~ PASSAGE 98 ~
CROWDED CLEARING

As the cavalry wildly circled the acre of small expanse, Aramil frowned at the deserted keep. Following closely behind the wizard, Teflar scanned the rocky ground for tracks. The fellowship watched as the captains reined in their horses and came up short in the center of the uncultivated clearing. Horsemasters silently directed orders at the forest perimeter while the ranger dropped to the earth, bending to one knee.
" Oktavianus, if I commanded troops and knew we would be attacked..." he spread his palm across a stretch of scuffed dirt " I would double-back on the enemy's home and destroy it while it was unprotected." Teflar stood up slowly and turned to look back with narrow eyes at the direction they had come.
Loten readily agreed with the woodsman and examined the damaged structure of the fortress walls as they lay in broken rocks piled outside a deserted courtyard.

The dwarven leader, however, felt more concerned with obtaining their freedom then the orckish threat and he was glad they encountered no opposition.
Aramil let his falcon fly on high while Erelis and Nanith talked about the possibilities of ambush and the formidable hideout that stood before them. There were direct orders from the captains for no personage to step foot inside the keep walls because traps could warrant a dangerous encounter.

Teflar, seeing that riders were checking out the trees for the passage of orcs, stepped to the center of the rocky grassland to address the situation.
" Commander, do we have rear scouts? You might want to check our flank and send runners to the city. There is a horde of orcs on the move and we know not what direction they are headed."
The Captain casually set his boot on a nearby boulder and briefly glanced at the ranger while passing his eyes along the forestline. " Our city is well-protected, young thug. I would not be too pretentious about knowing the capacities of our military such as which has defended our west for centuries. You have no experience in strategic affair and have no faith in an operation in which you cannot fathom." He regarded the fellowship with a disapproving eye.
" Just stick with us and keep your eyes pealed for the proper path you seek." He suddenly perked his head up when a mercenary from the far side called out to everyone. Commotion moved to the far western woods when it was realized that something was found.

It took nearly an hour before the rangerscouts from the south packed into the small acreage making inner movement for the massive army nearly impossible. It was a bad situation to be in and Vania Rolessa knew it instantly. " We follow the concealed path west while the 3rd brigade stays here as reserve backup. Keep ears and eyes alert!" she railed as the military prepared to move on her next words. StarPoint Raven did, however, have queries. Among themselves, they questioned their next move.