I jus got lucky, looks like dis new nuffle god wants me ter get stronger an gives me magic ter doz it. I only ever knowed one udder Orc wid magic, my tribes shaman, an ee woz nuts, dancin an smoking an wailin, ee even did *shudder* maths."

After Moffa opens the door, the zombies bang on the inner door, Raven and Riza light the tunnels up with glowing rapier and red cap lantern, and everyone else has time to gather outside the door like guests arriving for a party. Even Moffa's little bat returns from his exploration of the tunnel.

Incredible as it might seem, some rules of social etiquette are almost universally understood. When guests arrive and the butler knocks on the door to announce their arrival, everyone waits to be invited in. Even evil humanoids. Even Team Arda-Nuff. Even if the butlers are a pair of zombies.

The long seconds drag on and a few feet start shuffling uncertainly until, at last, the inner door opens. A skeleton in a frayed brown robe walks out to stand in front of one of the zombies, followed by a heavily armoured orc. The orc wears ornate half-plate armour and carries a beautifully crafted greataxe.  The black cape he wears does add a bit more to the air of menace he exudes and his choice of jewellery (a silver amulet with a stylised face that seems all hair and teeth) is anything but reassuring.

The orc stops at the doorway flanked by the two zombie butlers. He scowls as he sizes up the mismatched bunch of new arrivals waiting to see him but he does seem interested to see at least one orc and a bugbear among their number.

"Alright, you've certainly got balls if you're brave enough to come knocking at my door when the gate is closed. I’ll grant you that. So what makes you think you are worthy to join the army of Kurjan Sawtooth, eh?" he asks with a sneer.

OOC: Main game map updated.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:00, Tue 15 Nov 2016.

"Awk! Army? Wat army? Me thout wez invited to dinerz. Herk herk!"

 She sidles behind the bigger members of their group though, just a bit, huddling into her cloak a bit.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:18, Wed 16 Nov 2016.

Minmorc will reach out with one hand and gently pick up Moffdust, placing her behind him as he moves to stand at the head of the table. With a shrug he will dump the sacks of armour and will place his great axe head down on the table, hands resting on the top of the handle. "We is team Ardanuff, we killed elves, gnolls, dwarves, ogres, anyfing wot said we should bow we been strong enuff ter take em down. We got the gods wid us so tell us, is yer army worthy o the favor o the gods, or was we brought ere ter take yer down too?"

 Oopses fiddles with his pack trying to get it to ride evenly while he was it's at the back, shiver a bit when minmorc returns threats.

Jurz has had enough of being an owl.  Twisting his head round and round is starting to make him a bit dizzy and it is getting boring too.  So he changes back to his normal shape and he strolls forwards,  "And I supposes youse knowses about de elveses?" he adds to Mimmorc's comment.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:59, Wed 16 Nov 2016.

Riza lets Minmorc take the attention of the big Orc, she tries to calm down Raven but keeps her bow out with the drow poison arrow ready to fire. She did not think it useful for the skeleton but she might find it useful on the big Orc...even if to just make him angry. She also checks on a small vial in her pouch. She might get to have some fun depending on how this turns out.

The skeleton in the robe is always a bad sign, the moreso that he seems to be recruiting ... and that there's probably an army (or two - where there's one, it seems inevitable that another will front up to the fray) somewhere in the vicinity.

But in his favour ... "Wese got balls .. e' knows about Wilson !" the little goblin priest brings the matter to Minmorc's urgent attention.

The heavily armoured orc takes a step forward to the far end of the table and matches Minmorc's stance exactly.

"I don't need your gods, red orc. I've already got my own god. Wee Jas watches over me for as long as I serve her, and I will build my army in her name and no other. I have orcs, ogres and undead serving me. What do you have? Just goblins and a few strays, by the look of it. But I will give you a chance to be part of something greater than you ever dreamed. Join my army and watch how quickly our power grows!"

He gets quite passionate about that whole idea as his recruiting speech draws to a close. After that he looks again at Minmorc and asks, "Why is your armour painted red like that anyway? What are you supposed to be? Number one bloody target?"

Finally something that Jurz had said registers and he looks at the little goblin druid as though noticing him for the first time.

"What carking elves?" he snarls at Jurz.

 She looks around the big guy as he lifts Moffdust to safety, putting first one birdy eye then the other to look at the meet and greet going on. It was not the funnest meeting ever, but she was curious. She took a chance now and then to look behind as well in case some sneaky business was going on.

 "Who Wee Jaz? Does we know him?" She asks Moffdust.

