---------- Ok, so it was a rendezvous and an ambush... Torryn was expecting company when he got to the ruins. What he wasn't expecting was the orcs, led by a Shamaness, to be standing out in the open, waiting for him. He also wasn't expecting the Shamaness to speak the Trade tongue... ~Greetings to you, Ranger. The Masters expected you would come. You should hold your blade and we speak. You are the Woodsrunner, yes?~ Torryn lowered his blade, but remained wary...the two orcs moving in behind were aching for a fight...he could smell it. "If I'm expected, you know who I am. Where's the wolf?" ~Gone from this place...with the Masters. They left us to bear a message for you.~ "What message is that?" ~If you value your life...go home. The wolf will not be harmed, for he is needed alive by the Masters. But if you interfere, the Masters say you must be stopped.~ Torryn ran through scenarios in his mind while the Shamaness spoke. If the wolf was to be kept alive, and was 'needed', that could only mean one thing...a ritual. And that in turn could mean only one thing... Mages. "Where are your masters now?" The Shamaness smiled slightly. ~The Masters knew you would ask us. We do not know, they did not tell us. We of Bloodpaw clan have no fight with you, ranger. We serve the Masters only to deliver their message. And to see that you heed it...or perish.~ Torryn noticed the reddish sphere growing in the orc's hand. Orc shaman were elementalists...base control of the four elements, as well as some skill in disease and poison magic. She was obviously prepared to cast a fire-based spell... ~What is your answer, Woodsrunner?~ Torryn sneered as he set his feet. "You better make that spell count...because it's the last one you'll ever cast. And when I find your 'Masters', I'm going to ram your warning...and perhaps your ears...down their throats." The shamaness drew back, and the sphere in her hand flared with power... ~Then DIE, ranger!~ ----------