Vrai realized that little information was to be given freely on any explanation for the group being here at this particular time. The purpose on catching these "thieves" beguiled him and he stood to wonder on more news from the great Kingdom. He understood that a valiant need to find these supposed convicts was a serious quest and he stood a poor chance of survival by leaving the team now to find his way home. Oktavianus swallowed hard; his face remaining impassive to an early Raven memory. " Morray..." he sighed sadly looking at the archer, "...we was ambushed by some orcs and lost one of our number. A sweet, brave girl died that night to the vicious blade. Orcs led by a Tahga from the Boridine Flatlands. That place lies west under my home in the heart of Lavenrae."

The frown on Nanith's face started to consume his head. "A Tahga?" he inquired curiously. " I've only heard of such a creature, Oktavianus." The rogue pulled his hand through his hair, muddling it up even more. " If this uncommon breed of orc is venturing this far away from its home, then you're right." he stated as he looked up at the dwarf. " It surely put in a lot of effort to come all this way and is definitely something we should consider."

The ranger stood feebly and nodded " If we are to answer any of these questions we have gathered, we go west through the high peaks of our bold range." He looked to the others and then settled on Roslyn " You would help us would you not, little one...beyond the scope of your comfort?"

Roslyn blushed a bit " I prefer to get as far away as possible. When I first came to you all, I felt useless as if I could do nothing. But when I thought of leaving, all of you tried to find ways to get me to stay and continue on. I am feeling more a part of your team every day." She looked at everyone with a posh smile. " Thank you all for making me feel wanted. It has been a long time since I have felt I belonged somewhere."

Vrai squinted up at the party from his squatting position against a fir tree. " Can no one spend a minute or three explaining why we are deciding to go traipsing off into 'god knows what' unholy wilderness?!" His face grew flush with mixed anger and excitement at the confinement of the information withheld.

Nanith, sitting now next to the dwarf, grimaced at Vrai's sudden outburst. " I understand that you must be concerned about the predicament we could be facing." he stated seriously. " I would like to reveal a bit more about our mission, but like Gailwind said, our quest must be monitored carefully and not fully revealed to anyone we don't know. I don't even know the half of it!!" he piped with incredulous taunt "...but yet.... I risk my life."
The rogue dusted himself off keeping his eyes on the archer. " I see you carry a distinctive waterskin. Someone only gets assigned one if he is a Pinedroin soldier. Would you mind explaining your connection with the army?" he asked inquisitively.

Vrai reached for his belt touching the waterskin as if just realizing it was there. " We were hired as mercenaries to help Pinedroi with this operation. I've only been with the army a short while and we were to scout out where the orcs were fleeing too. Already we found two caverns that weren't by any means concealed to casual view. As for the predicament that my companions are in, that depends on whether or not they were virtuous in this life, because they've moved on to the next. They were slaughtered before my very eyes."
Vrai realized that his grip threatened to crush the shaft of his spear. Forcing himself to settle his emotions, he became more humble. " This has been a less than perfect day for all of us and this is no way to begin what might turn out to be a long and mutually beneficial journey. I am a simple archer. I have been rash and potentially naive to assume that a company such as this would reveal its hidden machinations to a complete stranger; perhaps Gailwind will trust me after I have proved substantively that I am not a spy."

Just then, the falcon screeched over the surrounding trees and settled promptly on a nearby rotten stump. Aramil nodded his head with a rare smile. " Orcs have returned to their dens and the battle has settled down. If we head west, this is the time to move!"