Alt Much?

*sigh*
Burning out. Going to try again tomorrow. Maybe I’ll be more inspired.

D9 Goal: 15000
Word Count: 11420
76% of Target

******************

The four troopers looked at each other and savored the irony of the last few passages. They were in almost the exact same predicament and possibly faced having to choose the same course of action. Normally facing a squad size group of orks wouldn’t pose much of a problem since they would be disorganized at best. But, while the Demi didn’t quite surround the encampment it wouldn’t take long for them to summon reinforcements. They would have to move soon but in the darkness the Demi would have the advantage.Motioning the others to take a knee, Meirien drew out a rough map of the camp and surrounding area on the ground before them.

“Well we are now in a fine pickle. Talia, how soon can we move the wounded?”

“Decklan got the worst of it. We were able to stabalize him but the arrow he took did a fair amount of damage and we were not able to repair all of it. Given another day or two we could have him ambulatory but I don’t think the orks will give us that time. Jarrin should be up and ready to ride in about an hour.”

“We may be pressed for time. What can you do to get Decklan in a condition to ride?”

“Not much I’m afraid. We’ve given him a mild sedative to help with the pain. If we have to ride he can go pillion but would either have to be strapped to the saddle or be tied in front of another trooper. Staying overnight would increase his chances greatly.”

“Ok. I don’t like it but I like the idea of about in the Hollow Lands in the dark even less. Granis, Burn. What do you think about these orks”

“Dem orks ‘re actin a bit perculiar of ye ask me,” Granis had packed and lit his pipe then took a long puff before continuing. “Tis strange the camp still stands. As large a force as Rathebourne described could ‘a easily taken the fort. Orks normally don’t play with their food like these ones did.”

“I agree with the duergar,” Burn replied. Looking at the rough map his squad leader had drawn out, he pointed to various spots around the perimter of the patrol base, If I were in charge I would place scouts here, here and here until more troops arrived. We know the camp can be held against a much larger force than is out there right now but we don’t have the supplies to last a siege nor the manpower to refuse a force larger than a troop sized element. We also don’t know if the larger force that was here a week ago went.”

“Alright, then that settles that,” their squad leader replied, “We will attempt a breakout just before dawn. We will camp here but noise discipline rules apply.”

Taking his knife, Meirien handed the implement to Burn and motioned toward the map, “Burn, we know the Troop were going to charge the southern line. How would that have played out?”

“If they burst out of the camp they would have had to break sharply to the right,” Burn drew the route of travel on the dirt map. It will be extremely difficult to spot week old tracks especially on horseback. I’m guessing though, since their goal is to ultimately reach the Overlands they would veer back east and pick up one of the many south-eastern routes back into friendly territory. There are at least a dozen trails leading through the southern wood and a tracker familiar with the area would know them all by heart.
“Which route would you chose?”

Burn pursed his lips and thought for a moment. The tracker pulled out his own map of the area and spread it out on the ground. He scanned over the possibilities in his mind and put himself in the shoes of those desperate troopers trying to make it back to safety. About a dozen possible trails jumped out at him but not all of them were suitable. There was one however that showed promise.

“If I were leading one of the smaller groups I would break from the main force in the woods and make my way here.” Burn’s finger traced its way along what was marked as a stream that wound it’s way first south then east. “I’d follow this stream. Demi can track by scent as well as sight. Cris crossing over the stream would break up the pattern f track and smell. It would provide a limited amount of safety for a small, three man unit.” The tracker stared at the map for a little longer, trying to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the other routes that were possible.

“There are some other paths they could take and it’s quite possible that the other groups went those ways. As for the main band, I can only guess that they kept moving south in order to divert the Demi for the longest time possible. It is possible to get back to the Overlands by the southern routes but you double your stay in hostile territory and half your chances of getting out alive.”
“Ok, if choose the stream, how much time do you think it will take to catch their trail?”

“Hard to say. It’s been a dry week but tracking in a stream is like trying to carry sand in a sieve. Scouting both sides of the stream will slow us down considerably.”

“Agreed, but it’s a chance we will have to take.” Meirien nodded looking to each of his leaders. “We are going to have to break out ourselves before any more Demi show up. We have about an hour of light left. We will attempt a break out just before dawn. We are going to follow the route Burn has laid out and hope that we can discover at least one of the messenger groups trails. Questions?”

He looked first to Burn then Granis and Talia. Each of them shook their head to indicate they had nothing further to say.

“Alright. Talia, see what you can do for Decklan. Granis, set up a watch rotation. I want double shifts with Talia exempt since she will need to ensure that someone in that watchtower has Cats Eyes on them at all times. Burn, see to the horse. Get them ready for the run tomorrow. Dismissed.”

The group dispersed and rejoined their teams. Granis sent Grey to the watchtower to get a status report. The veteran returned and reported some movement along the northern woodline but nothing to indicate a large movement of Demi into the surrounding area. Burn and Talia went about their assigned tasks, every now and then one would steal a glance at the other when they thought no one was looking.

The squad moved into a defensive posture for the night, making camp in the bailey. Talia awoke at regular intervals to ensure that the night watch had Cat’s Eyes cast upon them saw to it that Decklan was comfortable. The watches passed uneventfully.

“The watches reported no movement in the woodline and no Demi incursion toward our perimeter, at least none that we could detect.”

“I don’t like it,” Corporal Meirien knew these Demi were acting strange but he couldn’t spare too much time thinking about those implications. He had to get his men back to Overland territory. The Lord Marshall would be able to discern what all this meant better than he.

The edges of dawn were just beginning to creep over the Hollow Lands. Troopers assembled their gear and saddled their horses quietly and quickly. Granis and another trooper unbarred the gate and the squad prepared to burst through. They would have to move quickly to maximize both surprise and to gain as much distance as possible between the orks and themselves.

Meirien gave the signal and Burn kicked open the gate. The squad spurred their horses out of the bailey. Following Burn’s lead, they quickly doglegged right and headed toward the southern end of the clearing. There was a shout from the east and a horn was blown. Orks could be seen roiling at the woodline like a hound straining against it’s leash. A couple of orks broke ranks to give chase as the last of the squad cleared the gate.

Burn lead the squad to the woodline and struck out on a trail that lead in the general direction of the stream.