The attack breaks the Orc Scouts’ formation. Roots and arrow shafts hold the survivors against the fir-shadow while Eldred’s Woodmen secure the road and shield the wagons.
Eldred
Keep them breathing and keep the road clear. The northern and southern columns are closing around this ground.
One bark-marked Orc scout, a broad-shouldered adult male orc with gray-green skin, jutting tusks, coarse black hair, and battered dark leather armor lies apart from the others, pinned beneath living roots. A strip of marked bark protrudes from his satchel, scored with crossing signs and a pattern of signal strokes.
Orc Scout 1
You have stopped the road, not the host. The marks have already gone ahead.
Eldred strips the bark from the satchel and studies its crude pattern. Beyond the trees, answering horns sound once, then fall silent as allied banners appear between the firs.
Eldred
This shows the crossings we tested and a signal meant for their larger force. We can question him, or turn this evidence into a new order before the columns converge.
The prisoners remain bound, the marked bark rests in Eldred’s hand, and the allied columns draw nearer. The next decision belongs to Tuiwen.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what force the Orc signal summoned
“"You question them. I'll try to locate the larger force before it can strike."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Perception, rolled +1)
Tuiwen
Where is the larger force gathering, and when will it strike?
Orc Scout 1
South of the road, beneath the broken ridge. They strike when the wagons pass the old stones.
The bark-marked Orc scout's answer aligns with the crossing marks. Tuiwen turns from the prisoner and lets her sight travel beyond the firs, reading disturbed fern, ash, and hidden movement.
Tuiwen
The force is south of the road, already positioned beneath the broken ridge.
Her perception reaches past the false trails and finds the gathering force: Orc Scouts and trained beasts concealed beneath the broken ridge, with signal runners posted along the old stones.
Eldred
You have found them. I will hold the prisoners and redirect the Woodmen Guards before that force reaches the wagons.
Eldred signals the Woodmen Guards toward the southern verge. The Allied Columns receive the warning through the living network, and the hidden force is located before it can strike.
Quest Complete
Learn what force the Orc signal summoned