Volkon and the orcs - part 2

Volkon wasted no time and organised the men to strike at first light - when the orc band was exhausted from a night carousing and raiding.  Two men were stationed above the encampment with tangled balls of briar held together with pitch ready to release them aflame into the heart of the encampment.

The orcs had organised themselves so they could only be attacked head on, but that would also be the only exit for them when their camp was on fire. Ahead of the camp was undergrowth and bushes to either side of a good path. Volkon encanted an enchantment on the plants to rise up and entangle any that should try to pass.  He stationed the men with spears and slings ready for their sitting prey.  Hidden from sight, Greyclaw and Volkon, with his club in hand, were ready to receive any that should make it through the plants in front.

Finally he gave the signal - the plaintive howl of the wolf - and the fun began.

They say any plan does not survive contact with the enemy, but this was so simple it couldn’t fail. It relied on setting the camp alight, and that part went well; before long the camp was blazing and the orcs were running.  They hurtled panicked into the entangled briars and death rained down upon them as sling bullets and spears. But, of course, there were too many. And quickly they found routes around the patch. Soon this was a fight hand to hand, and Volkon would have to rely on the fighting spirit of oppressed farmhands.

Greyclaw herded the the stragglers like sheep and pushed them back towards the killing grounds.  But, like rabid rats, they just kept coming and coming.  Volkon and the men were becoming overwhelmed.  As he stared defeat in the face, he wondered if he had done the right thing. Not just here in this battle, but in leaving his home in the first place.  He should be in the grotto learning the ways of the creatures and plants of the woodland not out here facing death at the hands of these stinking creatures.

... more soon ...