"I'd offer tea, but someone shot my teapot!"

Thamkis watched the orcs with a withering glare, the kind of disapproval only a true old lady could muster.

"A spot of tea would be nice." An Orc scout said. "But don't go to any bother on our account."

"Shut it, Borrs, we has no words for these ones." The other replied in anger. "You'll get nothing from us. Nothing I tells you. So, go on then, rip our nails. See if we cares."

In reply to GM (msg # 123):

Barg stopped his circling at the suggestion, standing up behind the orc

"Okay!"

Barg leaned across the orc who'd encouraged nail ripping from behind, putting his weight down on the warrior's back and reaching for the warrior's fingers, a difficult prospect but one which Barg seemed determined and gleeful to help with.

"Of all fingers, Barg like's lady's and fish's most, but orc fingers can make necklace!"

OOC: as I don't think we're in the market for cold-blooded torture, putting some road blocks in Barg's way as he's otherwise likely too fast and strong for the party to tell him off before he'd snap a finger

"Wait, wait, get that runt offa me!" The Orc shouted. "That's me bow fingers. An Orc's gotta hunt. Torture him, Borrs is soft in da noggin anyway."

The other Orc laughed for second, then realized he as the object of his companions words. A nasty look came over the Orc's face like he wanted to do unspeakably vile things to his companion.

"No torture." Brengalyn said in orcish before continuing in Common

"Torture's pointless, I think you'll find. Messy and mostly done to please the torturer rather than get information. We don't have time to isolate you, starve you and that like, so instead I think we'll help you. For a price. We'll spare you in exchange for information you might know about a merchant caravan nearby. We seek it for our own purposes. If you have information, you go free. If you can guide us to it, we might be able to spare you food and goods."

"Bah, you lie. You are no more than a race traitor." The angry Orc said. "Riding with night witches, pixie lovers, and miscreant gobos. To the grave with you I say."

The other Orc scout was still staring hatred at his companion over the torture remarks. Without warning he suddenly craned his neck and bit off half the angry scout's ear.

"Ah, damn you. What was that?" The half ear shouted.

"Tellin them to torture me." The bloody mouth Orc said. "I don't know nothin about no caravan, just them wagons up the road. They ain't even anything to us. We's got orders to let'em through. Spose to find the fighters of that camp, the mercenaries."

Penny was slow on the take with Barg, she wasn't able to stop the goblin but when the orc bit the other she smacked him with her feeble strength and then the other "Stop that! Thats no way to treat your fellow warrior, either of you!" She took out a hanky and wiped the orcs mouth of blood, then used the same one to stop the bleeding from the others ear. "Now are you going to behave? There are worse tricks the fey can play on you then that believe you me! Don't make me ask them."

"Wagons is what we're looking for, so you're already helping."

Brena smiled, crossing her arms

"Orders from who?"

The bit ear Orc scout shouted at his companion, though he was only a foot or say away, saying, "Don't tell them. You know what Boldfrog will do to us if you tell them who he is!"

The other Orc scout nodded, his face turned from a deep wart green to a paler nauseated green. He looked from his tattered ear companion to Brengalyn and said, "We's ain't telling you a thing. Boldfrog will skin us and eat us for sure."

Boldfrog Gorsh! It was known name. So was Boldfrog the Slayer, Killa Gorsh, and the Grim Blade. He had been leading warbands and raiders for nearly twenty years. Few Orcs had been as successful, as merciless, or as terrible with money as Boldfrog Gorsh.

Brengalyn smiled.

"So our issue is with Boldfrog Gorsh?"

"How would I know?" The Orc scout with the bitten ear said. "We just follows the orders we git. And Boldfrog gives tha orders. And he pays in gold. You gotta a mercanary's look, you know the game. Them that pays are tha ones that gives tha orders."

"We was just scouting the road. Trackin tha wagons from that trapper's camp." The other one said. He seemed much more agreeable now. "We don't got orders to kill to no one unless theys interfiguring, uh, introducin, oh, unless theys could stop us from taking them wagons of furs."

In reply to GM (msg # 132):

"You made a VERY big mistake! You shoot at Barg!"

