The Southern Chains [Fan-fic]

[styles1005]

Well yeah, I didn't mean the arena specifically (though that sort of thing is overused too.)

The escape is an interesting little twist though. Maybe not as unoriginal as I thought. And as for the greatsword, I was actually thinking ingame as in in Wesnoth, i.e. one of the lv3 elves (I forget if it's the Marshal or Champion) and the Noble line from the EoM Vampires. The "oversized sword" thing is universal, though.

[Hulavuta]

Well then what was cliched? I thought all Gladiator stories have an escape too.

[styles1005]

No . . . well . . . yeah . . . *facepalm* I'm not good at explaining these things, 'k?

[Hulavuta]

Okay, work on that. Meanwhile, here's chapter 4 of The Southern Chains.

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Garrath Toa gave the info about the escape plan, and warned them not to tell anyone. When questioned about the fact that only seven people were in on the plan, he simply responded: "Seven is a lucky number. Furthermore, too many people in on the plan could potentially be catastrophic. One of them is bound to be either a rat, a spy, or greedy. Besides, 7 is easier to maneuver and control, and Cassius and Greck are worth 5 people each in a fight. "

The following days were of striking similarity. The fighters were sent out to fight in the arena, several were killed, they returned for lunch, and then left again for the night battle. They would sleep for a few hours, and then they would be sent out to fight in the morning. Then they would eat breakfast, rinse and repeat.

Every once in a while, Garrath would pop by the members planning the escape and inform them of a few changes to the plan. Garrath was right, they of course all had heard of him, but only Xeni knew with clarity exactly what he was so well-known for.

"We have some time before the next battle," Josh said next to his bed, "how about hearing the story of Garrath Toa?"

Xeni replied, "Okay. Everybody gather around." A few fighters gathered around Xeni. All of the people who were part of the escape plan were present excluding Greck and Garrath himself, as tons of new fighters were put in to make up for the massive casualties and Drakes and other large beings were kept in other rooms.

Xeni said, "Okay. This story starts many years ago, in the newly destroyed Wesnoth. Some humans decided to join together to build a castle for the sake of survival and perhaps seizing power, if they found that others were weak. So they took over a land roughly two-fifth's the size of Wesnoth, near the South-Western region. Our good Mr. Toa was already a Drake Flare, which if you had to compare it to human or elvish military ranking, is a little bit above the level of a captain."

"Now," Xeni continued, "eventually the humans decided that their land wasn't enough, and marched patrols down south into the mountains. A simple patrol was dispatched to check out the land down south, as any other direction was already deemed too dangerous due to the rumors of necromancers, demon-summoners, barbaric humans, and demonic elves. So as you would have it, the human patrol, led by a firey tempered commander named Zacer, had wandered through the woods until they reached a river. Using logic, they decided that any life would have to be nearby the river. So they followed down the river to a waterfall that emptied sharp at the bottom. What they didn't know is that they were already in drakel territory. Zacer grew quick to anger, and he demanded that his soldiers go down the waterfall. Luckily there were no rocks but only deep water at the bottom, and they troops made it down very swiftly."

"Soon after," said Xeni, "the patrol ran into a patrol of five drakes. The drakes were outnumbered by seven, and the humans began to fire their arrows and tried to stab the enemies with their swords and spears. However, the drakes were far stronger and had the power to fly, so they crushed the arrows and swords in their fists, and as they blasted fire, the water that covered the humans soon turned into a heavy sweat. Zacer, although arrogant and quickly angered, was a superb commander, and under his orders, the humans slowly turned the battle around. Ultimately, the drakes won, and Zacer's forces retreated. The surviving drakes returned to their capital to inform the council what had happened and decide on their next action."

"The drakes made it, and a council was held. Ultimately, it was decided that the humans were a serious threat, and if another attack were to happen, they would have to take action. Well another attack DID happen, and the drakes decided to go to war. So a young drake commander who was none other than Garrath Toa was put under the command of Rikan Ihn, the eldest of the drake flamehearts. Rikan Ihn, the 'general' of the drake army, moved the forces north, where the drake's fire quickly and easily defeated the humans' armor and fortresses that were made of crude scavenged material."

