Roslyn reacted immediately while the rest held to their positions among the trees. " How far away are the orcs, sir, and what is your name?!" She stepped forward as if to assist this stranger in any way.

The man stalled his momentum unsure if this is where he wanted to be. His hood dropped enough to reveal pointed ears. " We shall all turn into cushions for the orcs to rest their rusty pins in if we do not make our way from this place with all do speed. I estimate that there are at least a dozen, possibly fifteen orcs following me!" The archer continued to look back the way he came and sipped from a familiar waterskin given to all soldiers of Pinedroi.
" Oh, and my name is Vrai. I do not wish to be slowed by you, but we stand a better chance together if we flee as one."

Aramil looked past him at the general trail the fleeing stranger had taken. Nothing was coming...yet, but fear plagued the soldier's eyes and this made the mage wary. " Good, if they come this way let us flee east. Less tangles we have with them the better."

The tone of the strange elf's voice wavered each sentence like a hummingbird bouncing from flower to flower. " You elf," Vrai said appreciatively, indicating Aramil " Perhaps I could perform a bit of a rear guard for your companions. I am handy with a bow and it was my talent during this operation that ran foul."

Nanith and Roslyn both introduced themselves unfettered of the tension that closed around them like a venus flytrap. The rogue wiggled his toes.
" Could you help cover our tracks� or maybe create a false trail?"

Oktavianus waited for the reply in grim silence; his trembling fist clenching weakly on the hilt of his warhammer. His eyes squinted slightly, but his face remained an impassive, emotionless stone.

The archer elf nodded " I could, but let us be off on the trail away from here. They are in the vicinity."

The rest of the companions seemed unsure of their new addition, but this dire situation seemed enough to keep their suspicions in check for now. They accepted the Pinedroi mercenary and followed Roslyn when she led them northeast towards the heart of the Nalmiar Forest. The Pinedroi archer followed along keeping his bow poignant and glancing back every so often at their passage. He had not questioned the fact that the fellowship he joined were part of the war and it seemed that it mattered little.

4 PM: For nearly an hour, the fellowship stepped along through the restricting brush before they reaching a gurgling stream that crossed their path. They all decided to rest, recuperate, and come to grips with their destination.

" From here we can go many ways..." spoke the druidess with little drama "...but I think a discussion should be had to decide where I will lead."

Teflar knelt next to the streambed and rubbed his fingertips along the soft dirt testing recent wanderings of thirsty animals.
" Vrai, how safe is the western valley if we should now follow this streambed back towards its source? I think that what we seek may be in those mountains."

Vrai leaned heavily on his halfspear that he had been using for a walking stick. " Well Teflar, I can't guarantee its safety. However, if there had been a slaughter in that valley, this stream would be running red with the blood of the fallen."

Aramil ordered his falcon to scour the backtrail for signs of pursuit and then queried the ranger about his choice of direction regarding the stolen starpoint.

Teflar slowly squeezed the damp mud in the palm of his left hand as if testing his returning strength. " Based on what Erelis has witnessed, the thieves definitely came into these trees. In here, they may have been under orc protection if we learned anything about our ambush in the Landretta Downs." He looked up the blue stream as it rushed out of the thicket of reedgrass. " In those mountains, the orcs now scurry; probably tenured bases noone would have discovered for decades if this war did not start. I bet my life that that is where the thieves hide as well. If not, I have no idea on where we must go next."

The archer shifted his gaze around the tired party and began to question them in regards to their appearance in the forest. Who were they exactly and what were they to recover?

Kicking and prodding his backpack into a suitable chair, Nanith plopped down and sighed contently. " I've only recently been commissioned by the powers that be in Pinedroi to aid this group." Picking up a few pebbles, the rogue tossed them individually into the flowing stream. " Gailwind would probably be the best to tell you how and why we came here." He glanced over at where the elf was washing his face downstream.

" But that wouldn't be the wisest thing to do...." finished the Lorist with a distasteful glare at the male hobbit. " This venture hangs on a fine edge and I've not the will to speak so freely."