Barg scampered up on the bit ear orc's back, licking his thin lips

"The Boldfrog is strong, yes?"

His eyes gleamed

"InterFERing."

Thamkis dug into her pockets to produce a bag of sand and carefully poured some into her palm

"I've a pinch of sleeping powder here, and if you don't start cooperating I'll knock you asleep and leave you here for the wolves."

"If you know mercenary work, you know that them that pay also can be outbought. But what do you do when you're jumping camps, hm? You help the new boss take down the old."

Brengalyn looked at her companions

"Seems you two could use some resources and a group who never seen you, is what I hear."

"You can't beat Boldfrog, little Gobo." The angry Orc was angry again. Barg wasn't sure why but he had sneaky suspicion he preferred working for Boldfrog, a male, over Brengalyn, who was female and had the scout at an estremely humiliating disadvantage.

"I don't want to be eaten by them growlers. The wolves in these woods is nearly imbisibble at night." The other scout said. He seemed oblivious, or simply ignored, the other scout's words to Barg. "Grays they is. And sneakish like ghost."

After a few seconds the calmer of the two finally looked at the angry one and said, "You know, you been upset this whole campaign. What with your naggin wife back home, them debts you awes to Master Althis, and always complainin that we don't get to eat enough even tho we kills so many. Maybe the she Orc got a better offer."

Penny tilted her head, "She-orc? Is she pretty? tell me about her?" She went to her bag and produced some trail rations, offering each orc some food. "What type of offer?

"Tanks." The Orc smiled, he had forgotten all about his bitten ear. "She was a smart one, bein' a Druid an all. Left five days ago. Went east. Said she would pay gold for service, wanted to tame them wild lands to the east. Bah, that is dangerous work. A lot of critters live in those woods."

He sidled up on one side, "Could you cut me hands loose. That bag of rations is calling to me."

Brengalyn looked over at the bag of rations and walked to it, taking a piece of dried gnomish mushroom in hand and holding it in front of the orc's face

"Reach for it, we weren't born yesterday."

"Oh, she-orc is a druid? Barg shall test her strength too! Or get her and Boldfrog to make team, beat both at once! Barg will be very strong if he defeats two at once."

Barg took out his own rations, gnawing on a large smoked cricket the size of a rat.

"Barg is strong though, and he will not be mad for orcs insulting the tall woman. She is able to handle weak little orcs."

Thamkis scoffed at all the back and forth, shaking her head and going off to the wagon. Once there she took out a small handful of grains from one of her packs, and chewing them before swallowing and letting out a low whistle and warble

OOC: commune with birds, what do the birds in the area have to say about the general situation? Orcs, troops movements, possibly a weird druid?

The Orcs stretched their necks and ate like goats reaching for fresh grass through the rails of a fence. It would have been comical if it weren't for the fact that they were scouts for an army.

Thamkis conversed melodiously with the birds. It took a moment for the others to realize. But it became clear after a few minutes. She was surprised to learn that there was an encampment of over a hundred orcs riding big dogs less than a mile from where she stood. Just follow the stream to towards the sunset.

"Quiyaergo"

Thamkis waved a hand, a dark pall falling on one orc, then the other

OOC: Slumber hex, DC 16, should knock them out for three rounds once successful. I can do this all day though.

"Orcs less than a mile out. Across a stream to the west."

Thamkis sang her thanks in the tongue of birds before letting the spell wither away.

"These two will need dealing with . . . "

She pointed to a nearby tree

"We should leave them."

OCC: that was slick thamkis.

Brengalyn wasted no time hefting and moving the orcs as Thamkis ensorceled them to sleep, putting them behind a tree.

Frankly she was concerned the halfling would suggest killing them, which would bring its own problems. Out here, even a hidden dead body attracted animals. A live one simply stunk.

"So I assume we should probably either skirt the orc camp, or confront them with an eye towards driving them off . . . "

She looked at Barg, wary of his bloodlust

"I vote we try to avoid them. It's outside the contract we negotiated."

In reply to Brengalyn (msg # 145):

"Barg can fight! Barg will defeat all!"

Barg pouted at the prospect of avoiding fighting, but his eyes brightened

"We find camp, employer is happy! Then Barg can fight orcs, as a treat?"