"So the humans decided to get serious. At their last line of defense, large ballistas and hundreds of archers quickly murdered half of the drakes' army. Rikan Ihn himself was caught in the arm by a ballista shot, and was severely wounded. Garrath, with responsibility of the army placed upon him, decided to make a plan. With the dying drakes all around him, he ordered them to create a wall around them. Seeking an honorable way to serve even after death, the dying drakes complied. A well-known fact of a drake is that when a drake is killed by any sort of cut or pierce, they effectively set on fire, due to their having fire in their veins rather than blood. So Garrath took advantage of this fact by having the dying drakes create a defensive wall of fire, which was strong enough to burn any arrow. Rikan took it upon himself after giving Garrath his parting words to take out the ballistas, so as the last drake's body was cremated, a large wall of huge fire was around the remaining drake soldiers. Garrath gave the order to charge, and the drake's natural resistance to fire and their determination and resolve to win allowed them to run through the fire un-phased, and charged straight into the castle. The drakes won outright that day. Garrath was held as a hero, for preventing what could have been."


"Wow," Josh said, "that was smart."
"Yes," Cassius replied, "but one thing doesn't add up: how did he end up in here?"

"I do not know," Xeni said. "You'll have to ask him..."

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I'm going swimming.

[Hulavuta]

Bleh, here is the chapter that is number 5.

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Today was the day. The day of the escape. All week, they had developed the plan, where most of the planning was by Garrath, Xeni, and Irix. They all knew of the plan, and got barely an hour of sleep the night before, too excited they were about freedom. And now, the day was there. There was no doubt at all that the plan would succeed, unless something in the prisoner's schedule changed, everything should go according to plan. The fact that the schedule was kept down to the minute by the soldiers made this an unlikely situation.


As they finished eating their breakfast, the soldiers forced the fighters into the arena, as they had did many times before. The plan was to escape in the morning, as Garrath stated that fighting soldiers in plain sight was preferable to fighting Undead in the dark.

As they walked into the arena, the members of the escape plan gathered, casually to avoid suspicion, and reviewed the plan.

"Before that," Garrath said, "we'll need a warm-up, soldiers are bound to pop up. Get ready for fighting."

As the doors were released, the group ran into the fray. "Don't get injured," Josh said, as he loaded his bow.

Kalith coincidentally ran in the same direction as Greck, trying to remember what Garrath had said about him. "Physically strongest fighter here? I want to see it for myself." He had only seen him a few times, due to the separation of the fighters, but what he definitely knew was new about him was the headpiece that he wore. Made out of solid bronze, it had two ram-type horns on the top, probably intending the weapon to be used a butting attack, rather than an impaling one. Kalith watched as Greck headbutted a troll in the stomach, and as it fell over, he drove his spear straight through the troll's tough skin, killing it.

"Damn..." Kalith said to himself. With his mind away from the battlefield, he was easy prey for an incoming wolf. It knocked him over and bit off a piece of his flesh, before Kalith landed a stab from his clawed hand.

"You had better watch out wolf," he said, knowing the wolf didn't understand him, "this one bites back!" Kalith lunged towards the wolf, grabbed onto him, and bit his neck. The full strength of his jaw crushed the neck bones of the wolf, who fell over in a heap of blood.

As the first round of beasts were eliminated, Garrath had gathered the group together. It was time to leave.

Greck nodded to Xeni, who used his magic to exert his influence upon another skilled but weak-minded fighter, an orc warrior named Bruton, to attack a flying drake named Dende Ohn. The battle was fierce, and gained the attention of many other fighters. It only took a little more of Xeni's influence to get the warriors to fight each other, and he talked to them in their minds.

"This isn't how it's supposed to be," a Necromancer shouted to a human captain, "Take care of this!"

The captain nodded, and ran to signal the soldiers. The soldiers came down to calm the fighters, and the group of escapees made a run for it.

Two guards stood by the door containing the beast cages, as they had seen the first day when a saurian ripped apart a horn player. The guards still stood there, motionless, until Cassius made a charge towards them. Two guards normally wouldn't be much trouble, but imbued with magic, they were more than a threat. A flash of lightning came from the sky, hitting Cassius and knocking him over.

"Stand back," said Garrath, "Greck, use the drill..."