"Dis lot ain't my followers, dey my team. My god is Nuffle an he cares nuffin fer armies, he don't even care if yer follow anudder god. His temple is der arena, he cares only fer der game an dat while der game is on yer follow der game an nuffin else. Der red armour? Red is my colour and I am der first ever player of der game. Now, if yer champions were to play der game der rewards will be bigger den yer can dream but right now Nuffle is tellin me dat I needs ter talk to der guy in der castle. Who is he? Wot would make him play der game?"

"Der elves I drew der picture of.  Maybes dey will make him play der game?" Jurz says trying to prompt Min without giving too much away.

"Aaaaah, doze elves, I tought yer was drawing goblins. Was a good picture den, don't fink dis cleric knows about it or needs ter if dis gets ugly... Der fella in der castle might wanna know..." Minmorc will let the statement hang in the air, unsubtly making subtle glances at the cleric of Wee Jas.

Alrein stretches, and rubs against Jurz's legs as she saunters further down the tunnel.

"Elfs...?" Bulldust is also surprised and interested.  "I've been prayin for elfs, now Bargriefyuk has granted us some.  Lets go kill em.  Min, ask im if deres a way ter get up dere wivout turnin into owls."

When Min puts her down Moffdust mutters her opinion of the orc's offer for those close to hear "Eeewww! Yuk. I doesn't likes Wee Jazzes. Wheres de funs in bein told whats ter do an marchin around dead like a zombies? I likes chaos an bein alive! So I doesn't wants ter joins dis orcs."

 "Wat she sez! don wan be tol wat to doz."

 She backed up Moffdusts opinion with her own. One thing to do what her friends wanted, cause they wanted what she wanted. Wasn't gonna be no slave military fer Wee Jas!

Dregz shakes his head at the way this exchange is going.  Blunt honesty isn't something he considers a survival trait around the Dark Overlord of the Undead Horde.

"P'raps we can kill der Elves an' den talk about it ?" he offers with a hope verging on blind optimism.  Personally he's prepared to tell the robed skeleton any lie that will let him recover the next bit of the Magic Stick for his god and keep his tribe safe.

The orc cleric listens to the debate and demands being thrown at him and just scowls at the unsympathetic reception from some at the mention of Wee Jas. The talk of elves seems to be nothing more than something dreamed by a bugbear and drawn by a goblin so he doesn't seem to be paying much attention to that anymore.

"Alright then, if you want to go to the fort to talk to the boss, then so be it. I don't want you for undead servants of Wee Jas anyway. But perhaps you could still be useful in the Army of Kurjan Sawtooth. Very well, let's go there now and see if you deserve it."

He ushers everyone back out into the tunnel then turns and instructs the zombies and skeleton, "Don't let anyone enter until I return."

He pulls the door closed but stops when he notices the key is not in the lock.

"Alright, who has taken the key? Hand it over, right now!" he demands.

OOC: Main game map updated.

"I has de keys yer Lawfulnesses." Moffdust hands over the door key indignantly and gives the orc a piece of her mind "Youse should put up a sign posts if youse doesn't wants us snoopin in ter find out whose behind de doorses. Wes not heard of dis Kurjan Sawtooths. Yer posts could points to Sawtooths armies, Wee Jazzers dead peoples, elvses. " She points her arms out like a short sign post and looks up for the last one. When they get outside she hangs back expecting a shower of arrows to fall on the leaders.

Minmorc will leave his sacks of armour in the room with the table and will follow the Wee Orc. "Dis Kurgan Sawtooth, wots he like, he an Orc boss or he sumthin else?"

"Ker-jan."  Bulldust corrects Minmorc's pronunciation.  "Yer dont wanna piss im off by saying is name wrong, specially if e's already got a sore toof."

He follows suit and leaves his heavy sack in the room, but keeps his magic bag with him.

Jurz climbs up on Rog and takes his accustomed place at the back of the group as they traipse out towards the fort.  For a while he swings his new cudgel about as if he is bored, or just getting the feel of it, before resting it across his knee.

"Wes'll be back for dose ..." he says to no on in particular, nodding towards the sacks the bigs have left behind.

The heavily armoured orcish cleric takes the key from Moffdust without a word (but without a snarl either) and locks the door then shepherds everyone back to the gates. Again he waits for everyone to go outside then follows them and begins to pull the gates shut behind him, obviously intending to lock the gates behind him as well.

Everyone gathered just outside the gates are sheltered from sight of the top of the cliff. Raven and Riza put away the glowing rapier and redcap low light lantern as they reach the gates because their is enough moonlight for the kenku and lizardgirl to see clearly outside without any light source. Raven and Riza can't see the top of the cliff from the tunnel entrance because of a slight overhang of the cliff above the tunnel entrance. No one else can see far enough at night to see the top of the cliff anyway.

On the way the orc cleric is happy to answer Minmorc and Bulldust's questions, although he doesn't seem to take much notice of the goblins and the rest of the menagerie accompanying them.

