Trouble under Rubble

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...
:)