Garrath took a step back, and then jumped high into the air, swooping down towards the soldiers. As they took notice and fired at him, Greck dove and smashed a guard with his headbutt. The other guard turned to destroy him, but was quickly crushed as Garrath landed on top of him.

"Now," said Cassius, "I'll do my part." Cassius grabbed the lattice with both hands, and tore it straight out. The escapees quickly ran out through the door, and into a room containing more beasts.

"Maybe it would be beneficial if we allowed these animals to escape, to maybe create a distraction?" said Josh.
"Maybe, but they would slow us down," said Greck, "better that we rely on our own abilities."

The group ran down several corridors and finally found the way out. Only a few minutes after they ran, they were already spotted.

"A necromansserrrr...." said Irix. "We neeed to move quicklyyyy...."

The necromancer, several skeletons, and many soldiers ran towards them. The odds were against the escapees, as soon they would tire, but the magic of necromancy would keep the the enemy and their chocobone mounts active for as long as they needed.

"We'll have to hide then," said Garrath, "they'll be forced to send the bats out after us..."

"Are you sure?" asked Josh. "Those bats are pretty fast and dangerous...they'll be almost as deadly as if the soldiers attacked us..."

"Don't worry...I have a plan," Garrath said. "Now, get down low. Irix, tell us if you see them...everyone else, get ready."


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[revenant]

Great! I find myself wondering what will happen to the overall arch of the story, not just what is going to be in the next challenge for the escapees.

[Hulavuta]

Well, I try. For the few who are reading, here's chapter 6 (or 7?)

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The bats were upon them quickly. Just as Kalith was telling the group about when his Aragwaith town was attacked by the vampire who bit him, they heard the flutter of many wings.

"Jusssssttt assss expected....the batssss are here..." Irix said as he pulled out his spear and headed into the fray.

"Josh," said Garrath, "you and Xeni should try to nail as many bats as you can from over there. Kalith, you move in and give Irix some support." He turned to Greck and said, "You and Cassius should flank them from either side. I'll fly up and try to blast them from the air."

It seemed like an effective plan. However, the bats quickly swarmed around Irix, eating at his flesh, before Garrath breathed out a long stream of fire, scattering the bats. Irix lay on the ground, alive, but barely.

Xeni rushed out to heal him. "I'll protect him, you guys keep fighting. Ah, damnit..." Xeni pointed at the horizon, where the necromancer, a few skeletons, and some soldiers were swiftly approaching on their chocobones.

"I didn't expect them to show up," said Garrath, "I thought they thought the bats would be enough. A tactical error on my part-"

"But nothing we shouldn't be able to handle," said Cassius.

"Right," came the reply, "I'll handle the rest of the bats on my own, you guys should handle the soldiers."

Greck nodded and charged towards them, with Kalith and Cassius behind him. Josh stayed behind to help Garrath fight the bats.

Kalith watched as Carmine, the enemy that had defeated him and sent him to the arena, hopped off of his chocobone.

Kalith clenched his teeth and tightened his fists in rage. He pulled out his sword and charged, but he felt the hand of Greck holding him back.

"What the hell are you doing? That guy's the one who got me in that damned arena in the first place!"

"That may be true," Greck replied, "but we don't have time for personal vendettas. You're still no match for him, I'll fight him."

Kalith felt the rage swell up inside of him, but ultimately he knew that Greck was right. Fighting his instincts for revenge, he ran the other way, as Greck approached Carmine.

Carmine turned to the necromancer. "This one is strong," he said, "I've seen him fight, it would be best if you handled him."

Carmine nodded and ran towards Greck, eager for battle.

Meanwhile, Garrath was doing fairly well with the bats. Garrath's stream of fire either burned the bats to ashes or forced them to dodge, which then made them easy targets for Josh's arrows. At the end of the battle, the bats were finished, a few of them limply retreating into the sky.

"Hmm," said Josh, "I musta overestimated these guys, they're not so tough."

Garrath turned to walk away, and as swiftly as he did, one courageous bat swooped back down from the sky, and taken by surprise, Garrath was bitten hard in the neck. The bat's strong jaws cut through his skin and pierced a vein, and as suddenly as he did...