"Kurjan Sawtooth. Sawtooth, like the teeth of a saw. Nothing can stop him. Eventually he will cut through anything. He is an orc, a mighty orc destined for greatness and glory. Already more than two dozen orcs have flocked to his banner, and not just any orcs. They are all battle-hardened fighters, every one of them, as tough as iron. They see the glorious future that lies ahead for the Army of Kurjan Sawtooth. Soon you too will see the truth and then you too will understand what Kurjan Sawtooth can offer those who will join him."

"Oooooo." Bulldust is a little intimidated at the thought of fighting so many orcs like Min. Or worse, they might get all the elves before he can get any!  He follows sullenly, frequently glancing up and watching for arrows.

Moffdust loiters just outside the gate, still under the protection of the overhanging cliff, and watches to see what happens as the orc leads off across the open space towards the castle.

 She stops and loiters with Moffdust too, just watching the men folks follow along with the others. She looked at Moffdust and shrugs cloak to settle better over her feathered arms. She couldn't see much from where they were except those crossing to the castle.

 "Wat we gonna doez Moffy? We gonna eyeball em or we gonna hidez in cas dey needz reskuin latron?"

Riza stops momentarily with Raven and moffdust Hidesss if you wantss to. I'm going hunting

With that she moves out to the fringes of the walking party and blends in with the shadows.

Moffdust nods vigorously at Raven and replies quietly so the orc cleric won't hear "Yes dats just what I's goin, waiting heres ter sees who needs de rescues." She adds something in goblin tongue for Jurz and Dregz to hear.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 12:59, Thu 24 Nov 2016.

 She followed Moffdust's example and just kept watching. She tried to be as quiet as possible. When Moffdust asked about what to do, she looked to Jurz and Dregz to see what they suggested.

 "Wat youz sayz? I helps youz wateverz you duz."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:21, Fri 25 Nov 2016.

Just for a moment Jurz turns and looks over his shoulder at Moffa and Raven.

The orc cleric waits until everyone is out of the tunnel then closes and locks the gates again with the original chain and lock. He has the key for the lock on a cord around his neck. Then he leads the way across the open area to a small gate set in the wall of the fort. Nothing nasty happens to him on the way there, nor is there a sudden downpour of arrows raining on anyone else who accompanied him.

So, who is going to the fort? Is anyone staying back by the (closed and locked) gate?

Minmorc will go with the Wee cleric, he's keen to meet Sawtooth.

Dregz shares Bully's reluctance to fight a whole platoon of big orcs ... indeed he's not at all keen on even meeting them, lest bad things happen.  Nor can he see how that will get him closer to the bit of the Magic Stick which is to be found somewhere on the cliffs above.

Nodding to Moffa, the little goblin steps into the shadows, hoping the Dark One will not miss him.

Jurz nods at the decision of the other goblins, but knows that mounted on Rog he won't just be able to slip into the darkness like the others.  Instead he maintains a steady pace  behind Minmorc and Bulldust as he follows the cleric towards the castle.

Moffdust stands in the shadows near the gate with Raven and Dregz.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:49, Sat 26 Nov 2016.

Riza continues to shadow the group following the cleric. she will move in close to make sure she gets into the fort with the group. But will then go back to hiding where she can and following and observing as much as she can

 She nodded her head up and down then bent to work on the lock again. She worked the tools in the lock until it clicked softly.

Moffdust grins toothily at the soft click and quickly pulls away the chain and swings the gate open silently on its well-oiled hinges. She sneaks off into the tunnel back to the side passage with the locked door to the zombie room.

When he's sure the Dark One isn't looking, Dregz follows Moffa and Raven.

She unlocked the locks and relocked the ones she is asked to relock, as she followed along behind the others.

Moffdust hops from foot to foot and claps her handses with excitement.

Dregz is rather more reserved ...

Moffdust stares at Dregz wide eyed in horror!

Oopses looks around and quickly realizes he is alone with the bigguns, and proceed to be as quiet as possible to avoid their notice.

Bulldust stays on alert and sniffs the air as he follows the orcs into the castle.  Can he smell anything other than orc ... and Oopses, Jurz and Rog?

 She went with Moffdust but isn't sure what she has in store for the dead things. She hopes her wand can take care of them things!

 "Iz gotz yur back Moffy."

Dregz recoils !

The orc cleric headed off into the darkness toward the fort with Minmorc, Bulldust, Jurz riding Rog, Riza and Oopses tagging along behind.

Moffdust, Raven and Dregz stay quietly at the gate and as soon as the orc cleric is out of sight Raven picks the lock on the gate and they slip inside the tunnel again, chaining and locking the gate again behind them.

OOC: Separate threads created for the two groups.

 She hopes she isn't locking them IN with danger!