Overhead, the enormous dragon skull swings unsteadily on its
insufficient copper moorings. It’s intact despite the hack marks still
apparent from Volkon’s earlier attempts to destroy it during the battle.
Including those returned from pursuing the Drow, Death
worshippers and Black-cloaks, there are now about thirty elite orc warriors
standing with you in the gloom of the newly revealed sub-cavern. The natural
cave ceiling stretches hundreds of feet above you but sealed of from the orc
army by tons and tons of caved in rocks and boulders.
Bastien and Demitasse have used the majority of their
healing magics and their adventuring allies are all fully healed. The Orcs have benefitted also
but most still carry obvious injuries.
Nitendae looks to his fellow adventurers and subtly
indicates Thereanthor’s still intact skull hanging above them. They had sworn
to destroy it and that vow sits heavily in their chests.
It’ll be hours, possibly days before Clan Chief Obdurate’s
orcs manage to dig through the deliberate cave-in and the Half-Elf knows that no
amount of lying will prevent the wrath from his feelings of betrayal. As an odd
aside, Nitendae worries about the fates of the orcs that spoke for them.
Lugdum, Thumsk and Omoola.
Marlon stands with his beefy hand still on the hilt of his
magical War-hammer and Sereena stays close in his shadow. The young Sorceress’
eyes widen as she realises what you’re thinking and shakes her head, her raven
hair tossing in response.
The Yawning tunnel designed to drag the giant, lizard-like
skull away through, is your only obvious escape route but there are still other
choices…
Smash the skull before the evil axis launch a counter
attack? They broke ranks and fled when you killed Teela their Dragon disciple leader
but they still easily outnumbered you. What if they return before the Orcs dig
you out?
Perhaps you could persuade the surviving orcs to let you?
The look in their eyes makes you doubt it though. They are the last of the
elite orcan force who were charged with protecting the skull with their very
lives.
Clan Chief Obdurate would surely execute them all though
once he’d discovered their failure.
Although they outnumber you, thirty to seven and they are
all tough veterans, your skills, magic and armour make you confident you could
defeat them.
The only other option would be to leave Thereanthor’s skull
intact, the mission a failure and flee down the tunnels into the Underdark
itself!
You can think about this until the beginning of the next adventure...
:)