"Holy....the bat just...exploded?" Josh said as he witnessed the scene. The bat's entire mouth caught on fire as he attempted to suck Garrath's blood, and the fire quickly spread to his head, through his wings, and throughout his whole body, until the bat, like all of the others, was reduced to ash as well.

"Heh," Xeni said as he watched the event near Irix. "Looks like he forgot about a Drake's last resort..."

Xeni patched up Garrath's wound, and Garrath headed into battle. Josh loaded three arrows into his bow and followed him.

Meanwhile, Kalith had cut down two soldiers, and took notice of the battle between Greck and Carmine. It seemed that even Greck wasn't a match for Carmine. The drake took a punch full-on from Carmine, tumbled, and retaliated with a slash of his war talon.

Carmine took a step back, narrowly avoiding the claws. As Greck thrust his spear at Carmine, the soldier grabbed it and yanked it out of Greck's hands. He jabbed it into the drake's arm, disabling it. With it gone, he was unable to use the war talon.

"Heheheheh..." Carmine said, "you're no match for the Alliance. You'll soon learn you had a better chance of survival in the Arena than against me..."

Greck stood, with his head high and his limp arm hanging down. Carmine circled him, and pulled out a small dagger. "I'm going to end this," he said.

Kalith watched as Carmine raised the dagger above his head, stuck out his other hand to aim, and charged towards Greck. At that second, he saw Greck charge towards Carmine as well, and rammed into him head-first, producing a loud crack as the half-undead soldier was sent flying through the air, finally crashing down to the ground with his dagger landing beside him.

The necromancer was unfazed by these events, and as he got off of his chocobone steed, mist started to rise from his hands. He raised them into the air, and a beam of cold energy shot out of them, hitting Greck in the stomach, cracking his armor and knocking him over.

"Now," the necromancer said, "you will have a real challenge..." He raised his hands to the left, causing the soldiers who were defeated to revive as zombies.

"This is your last chance," he said, "surrender, or-" His voice was cut off as three arrows flew from the right, piercing through the dark mage's neck. The necromancer collapsed in a heap, and the soldiers went back to being corpses.

As the chocobones were finished off by the escapees, they knew that survival was slim. It was highly doubtful that the Alliance would waste any more time on them, but with Greck and Irix wounded, they would not be able to travel very far.

"So," Josh said as he hung his bow on his back, "what do you we do now? We'll need a ride."

"And here it comes," said Xeni, as he pointed to four large caravans coming down the road.

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[Lord-Knightmare]

Nice! This battle more better described than Lord of The Rings battle chapters.

[Hulavuta]

I've never read Lord of the Rings, but I doubt it. But maybe it's because LotR has battles between huge armies, whereas I just described one (Greck vs Carmine).

[Gwynnedrion]

Nice! This battle more better described than Lord of The Rings battle chapters.

That, I wouldn't say. Remember the battle between Eowyn,Pippin and The Witch-King Of Angmar? Or the battle 'tween Gandalf and the Balrog of Moria?

[Hulavuta]

Yeah, like I said, I doubt it. And before anyone gets on my case about me thinking I'm awesomer than Tolkien or anything, I'm not.

[Hulavuta]

Double post, but here's chapter 7

Anyway, I'm in Atlanta right now, with nothing to do yet, so I'll be adding chapter 7 of the fic to this post.

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Garrath took a leap into the air, soaring through the sky, before landing on the road. He stood directly in front of the caravan, expecting it to stop. He was not disappointed.

As was also expected, the caravan driver stood up and yelled, "Hey! Drake! Get the hell out of the road!"

"Just a moment of your time please," said Garrath, "I can tell that from your caravan that you're probably very rich...what would noblemen be doing out here?"

An elvish woman emerged from the caravan. "We're here to visit the Arena, we've heard that it is the most thrilling experience to see in this ravaged world."

"Well, you see," replied Garrath, "that the Arena is not the best place to visit right now. We were there just a half-score of hours ago, and it had erupted into chaos. The fighters were going berserk and attacking each other, soldiers," he waited and added, "and the spectators."

The caravan driver was shocked, but not as much as the elvish lady.

"Phooey," said the elf, "we were so much looking forward to going. I suppose we will have to change direction and go back..."

Garrath yelled as the caravan began to turn. "Wait! The Arena fighters have wounded some of our party very gravely. Would you be so kind as to....give us a ride?"

The elven woman came back out of the caravan. "Of course," she said, "however, we don't have a lot of space..."

"Good enough," Garrath said. "I'll gather the group." Garrath walked over to where the group was. He walked, limply, to give the impression that he was injured as well. As he neared them, he saw that the group had done a good job covering the bones and corpses.

"They have agreed to let us ride the caravan, but they don't have a ton of room. Greck and Irix will ride, of course, but there is only room for three more, two of us must walk. I gladly volunteer myself. Who else will walk?"

The group looked around at each other. It was Kalith who spoke first. "I will walk," he said.

"Good, good," Garrath replied, "Cassius, carry Greck to the caravans. Xeni, you will carry Irix. How are your wounds?"

"Strong," Greck replied, "but I will mend."

"Asssssss will I," Irix responded.

Kalith watched as Cassius carried Greck over one shoulder. Even with his superior human strength, it was hard to manage. He couldn't imagine doing it himself. The two injured were placed inside a caravan, as with the other three who were to sit. Apparently the caravan was to carry supplies, which they hadn't thought to pack much of. These rich-types didn't think much far ahead, but they would get the job done.

"Anywhere specific you are going?" the elven woman asked Garrath.
"Hmm, nowhere particular, but you could drop us off at the hills to the north," Garrath replied, "if it isn't too far off of your path."
"No problem," the elf replied, "we're only going a little past the hills ourselves, so it isn't much of a burden."

Garrath gave a polite nod and went over to the caravan carrying the rest of his group. He started to walk.

"So," Kalith asked as he fell in step beside him, "Xeni told us your story. But, how did you end up in the arena?"
Garrath gave him a grim look. Kalith understood what it meant instantly. However, Garrath replied.
"Quite believably, Zacer wanted revenge. He managed to get me alone, and easily overwhelmed me with his superior numbers. Instead of killing me, he just decided to force me to fight in the arena. He's still out there you know. Part of the Alliance now. Rumor is that he's one of the white ones. A White Mage that turned to darkness, but still has control of the powers of light."

Kalith just gave a blank look back.
"What is it?" Garrath asked. "Not the answer you were expecting?"

Kalith waited a moment and replied, "Well, I was expecting an epic legend, like your tale of victory in that battle. I guess not everything is dramatic."

"Yes..." Garrath said, staring into empty space.

The following half-hour was mostly silent, but as they neared the hills, Orcs began to gather. They had spotted the caravans. And now they planned to take them out.

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[Hulavuta]

Meh, it's been a while, but here's proof I haven't given up.
-----------------------------------------

The Orc horde gathered together, centering around one orc in the middle. He wore the classic orcish helmet with the T-shaped window, along with his traditional warlord armor, all of which was battle damaged, proof of his skill in battle. Weeks before, he had proclaimed himself leader, and none of the other Orcs had the guts to say no. No one could blame them. This orcish leader radiated with power and charisma.

His name was Brutar and, as he spoke his plans, the orcs were unusually quiet and attentive. Brutar outlined his plan for attacking some caravans he had spotted. He was a thinking orc, and as he decided the orcs' course of action, he kept in mind that, unlike other orc hordes, they were very few in numbers. He estimated that they would probably be able to take one caravan.

"Now," he said to the orcs, "we will attack from behind, we should easily be able to take the caravan in the back. It's mostly food inside anyway, Yalbag has smelt it already, so if they are armed, we shouldn't attempt to take them all. However, if they are armed, and they do choose conflict, we can simply flee with whatever we carry. They wouldn't stray off too far from the caravans, anyway."

Brutar gave a signal to his orcs. They hid in the trees lining the path. Patiently, they waited. Caravans were heavy, slow. More so for the caravan in the back. It barely managed to turn as it reached the corner of the road, and the orc named Yalbag steered his wolf mount behind it, staying in the cover of the trees.

Brutar stared at Yalbag, a silent way to get his attention. Yalbag caught the stare, and saw the chief nod. Yalbag nodded back and charged towards the caravan, with three other mounted riders coming into step behind him.

An extremely excited wolf rider passed Yalbag's mount and leaped for the caravan, but in a flash, a drake had swooped down, picked up the wolf, circled back around and dropped the wolf onto the rider. He turned quickly and incinerated both the rider and his mount on the spot.

During the ensuing chaos, Yalbag pulled out a horn from his bag and blew fast air straight into it, causing the orcs to jump out of the trees and attack. Brutar himself led the orcs out of the trees, charging towards the caravan with his sword in his hand and his bow on his back.

Meanwhile, an aragwaith had revealed himself and cut down an orc with a swipe of his greatsword. Yalbag charged at him, running him over. He was injured, but still very healthy. In the caravan in the back, two more enemies appeared. One was a saurian, who easily dodged the slashes from the orcs and maneuvered around them, slaying them instantly when they let their guard down. The other, an archer, quickly defeated several orcs with highly precise shots to their heads.

Yalbag himself had come to be amazed by what he was seeing. These foes were a very motley team, it was very unusual to see so many races working together. He decided asking them wouldn't hurt, and as he fought off the aragwaith, he did just that.

His wolf grabbed the aragwaithi's sword in its jaws and tossed it aside. "Now," said Yalbag, "who are you, and why are you working together?"

The aragwaith stood very calm. He knew that no one would dare attack him while Yalbag was talking to him. He responded.

"My name is Kalith. We come from the arena, and we've just escaped. That's why we're working together. These caravans are our ride back to civilization...so your attack is very inconvenient for us."

Yalbag was surprised. He had never heard of any arena. Nonetheless, the question was asked and answered, and he charged towards Kalith again, however, he ran to get his sword, as Yalbag chased him, still mounted. Kalith grabbed his sword quickly as he hit the ground, turned, and cut the wolf in half.

Yalbag felt a thump as the top part of his wolf flew off of the bottom half and hit the ground. He quickly dismounted. He was ready to teach this aragwaith a lesson in swordplay.

Or was he? He suddenly felt the sharp pain of an impaling. The saurian had caught him with his spear. He cursed them all, before he hit the earth and died.

Meanwhile, Brutar saw that the odds were against him. He hadn't expected these "gladiators" to be with these caravans, which were obviously owned by the rich. They obviously weren't together, he could tell, since the other caravans had fled on first sight. His few orcs were being cut down just by these few, and he had caught a glimpse into the caravan and saw even more inside.

He gave a signal to the trees, several orcish archers fired a hail of arrows, and as their enemies ducked for cover, the orcs took their chance and fled into the trees. Farther away.

As he ran, he felt a sharp shameful pain. He lost his second in command during that battle, and he never got a chance to show his moves either. He swore that the next time would be different. He would become a great overlord. He swore it to himself.

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Garrath Toa looked off into the distance. "Cowardly bastards," he said, "they fled, instead of helping us..."

He turned back to his group. "At least," he said, "at least we still have this caravan. We can still make it to our destination."

"And if you don't mind," came a young voice, "I'd like to go with you..."

Garrath turned to where the voice was coming from. There, behind him, was a young orc archer.

Irix raised his spear in suspicion, Josh aimed an arrow. However, Kalith made no move.

"Who are you?" Garrath began, "and were you with those orcs that just attacked us?"

"I am Vrag...and yes, I was," the orc said, not sounding too proud about it. "But, I don't want to be anymore. I want to go with you. Anywhere is better than with them. They bully me for being the runt of the litter. If I join you, I can help if you want. I'm a pretty good archer."

"How do we know we can trust you?" asked Garrath.

"You can," said Kalith, "I can tell instantly about people. It's a gift."

Garrath didn't seem very surprised. Josh said, "Well, I trust Kalith, so, I guess I trust Vrag too." Garrath looked to Irix, who said nothing. Apparently he was impartial on the subject. He knew Greck and Cassius wouldn't view him as a threat anyway, and Xeni really welcomed everybody.

"Well then," Garrath said, "it appears I have been outvoted. Welcome to the team, Vrag."

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I'm not dead.

[Lord-Knightmare]

This was usual for orcs....Why did they flee? Shouldn't they have fought to the death...?
But nice chapter.

[Hulavuta]

I think you mean unusual. Anyway, several orcs in the mainline campaigns ran away when they were hopelessly outnumbered. For example, Kapou'e in SotBE in scenario 1. Or, if you choose not to flee, scenario 2.